Seeds of Peace

• Job: Supply Chain Management | Penguin Group USA
• Regional Programming: Egyptian Delegation Orientation Organizer, Uprooting Hatred and Terrorism Conference (NYC), Sharm El Sheikh Conference for Regional Expansion (Egypt), Arab Conference (Jordan), Social Entrepreneurship (New York), Seeds Advisory Council Co-Chair, Women's Economic Participation (Jordan & DC), SoP Counselor.
• Years at Camp: 2000, 2001, 2005
• Egyptian Delegation
• Age: 25

In what ways has your experience at Seeds of Peace impacted you as a person?
Seeds of Peace was my first exposure to the idea of alternate, equally viable forms of reality. It is at Seeds of Peace that I was introduced to the idea that people could have both different and legitimate personal and national narratives. On an ideological level, that knowledge has been the basis for much of my personal development over the years.

In terms of character, Seeds of Peace gave me great confidence in myself that was otherwise lacking. The experience gave me opportunities to display leadership and courage, and has given me a voice and a reason to believe that that voice is important. I was a shrinking violet during my first year at camp, likely to walk into a room and remain unnoticed, which is how I used to prefer it. I am a much different person today.

In terms of life choices, Seeds of Peace has not necessarily impacted what I am doing with my life today in a professional sense. However, any and all interest in issues of development, politics, and religious/cultural/ethnic diversity all stem from my experience in 2000, coming upon world views that were so different from my own.
 
How does your work or education relate to building a more peaceful world?  
Penguin Group is perhaps best known for its line of Penguin Classics, which have delighted many generations, and kept classics of literature alive within public readership. However, our line of contemporary titles have given a voice to writers from a large diversity of communities, some which are grossly under-represented in the literary landscape. Penguin Group has given us The Kite Runner, A Border Passage, Three Cups of Tea. Pearson Education has built, by partnering with the force of Khaled Husseini's efforts in Afghanistan, a school for children. Penguin Group continues to publish writers from all over the world, contributing to its readership cultural understanding and openness to the world, and to the diversity of populations within it. Just as the Seeds of Peace experience happens almost organically as a result of a simple exposure to difference, bringing these titles and these voices to the world is intrinsically a peace building activity.