Through much of the twentieth century and now into the twenty-first, the United States, as a superpower, has assumed the role of “international peace keeper.” The motives, intentions, values and results of some of the US’s interventions have been often questioned. But the example set by the US government and the genuine compassion and philanthropy of many individual Americans, have fostered the growth of a large conflict resolution community within the greater American charitable and non-governmental community. Yet, despite the millions of dollars of charitable donations, the tireless, hard work of generally well-educated but low-paid NGO staff, and the leadership and guiding theory of some of the nation’s most brilliant minds, “conflict resolution” has fallen out of favor with funders and philanthropic foundations because of a lack of results.

A commitment to our peers…

As part of its mission statement, the ICFC is now actively promoting and teaching our unique approach towards identity-based conflicts to other conflict resolution professionals. Over the past several years, we have been in the process of demonstrating that our approaches yield better results and are capable of renewing the interest and faith in the ability of non-governmental actors to contribute to peace making. At the ICFC, we have great respect for the many other organizations that seek to prevent and resolve conflict, both domestically and internationally. By introducing focus on historical narratives and collective memory, and integrating these into a systemic process and skills-oriented packages, we hope to help others in their quest to resolve protracted conflicts between communities divided by historical, cultural, or religious issues.