Seeds of Peace

Each delegation of Seeds arrives at the International Camp in Maine with “Delegation Leaders,” adult educators and community leaders who accompany the Seeds from home, and who represent the home communities. Delegation Leaders take part in the selection and orientation of Seeds. While at Camp, as representatives of the Seed parents and of the home communities, they support the Seeds and the Seeds of Peace staff. At the same time, they go through their own intense encounter experience with people from “the other side” (for more on this program at Camp, click here).

After Camp, Delegation Leaders have the opportunity to build on their experiences, and to work as educators for the mission of Seeds of Peace. Delegation Leaders are core leaders of the growing network of Seeds of Peace Educators. Over the last few years, Palestinian and Israeli Delegation Leaders have been at the forefront of a set of Seeds of Peace initiatives supported by USAID. The mission of the Seeds of Peace Delegation Leaders Program is to create an environment where Seeds can flourish at Camp, in schools, in communities, and across the lines of conflict, and to create a cross-border network of educators dedicated to the mission of Seeds of Peace.

Peace-building work requires trust on the ground and cooperation from people who can open doors. Seeds are leaders of the future; delegation Leaders are people with power now. They open doors to schools, community centers and government offices. It is not always easy to open the doors of a school in a place where conflict has raged for generations and walk in with talk about the work of Seeds of Peace.

Imagine how difficult it is for parents and young people to decide to meet those from “the other side.” Imagine when a Seed returns home from the Camp in Maine. How will other students react? How will teachers and other adults react? Often Seeds are faced with intense skepticism or even extreme negativity.

If a Seed returns to a school where there is no support for Seeds of Peace, the Seed may face an extremely difficult situation. If, in contrast, there are teachers, or even a principal, who supports Seeds of Peace, this makes all the difference. If there are follow-up programs in the schools, and if the principal and teachers support Seeds as they reach out to others who never made it to Camp, this translates into an exponentially larger impact.

In recent years, the Delegation Leaders Program has expanded beyond those who attend the Camp in Maine. First, as Seeds have become facilitators, they have been welcomed as Seeds of Peace Educators. As Seeds of Peace Educators, they participate in programs with Delegation Leaders. At the same time, Delegation Leaders and graduates of the Seeds of Peace Arab Educators Program have reached into their communities to train educators in communication, dialogue, cross-cultural understanding, civic engagement and leadership, peaceful learning environments, and the peaceful transformation of conflict. By doing this work, Seeds of Peace Educators—Delegation Leaders, graduate Seeds who are now educators, and those who have been trained by Seeds of Peace educational programs—are creating the environment for Seeds to flourish.

The objectives of the Delegation Leaders Program are as follows:

• To build and strengthen the institutional and community support that makes Seeds of Peace possible.
• To improve the experience for Seeds at Camp and back home. Delegation Leaders often participate in the selection of Seeds, in the orientation of Seeds and in follow-up programs.
• To conduct outreach on behalf of Seeds of Peace in schools and communities.
• To create new programs that focus on a wider range of educators, including those who have not been to Camp.
• To support Seeds of Peace educators in their work with youth. Delegation Leaders teach the skills of dialogue, tolerance, civic engagement, leadership and the peaceful resolution of conflict. This education reaches Seeds, future Seeds, and those who will never have the chance to go to the Camp in Maine.
• To create opportunities for Seeds of Peace educators to develop themselves, to learn from one another, and to learn from and cooperate with other individuals and organizations.
• To create cross-border opportunities for educators, schools and communities.
• To make Seeds of Peace increasingly more effective as a resource for others and for the overall peace-building and peace-education mission.

If one Delegation Leader becomes a committed Seeds of Peace Educator, he or she has the potential to reach hundreds or event thousands of students. By reaching other educators, the impact multiplies …