SEEDS OF PEACE
BULLETIN
Empowering Children of War to Break the Cycles of Violence “We can never find redemption in another person’s destruction. People in power have to accept the wisdom that has been embraced by Seeds of Peace. This is not youthful idealism.” Hon. William Jefferson Clinton, 42nd President of the United States
As Seeds of Peace moves forward with finalizing summer plans for 2003, we are wrapping up many successful programmatic and fundraising activities and events. Take a look below to learn about all our exciting news.
AT T H E O F F I C E Seeds of Peace is pleased to welcome its new President, Aaron David Miller. Previously Aaron worked as the Senior Adviser for Arab-Israeli Negotiations at the Department of State. Since 1978, Aaron helped formulate U.S. policy on the Middle East and the Arab-Israel peace process at the State Department. He served as an adviser to six Secretaries of State, as the Deputy Special Middle East Coordinator for Arab-Israeli negotiations, as a Senior Member of the State Department's Policy Planning Staff, in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research, and in the Office of the Historian. Aaron was a good friend to Seeds of Peace Founder, John Wallach, and has always worked passionately and tirelessly for Seeds of Peace and its mission. The Seeds of Peace staff and its board are thrilled to have Aaron now officially join us and are looking forward to his visionary leadership. Aaron will be working out of the Seeds of Peace Washington D.C. office.
AROUND THE WORLD Since fall, Seeds of Peace has been holding exciting coexistence workshops and conferences all over the globe. In the Middle East, the Seeds of Peace Center for Coexistence recently held a Leadership Reunion in the Negev
desert with over 120 Israeli and Palestinian alumni from 1993 all the way through the grads of 2002. The reunion gave the Seeds a meaningful yet fun-filled experience while deeply exploring the idea of leadership. This event was no small feat; it represented one of the biggest IsraeliPalestinian activities Seeds of Peace has held since the Intifada erupted two years ago. The fact that our graduates came together now, in greater numbers than ever, to renew and revive the Seeds of Peace traditions and memories, demonstrates a powerful statement about the endurance, passion and dedication of the Seeds themselves and Seeds of Peace as an institution. In fact, only Seeds of Peace has been able to continue bringing Israelis and Palestinians together during this period of unrest. Beyond the Middle East, Marieke van Woerkom, the Director of Education for Seeds of Peace, traveled to South East Europe to reunite with Balkan graduates and their Delegation Leaders. She made connections on the ground with NGOs, educators, government officials and others to explore possibilities for regional programming. In addition, Marieke ran several coexistence sessions with youth from Bosnia, Serbia, Macedonia, Albania and Kosovo/a. The Adult Delegation Leader program also made great strides this winter. In December, a Seeds of Peace “Peace Partners” Conference took place entitled “Education and Civic Leadership in Areas of Conflict” in BosniaHerzegovina and Croatia. The conference participants, primarily comprised of last summer’s Delegation Leaders from the Middle East, and the ArabAmerican and Jewish-American Peace
WINTER 2 0 0 2 / 0 3 Partners from Detroit and Washington D.C., met to renew friendships, continue their political dialogue, and to learn together, as professional peers, about the role of civic education and community leadership in post-war Bosnia.
A R O U N D TO W N Over 1,500 guests joined Seeds of Peace and its Young Leadership Committee on January 14th at the 5th Annual Bid for Peace Celebrity Auction in NYC. Seeds of Peace was honored to have former President Bill Clinton join us at the event and receive the first-ever John P. Wallach Peacemaker Award for his commitment to Seeds of Peace and the ideals and passion demonstrated by the Seeds of Peace Founder. We were also fortunate to have Actress/Comedienne Janeane Garofalo host the event and the pop band, Barenaked Ladies perform live and accept another first-ever award the MTV Networks Seeds of Peace Award. Between the celebrity entertainment and over 200 premium auction items, Seeds of Peace was able to raise significant funds for its programs that now seem more critical than ever. Our event planning continues, however. Seeds of Peace will be holding its annual Concert for Peace in the Middle East Gala on April 28, 2003 at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center in New York City. Please keep checking our website for more information on this event that we guarantee will be yet another incredible Seeds of Peace function.
We are gearing up for quite an exciting time for Seeds of Peace under our new leadership and we will do our best to keep you involved and informed. Please keep checking our redesigned website (www.seedsofpeace.org) and look for more frequent updates and announcements via email.
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