Seeds of Peace

Delegation Leaders Summer Program

Each summer session, a diverse group of approximately 20 educators and community leaders escort the teenagers on their long journey to camp. Serving as a resource for the youth, the delegation leaders form a dynamic international community of adults, coming from numerous countries. Their weeks at camp are primarily spent engaged in their own active coexistence program designed for adult professionals. The summer camp program for Delegation Leaders is designed to increase participants’ understanding of one another and their understanding of their political conflicts. Led by a Seeds of Peace staff of mature educators and facilitators, the Delegation Leaders Program offers adults, from 30-65 years of age, the opportunity to share ordinary as well as professional experiences with educators from other countries. Daily the Delegation Leaders share meals, educational discussions, challenging political conversations, and relaxing social exchanges with their colleagues from across hostile borders. A typical camp day for the Delegation Leaders consists of the following: Morning: Each morning begins with three hours of formal coexistence discussions. Some of the themes selected for morning discussions include analysis of what each of the communities feel is needed for a decent life, identification of shared visions of peace, identification of areas in which communities feel misunderstood by others, and comparison of cultures. Afternoon: Afternoon is spent an elective activities such as sports, hiking, or local touring. Evening: Evening involves social events either with the teenagers or in the local community. Several times during the camp sessions, the Delegation Leaders hold special meetings with the group of teens they brought to camp. At these meetings the Delegation Leaders make themselves available to the youth, by engaging them in conversation, and assisting them in their adjustment to camp life. Also these meeting permit each delegation to socialize in their mother tongue within their own community and serve as a touch of home for the youth. Some of the special experiences included in the Delegation Leaders Program include a home visits to American families living in the vicinity of the camp, to gain greater understanding of American family life; a day trip to Boston, including a visit to Harvard University and other cultural attractions; and a three day excursion to Hurricane Island off the coast of Maine, where team building and personal challenge skills are taught by the Outward Bound School located on the island. Almost unanimously, the Delegation Leaders leave camp reporting that the experience is emotionally as well as intellectually valuable. Identifying the weeks as significant and transformational, they return home able to explain the power of face-to-face dialogue and coexistence. They serve as an articulate team of advocates for Seeds of Peace, for cross-cultural dialogue, and for coexistence as a political goal.