Seeds of Peace

International Youth Conference Breaking News, Making Headlines: The Role of Media In Conflict

October 10-16, 2003, New York City, NY

From October 10-16, 2003, 125 young Israelis, Palestinians, Egyptians, Jordanians, Indians, Pakistanis, Afghans, Greek and Turkish Cypriots, youth from the Balkans, and Americans will meet in Manhattan to spend one week critically analyzing the media that informs their war-torn regions and, in many ways, shapes their perceptions. These Seeds of Peace graduates have learned that media can be used as either a powerful vehicle that bridges divides between people or an inflammatory device that polarizes communities. At this conference, these future leaders will learn how to devise strategies and produce media to promote understanding and coexistence. This unprecedented meeting will not end in New York; these young people will return home to continue joint media production, engage in educational workshops, and pursue related internships. BREAKING NEWS, MAKING HEADLINES Mass media is perhaps the greatest force driving public opinion. In conflict regions, it is also the chief source of information about the “enemy,” and therefore largely responsible for defining those images. In this way, media can be an inflammatory device that polarizes communities or a powerful vehicle that bridges divides between people. The “Breaking News, Making Headlines” Conference will help the 125 “Seeds” youth, aged 15-19, develop the independent thinking skills necessary to decipher media and harness it for a constructive purpose. Nowhere else are Israelis and Palestinians, Indians and Pakistanis, Afghans and Americans coming together in this fashion, insisting their voice be heard. Youth raised as enemies, the next recipients of generational conflicts, will be working together not only to publicly display what is possible, but to engage their peers, communities, and leaders in pursuit of a more secure future. Each morning, plenary sessions will bring “Seeds” delegates into contact with leading journalists, editors, academics, and corporate executives representing a range of media outlets around the world. Led by renowned media figures including a Q&A session with CNN's Christiane Amanpour, plenary topics will center on the role of media in conflict, specifically addressing media responsibility and ethics; freedom of the press; covering conflict; defining news; the line between news and propaganda; and the use of media as a part of diplomacy. In the afternoons, conference delegates will delve into assigned working groups with professional facilitators, media specialists, and technical experts. In teams of ten, “Seeds” from opposite sides of conflict will work together to design and produce various media products. The “official” product of the conference will be a Seeds of Peace Declaration to the Media, written by “Seeds” graduates from around the world with input from journalists, editors, and facilitators. The Declaration, presented to at a closing plenary event, will highlight the power of the media to impact positively on conflict areas by sharing the Seeds of Peace experience and notions of tolerance and coexistence. Additional workshops that will produce media products for distribution in the U.S. and in the regions of conflict include:

• Feature stories, for TV, radio and print publications domestically and abroad
• Opinion-editorials, for publication in major domestic and international newspapers
• Photojournalism and digital media as a means of communication and media literacy
• Educational media as a teaching and learning tool

BACKGROUND Seeds of Peace was founded by award-winning journalist John Wallach in 1993 to give teenagers from the Middle East an opportunity to attach a human face to the enemy. Ten years later, Seeds of Peace has grown from a summer camp into a multi-faceted leadership development and coexistence program that engages Arabs and Israelis from ages 14-22. It has emerged as a critical and enduring component of the Middle East landscape, graduating over 2,500 young people through its programs. In 2001, the success of the Middle East program led to the inclusion of delegations from the Balkans, Cyprus, India and Pakistan, and most recently, Afghanistan in 2002. Winner of the 2000 UNESCO Prize, Seeds of Peace has earned the respect of world leaders around the globe. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has received the last two Charters created by Seeds of Peace graduates at Seeds of Peace Youth Conferences, and the organization has enjoyed support from President George W. Bush, Prime Minister Tony Blair, former President Bill Clinton, Secretary of State Colin Powell, and Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan. Seeds of Peace has been featured on ABC’s “Nightline,” CBS’s “60 Minutes,” NBC’s “Today Show,” ESPN’s Sportscenter, and in leading newspaper and magazines throughout the world. To learn more details about the conference and to follow its progress, CLICK HERE.