Healing the Past to create a Shared Future
Mary Hoch Foundation
Our Mission
The Mary Hoch Foundation partners with communities to address conflict and social injustice, by working within the social and cultural frameworks of the community itself. We conduct cutting edge research and support leading actors on the ground to better understand and support long-term social healing in peace and reconciliation processes.
Organizations We Support
Mary Hoch Foundation provides core support, which was established in 2019 within the prestigious Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution at George Mason University. The Center works with leading scholars and practitioners as well as aspiring graduate students in conducting research, producing publications, and offering training programs to reconcilers from around the globe.
The Mary Hoch Foundation also provides core support for the Think Peace Learning and Support Hub, which hosts collaborative spaces with practitioners and communities to co-create and advance social healing. In its widely shared podcasts, tailored trainings, and peer support and co-creation spaces, leading actors offer their insights in healing-centered practices for those aspiring to help heal their divided communities.
Our Impact
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![Rowda Olad, Tecla Namachanja Wanjala and Mwanamisi Suleimani during co-creation workshop in Kenya in November 2023 (picture Antti Pentikainen).]()
Social Healing in the Horn of Africa
Amidst conflict and violence in the Horn of Africa, we are identifying innovative ways to integrate healing into peace processes, within the cultural, religious, and social fabric of the community, which are yielding promising results. We have recently held two co-creation workshops with more than forty insider-reconcilers attending from five countries in order to learn, share, and inspire their peers.
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![Sámi scholar and artist Päivi Magga during reindeer calf marking in 2020 (picture Antti Pentikäinen).]()
Indigenous Communities Integrating Cultural Practices
Indigenous peoples across the world are seeking to integrate their wisdom, cultural practices and ceremony into their mental health services. We work with Arrow Creek Wellness in accompanying indigenous, First Nations, and tribal communities in the North America and the Sámi in the Nordic Countries.
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![Screenshot of PBS news about Iowa City TRC.]()
Seeking Truth and Healing in the United States
Think Peace supports Iowa City Truth and Reconciliation Commission - as well as efforts in e.g. Oregon, Maine, Vermont and North Carolina to seek ways to face historical legacies of injustice and advance social healing in divided communities.
Advancing reconciliation in Somalia
Finnish-Somali journalist Wali Hashi founded the Day of Forgiveness in Somalia. Media was central tool to reach the people in the war-torn nation. The programs featured e.g. reconciliatory encounters between survivors and perpetrators illuminating hopes for shared future. Mary Hoch Foundation supported the launch of the process.
Out of Dark Into the Light
Out of the Dark Into the Light-film is about the truth and reconciliation processes that have been launched both among the Sámi and the indigenous peoples of Alaska. The processes between the indigenous groups differ from each other and the film was produced as part of dialogue between indigenous people. It was directed by Ritva Torikka and funded by U.S. State Department.
Publications Supported
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NeuroPeace
NeuroPeace is an open-source publication sharing cutting-edge experience and data-based insights and, includes articles by scholars and practitioners exploring how neuroscientific insights can inform peacebuilding processes.
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Reconciler
Reconciler, published in collaboration with the United States Institute for Peace (USIP), examines twenty cases illustrating a diverse range of reconciliation processes and practices to better understand the assumptions shaping “reconciliation in practice”.
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Think Peace Podcast
Popular Think Peace Podcast informs and entertains as it explores the intersection of the human brain, psyche and the obstacles and opportunities to forging a lasting peace.
Invitation to Donate to the Mary Hoch Foundation
We live in a world where conflict has become the norm and peace elusive. Healing relationships is essential to break the cycles of conflict, but this is not well understood or supported. The Mary Hoch Foundation oversees the projects, ensures accountability, and helps you to remain closely involved with this work.
Your contribution will make a big difference. Donations help leverage the work of Think Peace and MHCR by enabling us to increase our support for insider-reconcilers and their efforts with the affected communities, provide training opportunities and disseminate ongoing research. Please join these efforts to help our communities and societies heal, making these efforts our joint legacy.