A broad U.S. network designed to prevent violent conflict and build community cohesion.
As the events of January 6th, 2021, revealed, we are witnessing a test of our nation's resiliency and a challenge to America's history of peaceful democratic transitions. It was in anticipation of these challenges and the ones to come, that Mediators Beyond Borders International, in partnership with 25+ organizations and networks, stood up an early warning platform in October 2020. Members of the Network have been collaborating, convening, and sharing resources as we mobilize to provide support and leadership as peacebuilders.
In order to identify and de-escalate threats or instances of violence before, during and after the U.S. elections, we built a first-of-a-kind Early Warning Early Response mechanism developed specifically for the United States.
Having identified the need for an Early Warning Early Response platform [EWER, also called Early Warning Early Action (EWEA)] in the run-up to the 2020 elections, we are very quickly building a NATIONAL COHESION & SECURITY INFRASTRUCTURE. The aim is to Diminish Divides, Create Community Cohesion and Promote Peacebuilding to protect and strengthen American democracy. This infrastructure will have the capacity to address current and historical issues and to apply the power of a wide range of democracy, governance, and peacebuilding tools, in order to let the public generate and self-determine solutions to long-standing problems. We believe this was, and remains, the intent of the 1964 Civil Rights Act (Section 10).
NATIONAL COHESION & SECURITY INFRASTRUCTURE
Shared Civic Life * Shared Values of Liberty * Shared Interest for Justice to Thrive
Diminish Divides * Create Community Cohesion * Promote Peacebuilding
Structure and Goals
Mediators Beyond Borders International (MBBI) is serving as a convener and organizational host. Political Incident Reporting USA (PIRUSA) [formerly Election Incident Reporting (EIRUSA)], and the National Association for Community Mediation (NAFCM) are serving as co-conveners and key process facilitators.
We are clear that:
Violence mitigation and problem-solving are robust only when local organizations are involved.
Data-gathering and inter-network communication are useful only when networks of trustworthy people are in place.
Effective intervention is made possible by getting the right information, at the right time, to the right people, for the right response. This requires thoughtfully-constructed protocols that are both functional and flexible.