Coexistence International (CI) is a program based at Brandeis University’s International Center for Ethics, Justice and Public Life. Dedicated to strengthening the coexistence field, CI engages with practitioners who are positioned to build positive coexistence in their own settings - across different areas of work and different regions.
CI’s mission is born from our commitment to building socially inclusive societies. CI’s vision for socially inclusive societies holds that diversity is embraced for its positive potential, respect for persons is a core value, interdependence between different groups is recognized, equality is actively pursued, and the use of weapons to address conflicts is increasingly obsolete.Â
In support of its mission, CI facilitates the creation of coexistence networks, develops resources for practitioners, informs public policy,  and promotes the use of a coexistence ‘lens’ in complementary fields such democracy-building, transitional justice, human rights and the arts.  Â
Complementarity
There are many potential causes to conflict, and the responses to address them should be strategic and multi-pronged. CI promotes a complementary approach to preventing and resolving conflict in which individuals and organizations working in related fields (eg: coexistence, democracy-building, transitional justice) understand that their effectiveness depends upon each others’ efforts. They do their work with awareness of, and sometimes in coordination or collaboration with, other fields. The absence of such complementarity can lead to missed opportunities or unsustainable outcomes.
Coexistence Lens
Applying a coexistence lens to ones work entails taking into account the values of coexistence, and maximizing the degree to which the values of equality, diversity, inter-dependence, respect are incorporated into ones approach. CI believes that a coexistence perspective and values have a role to play in areas of work such as democracy-building, transitional justice and human rights, and similarly, that, coexistence efforts will benefit from the approaches and strategies of other fields.
CIÂ receives funding from the Alan B. Slifka Foundation and the Compton Foundation.
