History of Coexistence International
Between 2005 and 2010, Coexistence International (formerly The Coexistence Initiative) existed as an independent program based at Brandeis University's International Center for Ethics, Justice, and Public Life, and later at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management. Its principal funder was the Alan B. Slifka Foundation.
During this period of time Jessica Berns directed Coexistence International (CI) and counted on the support of a small staff and an experienced international Advisory Board, chaired by Mari Fitzduff. CI adopted a mission of strengthening the field and enhancing coexistence practice via increased collaboration between fields of work. By such an approach, CI hoped to increase the overall amount and effectiveness of coexistence work happening throughout the world.
CI's mission was born from a commitment to building socially inclusive societies. CI's vision is of a world where diversity is embraced for its positive potential, respect for persons is a core value, interdependence between different groups is recognized, equality is actively pursued, and the use of weapons to address conflicts is increasingly obsolete.
In support of its mission, CI facilitated the creation of coexistence networks in West Africa and Latin America, developed resources for practitioners in the form of practical papers and country briefs (LINK), informed public policy through outreach and education, and promoted the use of a coexistence 'lens' in complementary fields such as democracy-building, transitional justice, human rights, and the arts through workshops and trainings.
CI also developed collaborations with organizations including the following: Coordinador Regional de Investigaciones Economicas y Sociales (CRIES), Ghana Center for Democratic Development, International Center for Transitional Justice, Organization of American States, Transitional Justice WOrking Group of LIberia, Theatre Without Borders, the United Nations Development Programme Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery, among many others.
CI's mission to mainstream coexistence sensitivity work into other areas of significance such as democracy, human rights, security, the arts, etc. resonated with practitioners and policymakers and has become an increasingly accepted concept as a result of CI's work. Though the program is now closed, the wealth of CI's publications, reports, and resource materials are available on the website of the Master of Arts in Coexistence and Conflict Resolution program at Brandeis University.
The Coexistence Initiative, 1996-2005
In 1996, at the State of the World Forum (SWF) in San Francisco, Alan Slifka, Chairman and Co-Founder of The Abraham Fund, committed himself to fostering a global movement was to convene high-level groups of policy analysts, practitioners, educators, and theorists to deliberate upon how to enhance international interest in coexistence and community-building, and to make specific recommendations to governments and other institutions about implementing coexistence policies and practices within their organizations.
Alan Slifka's vision was taken forward with him by a core group of people led by Susan Collin Marks, Bill Ury, and Jim Garrison, who was the Founder and CEO of the SWF, an organization designed to facilitate dialogue on issues of global importance. The group sought to create a movement that would catalyze a global awareness of the needs of coexistence work around the world, and to ensure the commitment of individuals, organizations, agencies, and governments to the creation of "a world which was safe for difference."
At the 1998 Annual State of the World Forum, the core initiating group, which was jointly chaired by Susan Collin Marks and Dr. Bill Ury, along with a newly-formed secretariat, and thirty-five participants from international coexistence organizations formalized plans to officially launch a global effort for coexistence at the upcoming regional conference in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in 1999. This conference, based as it was within a conflicted society, provided an excellent occasion at which to officially launch what was then called The Coexistence Initiative (TCI). The conference group consisted of over 150 policy analysts, experts in coexistence curriculum development, coexistence leaders, trainers, and educators from around the globe.
During the conference, TCI launched A Plan of Action for the 21st Century, a platform providing the basis for an international coexistence movement and network. The mission of the platform was to seek: "the positive and proactive embrace of diversity at all levels of society. TCI's work is based on the belief that the embrace of diverse identities is essential to the development of vibrant, peaceful societies. The goal of the proactive embrace of diversity is the development of policies, laws, institutions, and attitudes that protect the right of individuals and groups to be both equal and different. In pursuit of its goals, TCI works with grassroots communities, practitioners in the fields of education, human rights, conflict transformation, and civil society development, and policy makers at the local, national, and international levels."
TCI sought to fulfill its mission through:
- Promoting public awareness of and discourse on coexistence;
- Facilitating exchange of information and best practices in the coexistence field;
- Mainstreaming principles of coexistence in policy, curricula, and institutions;
- Supporting an international network of individuals and organizations working on behalf of coexistence.
TCI formally left the SWF in 1999, and became an independent organization, initially based in London. It was subsequently registered as an independent non-profit organization in the United States in 2000, and its first Board of Directors were appointed, with Eric Nonacs as Executive Director.
From 1999 until 2004 TCI focused upon developing the following resources:
- The Coexistence Notice Board, which was a compilation of coexistence-related information. It contains analysis and opinion pieces as well as announcements of coexistence activities around the world.
- A Coexistence Resource Center (CRC) that provided information on events, mid-career opportunities, and news sources on the web, as well as access to information on practical resources such as books, manuals, meeting reports, and videos.
- Publishing the Coexistence Chronicle, a publication that highlighted coexistence-related work taking place internationally and raised awareness of coexistence projects, issues, and regions of importance.
- A Communicating Coexistence project aimed at highlighting successful examples of grassroots coexistence, and encouraging community-level leadership to promote coexistence. As part of this project, TCI held Coexistence Consultations within local communities about the language of, and challenges to, building coexistence and the means for practitioners and policymakers to learn from community-level experience.
- Information Resources and Coexistence Networking - TCI maintained an international coexistence network of more than 1100 practitioners, policymakers, academics, educators, and others, as well as disseminating print and online publications on coexistence-related activities and information worldwide.
- A survey of practitioners and policymakers, as well as public agencies around the world, who were/are engaged in coexistence activities - which resulted in a document called Insiders and Outsiders: A Review of Policies that Recognize Diversity and Promote Inclusion and Coexistence
- Coexistence Center Uganda - a joint project of TCI and the Center for Conflict Resolution (CECORE), located in Kampala.
