butterfly in hand

Bridging Divides, Reaching Connection, Mutual Support & Trust with Global Impact

An interactive discussion with Aviad Meitar, Ori Leshman and Mark Gerzon
Wednesday, 10 June • 9:00–10:30 AM ET


How can we, as philanthropists, create the conditions for better connecting people, for assisting them in mutually supporting each other to reach common goals and improve life together? How can we permanently solve long-lasting problems which we see in society everyday around the world? What is required to bring leaders together in a spirit of partnership, collaboration and cooperation in order to successfully address these challenges?

In essence, how can we build trust that is vital to resolve complex problems and reach cooperation?

Inspired by the experience in Israel of Music for Dialogue, which uses the disarming power of music to connect people and help them reach mutual support and responsibility, Synergos is developing a collaborative community within the Global Philanthropists Circle called the Global Dialogue Initiative. This initiative seeks to support philanthropists to:

  • share and integrate dialogue best practices into their philanthropic programs
  • jointly initiate programs and campaigns aimed to improve connection, mutual support and responsibility between people around the world with major global impact.

Join our speakers for a unique opportunity to further understand and influence our new Global Dialogue Initiative and discuss how we can together initiate and develop programs and campaigns that will create major impact on society overall.

Our time together will include small group breakouts listed below. You will be asked to choose your preferred discussion during registration:

  • Individual: share and discuss with group members your experiences, ideas and suggestions for how to promote dialogue on a personal and individual level.
  • Within philanthropy: describe how you see dialogue being applied within either your own philanthropy or supporting the causes which you care about.
  • Within society: share your experiences or ideas of how the dialogue process of building and strengthening relationships could lead to specific initiatives to resolve issues.

Participation in this event is by invitation only; contact your Synergos relationship manager or collaborate@synergos.org for more information.

 

Our Speakers

Aviad Meitar

aviad-meitar-headshotAviad Meitar is a Co-Founder and active Chairman of the social enterprise Music for Dialogue (MFD), which uses music as a tool for fostering communication and mitigating conflicts. This venture has implemented various programs in academies, in high schools and others. A new academic institute has formed at Tel Aviv University’s School of Education to house this venture.


Mr. Meitar was a 2016 Fellow of the Advanced Leadership Initiative at Harvard University, in which he developed a project that led to the formation of Music for Dialogue. He has been the Chairman of Quadrant European Beverages Limited, the Pepsi bottler for Bulgaria from 2007 to 2017. He served as Chairman of Quadrant Amorq Bottling Company Limited (QABCL), the exclusive PepsiCo licensee for Romania and Moldova, from 1991 until its successful sale to PepsiAmericas in 2006. He set up QABCL's operation in Romania in 1991 and had oversight managerial responsibility for the company’s operations for 15 years. Mr. Meitar has been a Senior Executive with Quadrant Management, the New York based management arm of a private investment fund, for over 25 years.


He received his Bachelor of Law degree from Tel Aviv University School of Law and his MBA from Boston University Graduate School of Management. Mr. Meitar is married and has three children. He plays the French Horn with various amateur orchestras.

Dr. Ori Leshman

ori-leshman-headshotDr. Ori Leshman is a musicologist, conductor, composer and senior lecturer in the fields of music, education, communications and society in leading academic institutions in Israel, including Tel Aviv University and the Interdisciplinary Centre Herzliya.


He is the Director of The Venture for Promoting Dialogue through Music at the School of Education, Tel Aviv University and Co-Founder of the Music for Dialogue venture. He sees his mission as that of using the power of music to contribute and to improve social, educational and cultural processes in Israel and worldwide. Dr. Leshman has rich international experience in music composition and performance. He has conducted many orchestras, including in opera houses, in Israel and abroad, such as the Verdi Theatre opera house in Trieste, Italy; the Israeli Philharmonic; the Johannesburg Philharmonic; the Israeli Chamber Orchestra; the Israel Camerata Jerusalem, and more.


He was awarded the Ministry of Culture Prize for his composition Oriental Fair; the Rabinovitz Fund for the Arts Prize for his composition Leah; and the Bar- Ilan University President’s award for his study of the music of Kurt Weil. He has set many poems to music and his works are played in Israel and abroad. Dr. Leshman is currently also serving as the artistic director of the Israeli Festival Childhood Sounds.

Mark Gerzon

mark-gerzon-headshotMark Gerzon is President of Mediators Foundation and the author of several books on leadership, conflict resolution, and global identity. For organizations ranging from the United Nations Development Program to the World Bank to Synergos, he has conducted training and facilitated workshops on dialogue and bridging leadership.


He is Co-Director of Philanthropy Bridging Divides, a project he co-founded that brings senior foundation executives together from across the partisan divide to seek common ground. His current domestic work, which focuses on creating a new political paradigm of collaboration, is chronicled in his most recent book, The Reunited States of America: How We Can Bridge the Partisan Divide.