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?

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 | The second session of the 2010 summer begins at the Seeds of Peace International Camp on Wednesday, July 21.

Egyptian, Israeli, Jordanian, Palestinian and American teens will open the Camp’s 46th session in 18 years with a flag-raising ceremony at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday. Each delegation will sing its national anthem while raising its flag, and the hour-long ceremony will conclude with the raising of the Seeds of Peace flag.

The first session of the summer ended last week, and this second group of campers will be in Maine until August 9. Among the 155 participants, 32 are teens from Maine. The Maine Seeds program, now in its 10th year, aims to address racial and socioeconomic tensions between various local communities.

OTISFIELD, MAINE | Over 150 Israeli, Palestinian, Jordanian, Egyptian, Indian, Pakistani, Afghan and American youth will open Seeds of Peace’s 18th season with a unifying flag-raising ceremony at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, June 24, at the Seeds of Peace International Camp in Otisfield, Maine.

Each delegation will sing its national anthem, and the hour-long ceremony will conclude with the Seeds of Peace anthem and raising of the Seeds of Peace flag.

Leslie Lewin, Seeds of Peace Executive Director, and Tim Wilson, Director Emeritus of the Seeds of Peace Camp, will deliver opening remarks, followed by addresses from representatives of each delegation.

NEW YORK | Seeds of Peace has partnered with Kiss My Face, the maker of natural personal care products, to launch Peace Soap and an online 'Pledge for Peace' campaign.

Kiss My Face will donate 10 percent of all profits from Peace Soap to Seeds of Peace and will send one teen to Camp for every 10,000 pledges.

›› Take the Pledge via Facebook.
›› Read more about Peace Soap.

JERUSALEM | Pairs of Palestinian and Israeli Seeds are making weekly visits to a Tel Aviv hospital where young patients from the Middle East and Africa receive emergency heart surgery.

The visits, which will take place throughout 2010, are coordinated with the Save A Child’s Heart non-profit and are funded by the European Union.

NEW YORK | New Yorker magazine Editor David Remnick addressed more than 300 philanthropists, dignitaries and community leaders at the Annual Seeds of Peace Benefit Dinner at the Plaza Hotel on May 26. The evening was hosted by Christine Baranski, award winning star of stage and screen.

Remnick, a Pulitzer-Prize winning author whose latest work is “The Bridge: The Life and Rise of Barack Obama,” said that Seeds of Peace turns "other people—the great scary ‘other’—into human beings, one person at a time."

"It is about learning to talk across the great gulfs of language, culture and politics."

JERUSALEM | Six Israeli and Palestinian graduate Seeds discussed their experiences and perspectives on the conflict at a World Leaders Forum event in Jerusalem. Former ABC News anchor Sam Donaldson moderated the panel, opening the discussion with the question, “What do you think is the problem?’

Original publication date: May 4, 2010

LONDON | Matthew Courey, a 2009 Camp counselor, won £28,000 ($42,000) on March 24 for Seeds of Peace. The competition was sponsored by his employer, Credit Suisse/UK.

NEW YORK | Seeds of Peace is very excited to announce a new partnership with mySomeday, an online goal achievement platform that empowers people to achieve all of those goals and dreams they plan to get to ‘Someday.’

JERUSALEM | "Now, more than ever, I believe that it is important to dialogue with the other side," said one of the Israeli and Palestinian teenagers who participated in an overnight seminar on February 5-6.

The binational event took place outside Jerusalem, at Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salam, the only intentional Arab-Jewish community in Israel.

NEW YORK | Inspired by Seeds of Peace's proposal, the Advisory Board of the Chase Community Giving Challenge has awarded Seeds of Peace one of six additional $100,000 grants.

Original publication date: January 25, 2010

MUMBAI | In early January, eleven Pakistani Seeds and one adult educator traveled to Mumbai, India, to participate in the 2010 Indo-Pak Homestays program. The Pakistanis were hosted by the families of their Indian Seed friends for a week of speakers, workshops, and event planning.

Original publication date: January 12, 2010

To launch its first series of events, Seeds of Peace UK, headed by Michelle Mercer and her active steering committee, invited two graduate Seeds and Seeds of Peace new Executive Director Leslie Lewin for a weekend packed full of events to promote the mission of Seeds of Peace in London.

JERUSALEM | Three Israeli-Palestinian groups began a series of intense dialogue sessions this week. Two of the groups are gathering in Jerusalem, while the other will meet in Haifa. Each group consists of about 16 younger Israeli and Palestinian Seeds.

Original publication date: January 10, 2010