Berghof Foundation: 50 years of conflict transformation

Foreword by the
Executive Director
The Berghof Foundation
is a very special organisation —
an intellectual and ethical space
unlike any other.
In 2021, in new premises, under new management,
using new methods and operating in a world utterly
different from what it was when Berghof’s visionary
founder created it half a century ago, one can still
see in today’s far larger organisation some of the
elements that made it special back then. Deep pride
in the organisation’s work on peacebuilding, mediation
and other forms of conflict transformation has been
a constant feature.
Established to help reduce East-West
tensions at the height of the Cold War, its willingness
and ability to adapt to changing circumstances
have always been Berghof’s strengths, while its
fundamental goals and principles have stayed the
same. The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the
subsequent disintegration of some major states
led to key changes: as a result of the wars in former
Yugoslavia and the Caucasus, Berghof shifted its
focus towards intra-state conflicts.
The ill-conceived “Global War on Terror”
after 2001 brought further shifts, with our work
focusing on resistance and liberation movements
that wanted support in negotiations, and on making
societies more inclusive.
More recently, Berghof has been adapting
to a digitalised world in which mass disinformation
and hate speech have become hallmarks; to a planet
facing ecocide through climate change; to the
uncertainties and constraints brought about by the
COVID-19 pandemic; and to dramatic changes in the
status and postures of world superpowers.
Our founder Georg Zundel created and
supported a number of institutions. In 2012, three
of them were merged into one. This has meant that
the current Berghof Foundation is now based on
a triad of complementary activities — one of the
features of Berghof that make us truly unique —
combining operational support for regional peace
initiatives; practical research into multiple layers
of conflict transformation; and global learning with
peace education.
During its five decades of intensive work,
Berghof has managed to build up a solid reputation
in two broad areas. The first is its intellectual and
practical competence; the second is the ethical
underpinnings that lie behind its activities. For Berghof
staff, peace has always signified much more than
the absence of violent conflict, and this is why such
emphasis is placed on dealing systemically with
the complex structural, root causes of conflict in all
their forms. Working on a number of mediation and
peacebuilding tracks, Berghof constantly analyses
evolving conditions in the areas, countries and
regions where it operates. And then it puts its ideas
into effect using a wide variety of approaches and
techniques, including grassroots reconciliation and
peace education, participatory research and policy
reviews, and high-level dialogue and mediation
support. The aim is to tackle the underlying causes
of conflicts — human rights violations, exclusion and
discrimination, as well as manipulation of historical
narratives — thereby reducing tensions
and transforming conflicts.
Reviewing the record, one can identify four
broad strokes of good fortune that seem to have
consistently helped Berghof on its peacebuilding
path. The first is the quality and commitment of its
staff since the very beginning. The second is the
unstinting support of the founder and his family.
The third is our long-standing cooperation with
many dedicated partners in conflict contexts around
the world. And the fourth is that we are based in a
country which, to my mind, has an unmatched record
in dealing with its own past and in implementing
a foreign policy that strongly promotes mediated
peace, human rights, democracy and environmental
values — although this does not mean that over the
decades, especially in our earlier years, Berghof has
not criticised German policy whenever it felt that this
was necessary. Our organisation continues to receive
generous project funding, mainly from the German
Federal Foreign Office, as well as from a number of
other important donors. We are deeply grateful to
everyone concerned in all four areas.
In the pages that follow, which are based on
contributions received from most of the approximately
100 staff who currently work for the organisation,
we have attempted to provide a flavour of Berghof’s
work over the past 50 years, and show what it is
really about. It demonstrates great breadth of
activity and an extremely impressive record of
achievement. Building on the foundational work of
our predecessors, of whom we are so proud, and on
the efforts of our colleagues in the field, and learning
from all our experiences, both good and bad, we have
little doubt that whatever form our 100th anniversary
takes, it will reflect a record that is truly remarkable.
Andrew Gilmour
Executive Director
Berghof Foundation
Berlin
Summer 2021
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