The BothAnd Project is a joint initiative of the Mainstream Media Project & the Harvard Global Negotiation Project


The objective of BothAnd is to shift the national conversation from destructive debate to creative problem-solving by demonstrating new forms of constructive interaction in the broadcast media as a catalyst to a broader transformation of our civic culture. 

Our goal is to replace either/or with BothAnd thinking as a more productive approach to divisive public issues.

Instead of assuming that either one side or the other is correct, BothAnd maintains that both one side and the other (or others) hold pieces of the answer and that only by combining the best of each can we invent the hybrid solutions that enable us to attain our highest rather than lowest common denominator.

Our domestic divisions pose a greater danger to our democratic republic than any foreign threat. Yet we can't coerce consensus. It must be the natural outcome of an open process of listening, hearing, and regaining respect for both our differences and our commonalities. BothAnd provides practical skills, training and resources that enable us to hear and speak effectively to one another and in the process generate creative syntheses that yield the greatest good for the greatest number. The project's website, BothAnd.org, is a public portal to diverse initiatives seeking to bridge the divides between us through media or face-to-face events at the community, regional, national and international level. We welcome your participation, insights and information about other initiatives undertaken in the BothAnd spirit.

BothAnd is a joint initiative of the Mainstream Media Project, a nonprofit public education organization working in broadcast media, and the Harvard Global Negotiation Project at Harvard Law School. It seeks to convey the insights, tools and skills developed from decades of practice in conflict resolution and mediation to broader publics to enable them to engage in creative and collaborative problem-solving at a time when partisanship has largely paralyzed conventional systems of governance and decisionmaking. As a "third side" between the warring parties, these publics are able to assert the common good and thus play a pivotal role in developing more effective approaches to our most pressing challenges

Utilizing the resources created by the Mainstream Media Project - Guests on Call and A World of Possibilities - BothAnd will place spokespersons on the airwaves.

• Guests on Call: Experts on various topics will be booked on radio talk shows where they will discuss the issues from a BothAnd perspective. In addition to educating the public about how to problem-solve, these guests will model BothAnd dialogue with the hosts and with listeners.
  
• A World of Possibilities: MMP's award-winning, weekly nationally syndicated radio talk show will regularly feature BothAnd topics and speakers. In 2004/2005 a series entitled "Convergence Conversations: From Either/Or to Both/And" was produced, and the programs "Media as Mediator: Transforming Conflict into Communication" and  "Will the Center Hold? Taming the Terror in Northern Ireland" focused on using BothAnd perspectives in conflicts. 
  
• Training: Specialized BothAnd orientations are being provided for spokespeople going on the air and will eventually be made available to members of the general public. Contact us for more information about training schedules.