The Balcony Channel

Over the past year, Cynthia and Bruce Allyn have conducted over sixty interviews in the US and Russia with current and former officials, experts, thought leaders, comedians, and people on the street. They are now creating “The Balcony Channel,” featuring conversations between Americans and Russians filmed in Moscow, Los Angeles and other cities, towns, villages, national parks and other places in both countries.

These conversations will give a clear window into the hearts and minds of Americans and Russians. But that is not all. Participants will be invited to see US-Russian relations from the perspective of what mediators call “the balcony,” where you seek to see both sides to a conflict from “above the fray,” from what mediation expert William Ury has called a “Third Side” perspective.

The videos will model and instruct by example how to realize the power of listening, respect, empathy, to rise to the challenge of putting yourself in the other side’s shoes, taking a hard look at our very real differences and how to deal constructively with one another in areas where we disagree.

The conversations will be facilitated in person by Bruce and Cynthia with the participation of others in person or by live video connection, including William Ury, leading media personalities in the US and Russia, musicians, artists and more.

Not only will the facilitators ask questions that invite people to view the conflict from the metaphorical balcony, the participants will actually be sitting on a real balcony whether in someone’s home, a Moscow theater, a Broadway theater, a department store, a mountaintop or other locations.

The Balcony Channel will use as a guiding inspiration the ancient Tibetan prophecy that says, in a time of great planetary danger, we are called to use the “weapons” of compassion and insight and see

“…that the battle is not between good people and bad people, for the line between good and evil runs through every human heart. We realize that we are interconnected, as in a web, and that each act with pure motivation affects the entire web, bringing consequences we cannot measure or even see.”

The aim is to go to the roots of conflict, to prevention, to healing, locally and globally.

The Balcony Channel will start with a focus on US-Russian relations, and then expand to include other global conflicts.

Free to the US and Russian public, and everyone everywhere.