ORLANDO | The Florida Friends Chapter of Seeds of Peace will host its inaugural gala in Orlando on Sunday, June 1, 2003 at the Walt Disney World Hilton.
The event will feature Her Majesty Queen Noor of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and be hosted by Newschannel 2 Anchor, Wendy Chioji.
Aaron David Miller, President of Seeds of Peace and former Advisor on Arab-Israeli negotiations to the last six Secretaries of State, will also speak and present the award alongside Israeli and Palestinian graduates of the Seeds of Peace program.
"We are thrilled that the Orlando community has welcomed Seeds of Peace and organized such a wonderful event," said Miller. "At a time when Middle East conflict is ongoing our work with young people caught has never been more important."
The Seeds of Peace Florida Friends Chapter was recently formed in Orlando with the help of National Board member Alan Ginsburg and local chairman Dr. George Carroll.
Since its founding, the Florida Friends chapter has held local speaking events benefiting Seeds of Peace as well as organizing community events to promote coexistence between the local Florida Jewish and Arab community.
This year's inaugural gala in Florida will honor Her Majesty Queen Noor of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan for her invaluable support to Seeds of Peace since the organization was founded over ten years ago. Queen Noor, along with Shimon Peres, Sa'eb Erekat, and former US Presidents George Bush and Bill Clinton, are on the Seeds of Peace Advisory Board.
Speaking with Queen Noor at the event will be teenagers from the Seeds of Peace program, Malvina Goldfeld, a 21-year old Israeli from Ashdod, and Mohammed Matar, a 17-year old Palestinian from Gaza City.
The event, which will take place at the Walt Disney World Hilton at 1751 Hotel Plaza Boulevard in Lake Buena Vista, will include a 5:30 p.m. reception and 6 p.m. dinner.
Tickets for the Florida Friends Gala "Hope Happens" start at $200. Tickets can be purchased by calling the Florida Chapter at (407) 741-8512.
Since 1993, Seeds of Peace has graduated over 2,000 teenagers representing 22 nations from its internationally recognized conflict-resolution and coexistence program. Through these programs, at the International Camp in Maine and at its Center for Coexistence in Jerusalem, participants develop empathy, respect, communication/negotiation skills, confidence, and hope—the building blocks for peaceful coexistence.
A jointly published newspaper, list-serve, educational conferences and seminars ensure year-round follow-up programming. For more information, visit www.seedsofpeace.org. For inquiries about this event please Loren London at (407) 834-7311 or George Atallah at (917) 327-0902.