Seeds of Peace

We, Seeds of Peace, young people representing 22 war-ravaged nations, hereby declare that we are tired of hatred, violence and terror. At Seeds of Peace camp, we ascended together to the peak of appreciation that peace is possible. We entered camp full of stereotypes and prejudices against our enemy; after three exhilarating weeks of coexistence, we returned home with an understanding of the other side and acceptance of our common humanity. We learned that we are strong together. In our home countries, by contrast, we have grown up in tense, fearful environments. We have lost loved ones and seen our sense of security and normality in life shattered. The sight of humanity reduced to rubble on September 11 served as a terrible reminder of the tragedies we have witnessed in our lives. In the wake of so many tragedies, we have come together to search for enduring solutions to hatred, terror and violence. We define hatred as the wish that another human being or human group not exist, or that their existence be filled with suffering. The common physical expression of hate is violence, the intentional use of aggressive force to inflict pain upon other human beings. Terror is the organized implementation of violence against civilians in order to spread fear and achieve political or ideological goals. In order to achieve a society free of hatred, terror, and violence, we must establish and follow basic principles of human interaction which create an environment of security, absence of fear and respect for one another's opinions and ways of life. Highest among these are the sanctity of life and the preservation of human rights and basic freedoms as recorded in the Charter of the United Nations. The greatest possible level of social equality, coexistence and compassion are guidelines to which we must aspire, with our ultimate goal to live in harmony, recognizing our uniqueness and difference in culture and religion but acknowledging our mutual humanity. In politics, we advocate the eradication of policies which undermine these principles, which value land or money above human life or turn citizens into the tools of government. In society, we move to eradicate all forms of racism, sexism or extremism which deny the equality and humanity we have learned to recognize in each other. Do not dismiss this as youthful idealism. Many of us live in places where killing and humiliation, poverty and homeless refugees are commonplace. We are surrounded by an atmosphere of hatred created by unjust realities . Violence does not begin when a gun is pointed or a rock is thrown, but in the hate-filled graffiti and political posters decorating the walls of our cities. When this hate takes physical expression in acts of terror, the victims often call for revenge, perpetuating a cycle of violence. Yet at Seeds of Peace, we have experienced real equality, unity, understanding & joy. Having faced this stark contrast, we now refuse to accept what is when we know what can be, if we truly implement these principles in our homes and our hearts. We refuse to be victims. We know it is possible to redirect human passions, even calls for revenge, toward the positive goal of creating peace. In order to address in depth these issues, we have created seven committees to analyze elements of society that have in the past been used as catalysts to spread hate, violence and terror: Education, Religion, Media, Pop Culture, Safety & Security, Economic Disparity, and Principles of Government. Each committee worked to identify the ways in which these elements of society can be changed to create an environment which fosters peace. There are people who call us traitors because we recognize our enemies as equal human beings—but we are true patriots. Instead of creating dead-end situations for our nations, we are putting an end to an endless cycle of suffering. We are working together for peace, the only way to achieve optimal living conditions for our own countries and people. We were raised in societies which taught us to hate each other. Despite that, we have united here to fight together for a better future for us all, in the name of the dead and the generations to come. In succeeding here, we prove to ourselves and our governments that a solution exists and peace is not impossible. Statement of the Committee on Media Statement of the Committee on Education Statement of the Committee on Religion Statement of the Committee on Economic Disparity Statement of the Committee on Principles of Governing Statement of the Committee on Safety and Security Statement of the Committee on Popular Culture To return to the Main Conference page, please click here.