SPECIAL REPORT
Reaching
A
Spring 2006
out
region by region
t Seeds of Peace, it is essential to maintain and nurture the momentum and learning that results from our young “Seeds” summer camp experience. To that end, the last few months have witnessed some important regional programs in both the Middle East and South Asia.
IN THE MIDDLE EAST This fall and winter, Seeds have shared holidays, engaged in political dialogue, trained in facilitation, made presentations at schools and in local and international communities, and published a new issue of The Olive Branch, the youth magazine written, edited and produced by Seeds of Peace graduates. Below are some key highlights from the past few months at the Center. • With the Jewish holidays of Yom Kippur, Sukkot, and Rosh Hashanah coinciding with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Seeds shared holiday traditions along with their friends from other faiths. Arab and Jewish Israelis opened their homes to fellow Seeds, feasted on special meals, and exchanged holiday customs.
Mangesh Kamble
• Hosted by the municipality of Badalona, Spain and their local basketball team (Club Joventut), Israeli and Palestinian Seeds traveled to Spain for Dialogues for Peace, a week-long trip where Seeds not only played basketball, but engaged in dialogue alongside host community members about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the conflict between Catalonia and Spain.
“The past few months I felt like
Seeds of Peace was no longer for me but after these two days, I felt like I was reborn – the workshop was amazing!
”
– Israeli Seed, 1999
• To expand into the greater community around the Center for Coexistence, Seeds of Peace organized a weekly dialogue group composed of Palestinian and Israeli students from Al-Quds University and Hebrew University. The group is being monitored, recorded, and watched by 15 graduate Seeds who are using this experience to gain advanced skills in facilitation. • In December, as part of the Seeds of Peace Graduate Program, a 2-day political seminar was held with over 40 Israeli Seeds participating. Guest speakers engaged in discussions with the Seeds focusing on the role of politics and its intersection with Israeli media, economics and religion. This program was made possible by Dr. Allen Hyman. (cont’d on p.2)
cont’d from page 1
Dear Friends, As many of you know, Aaron David Miller stepped aside as President of Seeds of Peace at the end of 2005 to devote more time to his writing. However, in his new role as Senior Advisor, Aaron will remain significantly involved in the organization. For several months, the board of directors conducted an extensive search to find a replacement for Aaron. Upon his departure I was asked to serve as Acting President while the interviewing process continued. Last month I was greatly honored to be asked to accept the position of President on a permanent basis and I look forward to working with our board and staff to create an accomplished team that can achieve the dreams and ideas of my late husband John Wallach. This organization has been a major part of my life since John created and founded it 13 years ago.We miss him deeply, but I know he would be pleased by all that we have achieved in the past few years, and by what we plan to do in the future. Mahatma Gandhi once said that “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” This is what Seeds of Peace is about and it is the philosophy we instill in our Seeds graduates because we know they have the ambition, dedication and knowledge to one day create this change. In just a few months, several hundred new Seeds will step off the bus at our International Camp in Maine and undergo the powerful and transformational experience that our program provides. Here, they will learn to realize that no matter the circumstances, they have the power to affect change within themselves, their community, their region, and ultimately, the rest of the world. I look forward to keeping you updated on our progress and I thank you for not only your support, but for being an inspiration to our Seeds to create this change. Best Regards,
To start 2006 off right, Seeds of Peace held its first-ever South Asia Regional Conference for almost 100 Indian, Pakistani, and Afghan Seeds and adult educators. Held in Karjat, India, this 4day workshop taught the Seeds and teachers about dealing with conflicts and encouraged them to apply their training to dialogue across national divides. The
overall
theme,
Conversations:
Building
Creative Bridges,
focused on strengthening skills, knowledge and attitudes related to the issues that divide and unite South Asian Seeds and educators. Together and separately, the youth and educators learned about culturally suitable dialogue models, analyzed strategies that support conflict transformation, practiced and applied listening and speaking skills, and assessed ways to keep dialogue channels open, in spite of potentially contentious issues. This conference was largely supported through a grant from the Department of State, Bureau for Education and Cultural Affairs.
“This conference was a milestone. It was a
milestone because it was the first of its kind; it was a milestone because it was crossgenerational; it was a milestone because it was productive and challenging and fun… and it was a milestone, because, more than anything else, it brought us all together... It was truly South Asia.
”
– Pakistani Seed, 2002
A “Legendary” Journey To Remember February 16, 2006
Over 900 guests were transported to the Middle East and South Asia during A Journey through the Peace Market, a benefit hosted by the NYC Young Leadership Committee. This 8th annual fundraiser helped to raise over $800K and featured 3-time Grammy-winner and “Best New Artist” John Legend. Celebrity guests included Chelsea Cooley (Miss USA), Billy Crudup, Claire Danes, Tovah Feldshuh, Gilbert Gottfried and Gideon Yago from MTV who acted as emcee. Cultural specialties such as a hookah tent, a Moroccan tea and coffee salon sponsored by the Moroccan consulate, belly dancers, sitar players, henna artists and calligraphers, and backgammon tables delighted the guests during the festive night.
Keith Gerchick
Special Events
Madame Chang Photography
Keith Gercnick
Janet Wallach President
IN SOUTH ASIA
Mangesh Kamble
letter from the president
Reaching Out Region by Regioin
Seeds Study Social Entrepreneurship The Education Program, which helps over 120 Seed graduates studying in U.S. schools, held a 3-day seminar on the concept of social entrepreneurship for 40 Seeds Scholars from the Middle East, South Asia, and the Balkans. The participating Seeds used this seminar to better understand how corporations, foundations, non-profits, and individuals are globally making a difference and creating positive change. Seeds also had the opportunity to engage, network, and partner with each other on socially conscious projects for their schools, communities, and home countries.
Throughout the conference, the Seeds heard from and were guided by successful social entrepreneurs including Shamil Idriss, Deputy Director of the UN Office of the Alliance of Civilizations, Daniel Lubetsky, founder of the not-only-for-profit Peaceworks, Amy Eldon, author, filmmaker and host of PBS GlobalTribe, and Paul Meyers, named one of 100 Global Leaders for Tomorrow by the World Economic Forum. Partnerships have already formed between the Seeds for over 20 innovative projects they conceptualized and proposed. An Egyptian and Israeli Seed are creating a business plan for a socially-conscious fashion company, and a Jordanian Seed organized a campus discussion about the controversial Danish cartoons. One thing was certain – these Seeds left the seminar energized and enthusiastic about their ability to make a difference.
Delegation Leaders Engage Community The Delegation Leaders Program launched exciting advanced learning initiatives for both adult educators who attended the International Camp as well as their colleagues. Through these programs, the educators are better able to communicate and engage with others and reach out to their respective communities. One new arts and culture program at the Center for Coexistence, Seeds Café, is bringing together adult supporters of the Seeds of Peace mission of peaceful coexistence. The monthly Seeds Café is an opportunity for discussion, dialogue, and thoughtful exchange focused on topics related to literature, film, music, poetry, popular arts, and letters. These social evenings support personal exchanges that counteract stereotyping and fear of the other. The event provides Israelis, Palestinians, Jews, Muslims and Christians with a supportive forum for continuous dialogue and cultural exchange. Through its network of educators in Gaza who previously attended the Seeds of Peace International Camp, the Delegation Leaders Program launched an initiative for teachers called Toward Tolerance and Peaceful Society. This 60-hour course, held at Al-Aqsa University in Gaza, emphasized the value of peace and tolerance, and demonstrated to teachers how to incorporate these critical issues within their classrooms and extend them into their communities. These programs were largely supported through grants from the US Agency for International Development, Bureau for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance.
This program was supported by a grant from Elihu Leifer in memory of Rabbi Daniel Leifer.
Winter Wonderland Gala
Keith Gerchick
Photos from left to right: John Legend; Permanent Representative of Egypt to the UN Maged Abdel Aziz and Pakistani Seed Sahar Bandial; Claire Danes and Billy Crudup;Tovah Feldshuh and Sotheby's auctioneer Christopher Gaillard; Event Co-Chairs Sebastian Stubbe and David Strasser, and Emcee Gideon Yago. Right photo:The Ambassador of Jordan and Mrs. Kawar with Mrs. Dingell and Representative John Dingell.
Ralph Alswang
Keith Gerchick
March 4, 2006
Seeds of Peace hosted its 2nd annual Winter Gala in Washington DC at the Organization for American States. Chaired by White House Chief of Staff Andrew H. Card, the black-tie affair featured an Ambassadors’ reception, and Israeli, Palestinian, Indian, Pakistani and Afghan Seeds of Peace graduates.
On December 22, 2005, Seeds of Peace ran a public service announcement “The story from the Middle East that is not being told” in the New York Times and the Washington Post. Thanks to ExxonMobil who generously donated the ad space, and TM Advertising who donated the design, the PSA generated much attention for Seeds of Peace during the holiday season, highlighting to readers both what the organization has accomplished and where its graduates are headed in the future. Seeds of Peace thanks ExxonMobil as well as all its corporate supporters for their commitment to the organization and its graduates.
In January, former US President Bill Clinton recognized Seeds of Peace and its people-to-people program as one of the critical ways to understand the other side. Addressing global leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Clinton remarked it was all about “personal contact.” Seeds of Peace, said Clinton, is carrying out this vital work of bringing people together; in fact, Clinton even commented that he wished he had devoted more time when he was President to peopleto-people programs like ours. It's nice to know that around the world, leaders are not only taking notice of Seeds of Peace, but publicly recognizing the importance and value of the work we do.
SAVE THE DATES Tuesday, April 4, 2006 – FORUM ON CONFLICT & DIPLOMACY in New York featuring Steven R. Weisman, The New York Times. Thursday, May 22, 2006 – MAY GALA in New York City featuring Suzanne Mubarak, First Lady of the Republic of Egypt.
Photo by World Economic Forum/swiss-image.ch
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