Search for Common Ground

Search for Common Ground is an international non-profit organization operating in 36 countries whose mission is "to transform the way the world deals with conflict away from adversarial approaches toward cooperative solutions". It is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and Brussels, Belgium, with the majority of its 600 employees based in field offices around the world including in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and the United States. Search brought together numerous conflicting groups to find ways to peacefully resolve issues using independent media programming, track II diplomacy, and traditional peace building tactics. John Marks, Search's founder and former president, received an award in 2006 from the Skoll Foundation for social entrepreneurship. In 2008, Search for Common Ground was awarded the Benjamin Franklin Award for Public Diplomacy by the United States Department of State.