WASHINGTON | Palestinian, Israeli, Egyptian, Jordanian, Moroccan, Yemeni, Indian, Pakistani, and Afghan youth will meet with members of Congress at the Dirksen Senate Building on Tuesday, July 15, at 8 a.m.
The 170 campers participating in the first session of the Seeds of Peace Camp will be speaking to members of Congress as well as international dignitaries and government officials. Joining the campers will be Aaron David Miller, President of Seeds of Peace and former Senior Advisor for Arab-Israeli negotiations at the U.S. Department of State.
“These young leaders from regions of conflict demonstrate tremendous courage in creating personal relationships with one another and in rising above prejudice and hatred,” said Seeds of Peace President, Aaron David Miller. “It is essential that they have an opportunity to engage with congress and other government leaders to be inspired by them and to inspire those responsible for shaping American foreign policy.”
The first session of Seeds of Peace Camp runs from June 23 through July 16, each year culminating in a trip to Washington, D.C. While in the city, campers will visit the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, tour major monuments, and meet either with members of Congress and the Department of State.
The Washington visit is an important conclusion to the Seeds of Peace experience, as Seeds of Peace graduates come into contact with top American leaders, and see firsthand the inner workings of a multi-cultural society in action.
The Capitol Hill event on Tuesday July 15 will begin with a breakfast at 8 a.m. and run through 10 a.m. in the Senate Dirksen Room SD-G50. During the second session of Seeds of Peace Camp, which runs from July 21 through August 13, campers will be addressing U.S. State Department officials on August 12.
Seeds of Peace has received strong bipartisan support over the past eleven years of the program and has received $1.5 million in funding to supplement its programs in the past three years.
Recently, the Congressional Quarterly stated, “Seeds of Peace supporters in Congress see the program as the only symbol of hope in an otherwise grim Middle East landscape.”
There are over 170 campers during the camp’s first session, including for the first time in two years, Palestinians from throughout the West Bank.
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 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 provide year-round follow-up programming.