Seeds of Peace

NEW YORK | Seeds of Peace is proud to participate in the United Nations International Day of Peace, which takes place annually on September 21st. The Day of Peace is global holiday when individuals, families, communities, nations and governments highlight efforts to bring an end to conflict and promote peace. Peace Day was established and formalized by UN resolution in 1982 and has since grown to include millions of people all over the world who are united in the call to action to promote nonviolence and peace. HOW CAN YOU PARTICIPATE IN THE DAY OF PEACE?

LAHORE, PAKISTAN | Schoolchildren under the banner of “Seeds of Peace” will raise funds across the globe for the flood-hit people of Pakistan. The Seeds of Peace (SoP) is a New York-based non-government and non-political organisation which brings together children from various conflict-torn regions around the world for about four-week activities designed to promote peacemaking and hone conflict resolution skills. “Moved by the flood devastation in Pakistan, the schoolchildren (seeds) have decided to raise funds in their countries for the affected people,” Eva Gordon, director of Strategic Initiatives of Seeds of Peace, told Dawn.

This past Thursday, a collection of athletes from across the sports spectrum came together for the 9th annual Play for Peace program at the Seeds of Peace International Camp in Otisfield, Maine. Legendary soccer player Mia Hamm and her husband, former baseball All-Star Nomar Garciaparra, joined NBA players such as Xavier Henry, Brian Zoubek and Brian Scalabrine (participating for the eighth time), and Women's Basketball Hall of Famer Teresa Edwards to conduct sports clinics for more than 150 campers, but this wasn't your typical camp experience.

OTISFIELD, MAINE | Nomar Garciaparra and his soccer star wife Mia Hamm stop by the unique camp Thursday. ›› Watch the video.

OTISFIELD, Maine | Former Red Sox shortstop Nomar Garciaparra, his soccer-dribbling wife Mia Hamm and a cadre of NBA players put on a clinic for Seeds of Peace campers in Maine. More than 4,000 campers have attended Seeds of Peace in the western Maine woods since 1993. Its original goal was to bring together Israeli and Palestinian teens in hopes of moving them beyond deep-rooted hatreds. Now there are teenagers from many other countries, including Afghanistan. ›› Read the rest of the story.

OTISFIELD | They hail from nine countries, mostly geographic neighbors but divided by invisible walls that might as well extend a million miles into the heavens. Thursday morning they wore the same colors—the green Seeds of Peace camp t-shirt—and spoke the universal languages of sports and music. One hundred fifty teenagers sang and rapped to Journey, Run-DMC and Sugarhill Gang as their songs, written and performed long before the kids were born, thundered from the sound system.They whooped, hollered and high-fived as camp director Wil Smith introduced a record-long list of athletic dignitaries.

OTISFIELD | Brian Scalabrine might be able to coexist with one O’Neal and continue his career with the Boston Celtics. Whether or not that run as a mainstay on the NBA Eastern Conference champions’ bench and active contract talks with the team would endure the arrival of a second O’Neal—this one a lock for the hall of fame — remains to be seen. Scalabrine, 32, played out the final minutes of his five-year, $15 million contract during the Celtics run to the NBA Finals, where they lost to the Los Angeles Lakers.Needing frontcourt depth to compensate for Kendrick Perkins’ catastrophic knee injury in Game 6 of that series, the Celtics signed 14-year veteran Jermaine O’Neal to a two-year deal this summer.

OTISFIELD | Cool sunglasses masking his eyes, microphone in hand, Wil Smith worked his audience, priming them with introductions of the visitors. By the time Smith reached Mia Hamm, his campers at Seeds of Peace were beyond delight.Teenage boys and girls, mostly from the Middle East, were heading to a new level of excitement. Waiting for his wife after his own noisy welcome, Nomar Garciaparra didn't try to hide his smile.So this is why his agent kept inviting him to this former boys camp on the pine-lined shore of Pleasant Lake. Actually, Arn Tellem's reason was only beginning to reveal itself.

OTISFIELD, MAINE | One of the world’s greatest female soccer players, Mia Hamm, will join four NBA players and Women’s Basketball Hall of Famer Teresa Edwards on Thursday, July 29, for the 9th Annual Play for Peace program at the Seeds of Peace International Camp. The athletes will conduct sports clinics for the 155 campers from across the Middle East and Maine. Organized by Wasserman Media Group Principle and Seeds of Peace board member Arn Tellem, Play for Peace has provided an opportunity for teenagers from regions of conflict to learn more about the values of teamwork and cooperation.

OTISFIELD, MAINE | Young people from Maine and the Middle East say they have something in common: the need to respect others' opinions. Sitting under a shade tree at the entrance to the Seeds of Peace camp in Otisfield early Wednesday morning, six young people from Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Egypt and Maine agreed that unless they listen to each other and respect their differences, peace efforts will not be successful, whether in the Middle East or Maine. The group of peer leaders were among the 155 campers who arrived Monday for the 18th annual session of the Seeds of Peace camp. They began a three-week dialogue they hope to carry back home in their efforts to create a peaceful coexistence and reconciliation in their home countries.