Ifound - Ifound

Dialogue and Impact

Based in Cambridge, the International Forum for Understanding promotes constructive dialogue and impactful solutions for urgent contemporary challenges such as:

nuclear, biological, chemical, and strategic conventional weapons (NBC and SCW)
disarmament, arms control, and non-proliferation
migration and refugee issues
human trafficking and modern slavery
rule of law
women, peace and security
empowerment in the context of age, gender, and nationality

Through facilitating discussion among opinion leaders, decision-makers and an innovative range of actors, the International Forum for Understanding focuses on achieving actionable results informed by diverse, intergenerational perspectives.

SDGs

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are at the core of our activities. And we firmly believe that implementation is the key to success.

While addressing shared challenges, the interconnected SDGs define: “A blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all by 2030”. In turn, the International Forum for Understanding engages globally to facilitate cross-sectional solutions.

We realize that gender and race are linked to education and human rights, poverty and disarmament, environmental degradation and climate change…

Understanding the cross-cutting nature of contemporary issues, we gather unique voices to create effective and sustainable results.

Nuclear

Our approach to nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation is unique and comprehensive.

We support existing structures while facilitating dialogue on new initiatives; we understand historical context while addressing the impact of disruptive technologies on today’s nuclear stability.

Confidence-building measures to enhance trust and avert hostilities are at our core; we promote education, communication, transparency, verification – and impactful connections to the SDGs. For example, we implemented a unique event during COP26: ‘Nuclear Climate Change: An Interactive Forum Based on the Sustainable Development Goals.’

Executive Director Les Simm has worked on nuclear issues with the UN, international organisations, academic institutions and the Norwegian Nobel Institute.

In this Nobel Peace Center – Ignitor Podcast, he discusses ‘The Youth Perspective – The nuclear burden.’

Human Trafficking

We aim at innovating and implementing effective solutions for dealing with human trafficking and its aftermath. By emphasizing the voices of individuals with lived experience, we:

amplify their important messages and showcase their multidimensionality
engage and empower others facing related challenges
destigmatise while depicting human trafficking in a variety of contexts

We have held two events and art exhibitions for the World Day against Trafficking: 2021 in Vienna and 2022 in London.

Visit our interactive showcase Learning Hub to explore our multimedia resources.

Projects

The International Forum for Understanding serves as a centralized source for a variety of other projects which we initiate, develop and implement.

Explore the samples below:

SDG2030.me
Every month, we gather an unexpected constellation of players focused on achieving actionable results in specific, urgent areas connected to the Sustainable Development Goals.

MESPERO: Impact for Resilience
We combine leading-edge business consulting with creating multi-stakeholder partnerships to mobilize knowledge and resources for building mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) capacity in humanitarian settings.

We also showcase projects from others:

Women, Peace and Security
Betsy Kawamura, founder of Women4NonViolence, is interviewed on topics such as the Battle of Okinawa, North Korean refugee women, and the Status of Force Agreement SOFA.