The Safe Conflict Synergizer

The Safe Conflict Synergizer is a unique series of  meetings that combines seasoned peace practitioners, philanthropists, and business people to cooperate on a common framework that accelerates and multiplies work for peace.

The first Safe Conflict Synergizer was held at the Pocantico Center of Rockefeller Brothers Fund April 3-6, 2011. Of 30 global leaders there: half were women, half  were from outside the USA, half were professional peacemakers, and half peace allies from the fields of philanthropy, media, business and strategy.

In the words of Nobel Peace nominee and participant Scilla Elworthy:

I believe the Safe Conflict Synergizer produced some fundamental shifts, that will affect the future in ways we cannot yet predict.

For my part this shift consisted of realizing that there is a thriving community of thinkers, activists and communications experts in the US who are able and willing to work together co-cooperatively, and to bring in – and listen to – peace builders from around the world. There is an energy in this group for truly global work, and a crucial awareness of the importance of good process.

We achieved our ambitious objective: the exciting and groundbreaking outcome of the meeting was three interlocking projects: Expanding Peace Councils in Kenya and Ghana, A systemic peace building approach, and Push4Peace, a large media collaborative that supports the othe projects.

To see the progress of these projects, view more media and access the works products created during the synergizer, click here and access the events website.

The whole reason for Synergizers is to improve, support and connect the efforts of peace builders to meet the urgent need to transform how group conflict is handled globally. Unless we, together, make the shift to safe conflict, we will not be able to address our other pressing problems beyond war: poverty, disease, environmental degradation, human rights.