Mediators Foundation President’s Letter – 2023

Dear Colleagues,

Although this year’s letter begins on a note of pride, it will quickly pivot to humility for a very simple reason: something has been missing in our work. It is missing not just in Mediators’ portfolio of projects. It is also missing in The Work to which so many of our fellow bridge-builders, peacemakers, and social entrepreneurs have dedicated our lives. If you look at our new website, you will see why we have become one of the premier incubators in America of projects that bridge divides.

We have given birth to scores of projects, both initiated by us and by others, that have made significant differences in politics and academia, entertainment and the arts, media and philanthropy, and more. Like so many other non-profits, B Corps, and socially conscious enterprises, we want to highlight our accomplishments over the last three decades. As our website makes clear, the Project Directors whose initiatives are under Mediators Foundation’s auspices are making extraordinary contributions in a wide variety of fields: media and philanthropy, education and entertainment, and beyond.

But when we step back from our Project Directors’ achievements and survey the civic landscape, it is impossible to call it a “success.” Not when trust between citizens and in government is plummeting. Not when the very platforms on which we communicate are divisive and toxic. Not when there are forty mass shootings in America in less than a month. And not when our fragile democratic institutions are imperiled.

These times call, not for pride, but for humility. Consequently, we at Mediators Foundation have been asking ourselves:

• Why has our field of bridge-building and conflict transformation not been more effective?

• How might we best address the interwoven “polycrisis” of our time?

• How can we innovate?

This inquiry has led us to take an inner (neuropsychological) as well as outer (sociopolitical) approach to achieving our mission. Like our culture (and our funding sources), most of our projects have focused more on the outer than the inner. This integral approach will correct this imbalance and expand our portfolio of projects to more fully include the inner dimension.

In the past, Mediators tended to specialize on one or two “social issues” so that we could “make a difference.” Whether it was the Entertainment Summit in the 1980s, the Bipartisan Congressional Retreats in the 1990s, or more recent “cross-partisan” initiatives, our projects always focused on drawing out the best in our species. Building on research in “collaborative leadership,” we assumed that if we brought the right people together in constructive processes with reliable information, they would act in the best interests of the whole community. (Chrislip and Larson, Collaborative Leadership)

But something else was missing in that formulation. There is a design flaw not only in our social institutions but also in our neuropsychology. Like the internet itself, we are not wired solely for collaboration, co-creation, and peace but also for competition, survival, and conflict. So at Mediators Foundation, we are now taking a deeper look at this frontier and how the way our minds work intersects with the way our society works.

This more integral, inner-outer focus is reflected in both recent film projects in which Mediators has been involved.

First, Ben Rekhi's brilliant documentary The Reunited States, inspired by my book by that title, takes a deep look at the "heart-mind" dimension of the extreme polarization that currently grips our country. By profiling a set of inspiring citizens who are each doing the necessary "inner work," his film makes clear that democracy is truly an inside (as well as outside) job. During this past year, this message has reached a far wider audience through streaming and PBS than we ever thought possible.

Second, our deep concern about how social media is deepening our civic divides led us to ask the question: “If our media landscape isn’t working for us, how might we create one that does?”

To focus this question more sharply, Mediators Foundation funded a working draft of our short film called The Social Opportunity to bring attention to the topic. This year, we hope to move toward solutions in this arena with ongoing collaborative efforts with several colleagues.

Now let us share with you some of the specific projects that are enabling us to venture more deeply into this territory.

Directed by Mediators Board Advisor, Ron Kertzner, we are exploring the feasibility of the Inner Dimensions (or I.D.) Project. In the past few decades, advances in neuroscience and related fields — as well as greater public interest in awareness tools like meditation and biofeedback — have led individuals to upgrade their own ‘human operating system.’ Simultaneously, we have seen greater public focus on upgrading our ‘social operating systems,’ including elections, health care, economic opportunity, philanthropy, etc. The I.D. Project intends to serve as a missing link between these domains, bringing learning from the frontiers of neuroscience, cardio physiology, and consciousness to facilitate conflict resolution and bridge-building from the inside out. This will be facilitated through video and podcast interviews, including simple and actionable steps, as well as ongoing training for those who seek to deepen their understanding and experience. We look forward to sharing more details and ways to support this initiative in the coming months.

We are also delighted to have Pedro S. Silva, Director of Engagement at YOUnify, join Mediators as Project Director of his new Liberation Comedy Project. This project’s mission is to leverage the natural response of laughing with others to foster deeper relating. Before there was language, there was laughter. At its best, laughter has been one of the healthiest forms of human expression — releasing tension to create the emotional space to transform discomfort into insight and stereotypes into compassion. With the Liberation Comedy Project, we will help participants examine their “sense of humor” and learn how to activate it consciously in the service of bridging divides and connecting across difficult subjects. This project will likely begin with a monthly series of in-person comedy shows to explore how laughter can connect us. In the spirit of collaboration, please contact us with any ideas you may have about comedians who might be a good fit for this work.

Also featured on our new website are other projects that recently joined Mediators Foundation and that share our mission. In different but complementary ways, both veteran TV producer Kim Spencer’s Transformational Media Fund and journalist Jonathan Stray’s Better Conflict Bulletin seek to improve our media diet. These two projects join a long-standing Mediators Foundation tradition of wanting the “media” to play a more positive role as a civic “mediator”.

Finally, Right Relationship Boulder (RRB) is working locally to transform how we view and collaborate with the original “owners” of the land on which we live. (This project inspired me to write a novel entitled Real Estate; an e-version is available upon request.)

Even with this momentum, we often wonder if we are doing enough. But that is a question that our children and grandchildren will answer, not us. (On a Personal Note: I became a great-grandfather this year, and my colleague Riley Krull’s first child is due in late April.)

Our role is to serve as a lighthouse, illuminating not only our own projects but also a wider community of cross-generational, civic activism. Thank you for sharing that mission with us.

Yours in gratitude and collaboration,

Mark Gerzon
Founder and President
Mediators Foundation