NEW YORK | Former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright was honored with the 2012 John P. Wallach Peacemaker Award for her decades of service at the annual Seeds of Peace Spring Dinner on May 16.
She was joined by Google Ideas Director Jared Cohen, who received the Young Peacemaker Award.
Over 380 people attended the dinner, held at the Conrad New York Hotel, which raised $1.36M in support of Seeds of Peace programs worldwide.
Secretary Albright first welcomed Seeds to the State Department in 1997, and one of the Seeds she had inspired presented the Secretary with her award. The Seed, an Afghan named Parnian, is now working to facilitate Afghan women’s empowerment through education and advised President Karzai on radicalization in Afghan society.
Cobi, an American Seed and co-founder of a project called Dorm Room Diplomacy that has won acclaim from the likes of President Bill Clinton, presented the Young Peacemaker Award to Jared Cohen of Google Ideas.
Cohen, whose global initiatives “think/do” tank “combines a new generation of thinkers with technology to tackle some of the world’s most intractable problems,” expressed gratitude to Seeds of Peace and spoke briefly about his experiences before inviting two more Seeds to join him in discussion.
This conversation between Jared Cohen, Palestinian Seed Mahmoud, and Israeli Seed Lior gave those gathered insight into the ways in which Seeds of Peace can affect someone’s professional and personal experiences years beyond a summer in Maine.
Both Seeds spoke about the ability of media, technology, and communications to influence and inspire. Lior, a correspondent for Israeli TV, remarked on the ways in which his relationships with Palestinians made what would otherwise be perfunctory news stories much more personal and on the potential of the weapon he had wielded—not a gun, but something “even more powerful—a microphone.”
The three emphasized the importance of exploring technological avenues for peacemaking, acknowledging that Seeds and other youth gain ever more responsibility for their own futures as increasing global social networking enables them to amplify their voices.
In her keynote speech, Secretary Albright reaffirmed her belief that Seeds embody a “faith in the ability of people to liberate themselves from the past through the simple process of talking to one another, sharing their doubts and fears, participating side by side in everyday tasks and discovering the aspirations and values that they hold in common.”
“We can never effectively serve the groups to which we belong if we lose sight of the common humanity that connects us all,” she said.
She opened and concluded her speech with a call for those present to rededicate themselves to Seeds of Peace, “to the uplifting vision of John and Janet Wallach, and Leslie Adelson Lewin and any others whose dream this organization has been.”
“Their example reminds us that leadership matters, and that each of us can in fact make a difference … In response to [the cynics] who would keep us down, let us vow this evening to push back and struggle upward until finally we break through.”
Siwar, a Palestinian Seed living in Israel, provided a musical interlude on violin and voice. A short video premiered during the event featured Seeds in locations around the world who expressed what they have learned through Seeds of Peace.
EVENT PHOTOS
As a peace activist, I was drawn to look up Seeds of Peace on the Internet as I had seen a young person wearing one of your t-shirts. It is important that our youth are involved in peace; our future is dependent on it.
Your organization looked good to me to the point I though of inquiring what I could do to promote your group–that is till I came across this article of Madeleine Albright accepting a peace award. Are you not familar with Albright’s response to 60 Minute’s Leslie Stahl about U.S. sanctions against Iraq? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RM0uvgHKZe8