Search for Common Ground - SFCG

Search for Common Ground (or SFCG) 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. Shamil Idriss became President and CEO in September 2014. Prior to taking on his role with Search, Shamil was the CEO for Soliya, and served as Executive Director of the Alliance of Civilizations Media Fund which merged with Soliya in 2009. In 2005, he was appointed by then-UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan as Deputy Director of the UN Alliance of Civilizations. He served on the Steering Committee of the World Economic Forum's Council of 100 Leaders and is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders and of the ASMA Society’s Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow.