What is the history of the organisation?
Search For Common Ground was founded in 1982 by John Marks, who is still the President and CEO of the organisation. Marks was a US diplomat who resigned from the State Department to protest policies on Vietnam. He went on to become a peace activist and a successful author and investigative journalist. His approach was initially adversarial until he realised that to promote sustainable change, he needed to work with the people he disagreed with, rather than against them. This same attitude is the underlying principle behind Search For Common Ground. We work to transform the way the world deals with conflict, helping opposing parties better understand each other and act co-operatively on their common ground. Marks applied this approach first to US-USSR relations, facilitating visits and discussions between the two countries at the height of the Cold War. He also focused on the most divisive issues in America at the time-abortion and gun control. Early on, he saw the power of the media to
