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Parents of Israeli and Palestinian Seeds, Educators continue dialogue series

Feb 11, 2016 / No Comments

JERUSALEM | Parents of Seeds have been meeting monthly as part of a dialogue series that parallels the dialogue program held at the Seeds of Peace Camp.

During the meetings, which are held separately for Jewish and Arab parents of Israeli Seeds, and for parents of Palestinian Seeds in the West Bank, participants discuss topics related to the experiences of their children, as well as topics related to the conflict in their daily life.

For example, 11 Palestinian parents met with Seed and dialogue facilitator Bashar on January 13, who spoke with the group about his experience with Seeds of Peace and life as a Palestinian living in Israel. On February 11, seven Jewish-Israeli and Palestinian-Israeli parents met with Seeds of Peace staff in Kfar Saba to discuss issues around the identity of Palestinian living in Israel.

“This is the first time for me to think about the Palestinian identity of Arabs in Israel from such a broad point of view,” said one parent.

“For me it is important to be here. I expect from myself the same I expect from my son, and if he is engaging in dialogue with Palestinians, so should I,” said another.

Seeds of Peace opens for the summer, plans to start program for K-12 students this fall | Lewiston Sun Journal

Jul 2, 2022 / No Comments

School administrators requested in-school programming from Seeds of Peace, citing increased behavioral and emotional challenges of students following the onset of the pandemic.

OTISFIELD — Interested in learning how to change her community for the better, Deyonce Ward attended Seeds of Peace camp last summer.

“Before I came here, I was so closed in,” the Portland High School student said. “I didn’t want to talk.”

But before she knew it, the session had ended, and Ward found herself wishing she had taken better advantage of the opportunity to connect with other teens passionate about social justice from across the state.

So, she came back this summer ready to challenge herself to step further outside her comfort zone.

On Sunday, Seeds of Peace welcomed 62 campers for its first session of the summer, including roughly a dozen returnees from last year’s first Maine-only cohort.

The internationally recognized organization aims to bring teens from diverse backgrounds together to engage in deep, sometimes difficult, discussions surrounding differences in identity, culture and religion. Seeds, as the campers are known, are also challenged to grow their leadership and advocacy skills.

These challenges are complemented by traditional summer camp activities, such as boating, crafts and performances.

“We can create essentially the Maine we want to see for a few weeks here together,” said Camp Director Sarah Stone.

And beginning this fall, Seeds of Peace will bring part of these activities to K-12 schools in Maine.

The summer camp has two sessions this year for about two weeks each. The first session hosts campers from Maine, whereas the second will bring together campers from across the U.S.

Being at Seeds of Peace is very different from the outside world, Ward said. Here, she and other campers have the freedom to be more open about their perspectives and lived experience.

Kai Small, a Freeport High School student, said he’s been to summer camp before. None of them were quite like Seeds of Peace.

“It’s not like anything else I’ve ever experienced, just how people are with each other,” he said. “People listen to you. They really listen.”

One of the core components of Seeds of Peace camp is the daily dialogue session, where students discuss topics such as privilege, identity and power.

Sometimes everyone agrees, other times there are split perspectives, said camper Tyler Pelletier of Augusta. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

“Disagreement almost helps you grow more as a whole group,” he shared.

Pelletier said he left camp last summer with a newfound sense of confidence in his leadership skills. He ran for vice president of his class at Cony High School last year and won the position.

He originally came to camp because he “wanted to meet new people and see where they’re coming from,” he said. “(Last year,) I felt like I only scraped the surface of dialogue and hearing other people’s experience and views.”

“I really feel like people get turned off by the idea of talking about difficult (topics),” Pelletier said, adding there’s far more to the camp than that. His favorite activity at the camp has been boating on Pleasant Lake.

Ward said she would similarly encourage others to apply to the camp. “It’s very life changing,” she said.

Tim Wilson, director of the Seeds of Peace Maine program, said the organization is expanding its efforts to create school-year programming for students in kindergarten through 12th grade this fall.

Wilson said school administrators requested the move from Seeds of Peace, citing increased behavioral and emotional challenges of students following the onset of the pandemic.

“We know we have the right tools,” Wilson said.

“It’s not just expressing themselves, but feeling good about themselves,” he added.

Seeds of Peace alumni will lead “90%” of the activities, he said. The new program will start in Portland schools this fall, with Lewiston schools following soon after.

“We’re now realizing we have to work not just on high schoolers, but down the line,” he said.

Wilson has worked at the Otisfield camp for more than 60 years, starting as a 19-year-old counselor at Camp Powhatan, the previous organization on site. He says he sticks around for the incredible young people he meets and watching them grow as leaders in the world.

Originally created to empower Middle Eastern youth to find common ground in 1993, the camp has expanded its programming to teens in Asia, the U.S. and Maine.

Due to the difficulties of international travel brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, the camp has not held a session for international youth since 2019. The camp was closed in 2020, reopening to Maine and U.S. students in the summer of 2021.

The camp provides scholarships to campers who would not otherwise be able to attend; other students are sponsored by their school district, Stone said.

Seeds of Peace will celebrate its 30th anniversary next summer.

Read Vanessa Paolella’s article and view Russ Dillingham’s photos at the Lewiston Sun Journal â€șâ€ș

A new generation of Israelis are uniting to demand change

Aug 8, 2020 / No Comments

A new generation of Israelis is now protesting against authoritarian rule. Do they stand a chance?

Israel had never been a perfect democracy. To be honest, it was never even a good one.

Despite everything, there used to be some minimal leadership accountability, some written and unwritten rules of public service, and some class. In the Netanyahu years, however, the rules seemed to change. Israel is no longer a republic; Israel is Netanyahu, and Netanyahu is Israel. As those who oppose him proclaim, he has used every single questionable method, along with mass public gaslighting and psychological manipulations, to deeply engrave this perception and gain increasing power over the years.

With time, Netanyahu was able to eliminate almost every threat to his rule, crushing opponents; silencing critics, and increasingly deepening his control of the media, the Knesset, law enforcement and civil agencies. From schoolteachers, to political leaders, from journalists to judges, those who oppose him are threatened, attacked, marked as traitors or self-hating anti-Semites, and removed from positions of influence. It sometime seems like the entire country is working for Bibi Netanyahu and his followers, known as “Bibists.”

Taking “divide and conquer” one step further, Netanyahu’s method works around the ancient Hebrew word “Shissuy” (Ś©Ś™ŚĄŚ•Ś™): Divide, conquer, and convince all parties involved to hate and attack each other.

“But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew” (Exodus 1:12)

The COVID-19 crisis, unprecedented unemployment and poverty rates, years of political turmoil and three general elections, along with the Netanyahu trials coming soon, have created a unique opportunity for those who seek change.

An entire generation, my generation, that grew up almost entirely under Netanyahu’s regime, is waking up. There seems to be a sudden realization that the country we thought we had does not exist. It’s a generation that grew up with no hope and no future and has absolutely zero faith in the path this country is headed.

Since the coronavirus crisis started, several protest movements began gaining power and public sympathies, separately, at first. The demonstrations in Tel-Aviv against the proposed West Bank annexation plan grew more significant than expected: A new movement of unemployed and collapsing business owners began growing, and demonstrations against Netanyahu, personally, focusing on his abusive political behavior, his violent propaganda, and incitement, and his corruption allegations, spread wider and wider across the country.

And after an anti-corruption protester who was quite old, peaceful and polite, a war veteran, and a Holocaust researcher was attacked and arrested by police officers in Jerusalem six weeks ago, the protests began to focus on Jerusalem—more precisely, outside of Netanyahu’s residence, on Balfour Street.

Panicking from the rising criticism and the threat to his governance, Netanyahu made a possibly fatal mistake: using the police, the military, and gangs of violent, organized Jewish supremacist “Bibists,” he began terrorizing protesters in the streets. Methods that were usually used against Palestinians, anti-occupation activists, anti-Zionist ultra-orthodox Jews in Jerusalem, and against Black Ethiopian Jews, are now being used against all protesters. The white, secular Jewish sector that traditionally ignored the violence directed towards marginalized communities cannot ignore it any more. Netanyahu meant to scare the new, naïve protesters away, but instead, united them.

“The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.” (Isaiah 11:6)

After being divided for too many years and now facing a common oppressor, all protests seem to be merging: “Crime Minister” protesters, anti-Occupation activists, together with all groups of political opposition to the government, Palestinian Citizens of Israel political movements, LGBTQ organizations, feminist organizations, climate change activists, peace organizations—and most importantly—an unprecedented amount of people who are not directly affiliated with any specific political organization, who had never protested before, and feel like they have got nothing to lose.

This is the “Siege on Balfour,” a non-violent revolution of love, art, music, solidarity, and new hope. No longer a narrow protest for or against something too specific. This is a wake-up call, and this could be the beginning of intersectional resistance—a rise against oppression of all kinds. It’s a movement with no particular leaders and without any organized set of demands. No speeches are being held, and no stage elevates one person above others. People are standing together with a beautiful mix of chants: “Bread, Freedom, Dignity,” “Justice for Eyad,” “End the Occupation,” “It will not be over until he quits.”

As this movement grows bigger and becomes much more intersectional than we have ever seen before, it seems like more and more Seeds and their families are joining. As a Seed who grew up on the values of solidarity, partnership, and taking courageous steps to bring change, those demonstrations are setting a new example of the Camp motto, “the way life could be.” I have never seen such a movement before in my life, bringing so many people together despite the differences, uniting for such a fundamental change, and standing in solidarity with one another.

With combined powers, does this generation have a chance to change things? Or is it, perhaps, one last pathetic attempt to save our souls? There are many questions as to how Netanyahu will respond to these calls for change and the current moment—and whether the unity of this moment is durable enough to remake and rebuild a country.

Only time will tell, but for the first time in a decade: Netanyahu looks nervous.

What can you, non-Israelis, do to support? Spread the word. Show support to your regime-opposing friends. Balfour protests are now happening four times a week: Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. Watch the online broadcasts and share the images of police violence. Stand with your Israeli and Palestinian friends and help them demand this fundamental change for all. Educate yourself and those around you. And pray for us, please.

And then, hopefully, after the dust settles, help us rebuild, rise from the ashes, and create a safe space for all. Change takes all of us.

Jonathan is a 2011 Israeli Seed.

Photo credits (from top): Sharon Avraham and Olivier Fitoussi (Flash90)

What We’re Reading: Love, leaders, courage, and justice in Black America

Feb 25, 2019 / No Comments

The former slave and abolitionist Frederick Douglass is often quoted as saying that “once you learn to read, you will be forever free.”

Regardless of time, location, class, or race, reading has long been a gateway to knowledge, understanding, and empowerment—which is why so many societies throughout history have banned books or reading among groups of people they wished to oppress.

At Seeds of Peace, we’re in the business of empowering, so it should come as no surprise that there are many voracious readers here on staff. We are constantly talking about, reading about, and sharing ideas about dialogue, leadership, empathy, and people working to change the status quo. And because we think many members of the Seeds of Peace community also hold this passion, we’re starting a new series, “What We’re Reading,” that gives a window into this ongoing conversation.

Each month, we’ll share staff recommendations of several timely or theme-related books, articles, reports, and more that in some way reflect the Seeds of Peace mission. And though some works might touch on political topics, they are not meant to endorse a certain view or take any side. Rather, we are looking to share works that will hopefully educate, inspire, stimulate conversations, and/or build empathy.

February is Black History Month in America, so we’re kicking off the series with a focus on African-American authors, culture, and history. These works examine struggles involving race, gender, sexuality, and economic inequality; show the links between conflicts in America and conflicts abroad; and put us in the shoes of people chasing dreams, speaking truth to power, falling in love, and, all too often, trying to find a place in a system that was set up to exclude or oppress them.

We hope you find new ideas and experiences in these works, and if so, we’d love to hear about it. Are there other books you would recommend? Let us know in the comments section, and happy reading!

The Blacker the Berry by Wallace Thurman
Set in the 1920s, this story from Thurman, a renowned contributor to the Harlem Renaissance, follows the life of a very dark-skinned black woman who leaves her home in Idaho for Los Angeles, then New York City, in hopes of finding a community where she will be accepted. It is not a quick, how-to guide to overcoming racism and discrimination, but it is a quick read that will help the reader understand different perspectives of how something as basic as the shade of your skin can literally dictate and change a person’s life. The U.S., and other parts of the world, have had “reform” and “change” in the 90 years since this book was published, but some problems linger; and the underlying theme of discrimination and colorism still rings true throughout many communities today. This novel makes you question whether we are making a difference at all, or if we are just renaming our societal problems so there seems to be change. — Imani Jean-Gilles, Communications Intern

Death at an Early Age: The Destruction of the Hearts and Minds of Negro Children in the Boston Public Schools by Jonathan Kozol
In 1964 Kozol entered the Boston Public School system as a fourth grade teacher at one of its most overcrowded and dilapidated schools. Here, he discovered an institutional apartheid, a where teachers beat and neglected black students, often referring to them as “animals” and worse. Death, a 1967 National Book Award winner, was the definitive book on poor public education in Boston. More importantly, it really told the truth about public school for Black students in large cities in the U.S. — Tim Wilson, Senior Advisor & Director, Maine Seeds Programs

Racing to Justice by John A. Powell
This book and other works from Powell are a gift and true lesson to people working to build a future where belonging is at the center of our systems, structures, relationships, and identities. Racing to Justice emphasizes that how we talk, do, and live race has vast impact on our imagined futures. If race isn’t central to how we understand our current or future social constructions, we will continue to perpetuate “inequality, mass incarceration, full participation in our political and cultural structures, and—perhaps most critically—with our most fundamental questions about who we are.” — Kiran Thadhani, Director of Global Programs

The Time of Our Singing by Richard Powers
Here’s a novel, (a small piece of furniture, really, at 630+ pages) that blew me away with its intensity, authenticity, raw emotion, and human truths. It’s the story of an African-American woman and a Jewish German immigrant man who meet at the 1939 Marian Anderson concert on the National Mall in Washington, DC. They fall in love, get married (breaking laws at the time—both civic and ‘moral’), and have three children. This book gave me a glimpse into America’s recent past and the human toll of systems of oppression the way no history class ever has, and put me inside the shoes of someone who struggled with identity over the course of a lifetime … a lifetime that spans multiple social movements and mores. — Deb Levy, Director of Communications

Don’t Call Us Dead by Danez Smith
Danez Smith is a black queer poet, and I think one of the most important young poets of whom I am aware. This book, a National Book Award for Poetry finalist, begins with “Summer Somewhere,” which imagines black men who have been killed in acts of violence popping up in an afterworld that is a perpetual summer day on the block. Here is a poet who loves black men—in a society that does not—and this love and care saturates the poems. There’s beauty, brutality, genius, and humor, often all at once (see Dinosaurs in the Hood). The entire book is a gift, and the gift is his imagination; it’s as though he said “there’s no good place for us, so I’ll write one.” — Greg Barker, Manager, Facilitation Programs (P.S. The Poetry Foundation has compiled an outstanding collection of poems, articles, and podcasts celebrating Black History Month.)

Overlooked: Black History Month The New York Times
This special edition of the The Times’s belated-obituaries series shines a light on remarkable black men and women who in some way shaped our world or blazed trails for future generations. From a gender-bending star of the Harlem Renaissance, to slave-turned-millionaire abolitionist, these are lives worth studying, celebrating, emulating, and remembering for their accomplishments, as well as for identifying the systems that prevented many of them from ever achieving the fame or stature they deserved in their lifetimes. — Lori Holcomb-Holland, Communications and Development Manager

Seeds holds first National Integration Camp for youth from across Pakistan

Mar 29, 2012 / 7 Comments

LAHORE | Fifty students and ten educators from the four provincial capitals of Pakistan——Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, and Quetta——as well as from Islamabad gathered for five days to tackle stereotypes and learn about the similarities and differences between their cultures.

The National Integration Camp (NIC), held at the Divisional Public School in Model Town and managed by youth members of Seeds of Peace Pakistan, featured programming designed to maximize interaction between students and teachers from each provincial delegation.

Facilitated dialogue sessions focusing upon various issues that exist among the provinces as well as upon potential solutions to those issues took place alongside group challenge and sports games.

Students’ Program

Students delved right into crucial topics, discussing the values they thought ought to be present in an ideal country and the link they perceived between the provision of free education and national safety and prosperity.

Dialogue sessions on Day 2 focused specifically on cross-province education; students from each region presented about their cultures and described the social, political, and economic issues their province faces. The evening brought additional presentations with a broader focus that incorporated individual as well as inter-provincial issues; before performances that garnered media coverage from a local TV channel, participants discussed the notion and implications of interdependence.

Alongside basketball matches and preparations for a talent show, students spent their third day at NIC in dialogue about important issues such as the continuing effects of the feudal system, potential changes in provincial structuring, and the water dispute between provinces, particularly with regard to water conservation and methods to use water to combat Pakistan’s ongoing energy crisis.

Campers reflected upon their experiences during the program so far on the fourth day, discussing the power of youth in helping build a strong nation and how they would use their new knowledge and understanding when they returned home. The Flag Lowering Ceremony took place at Wahga Border and proved to be an emotional experience for all participants.

The fifth day’s focus was on follow-up programs, an essential component of the National Integration Camp. All five delegations came up with two innovative yet practical ideas that, when implemented with Seeds of Peace’s help, would help bring about national change regarding the issues they had learned about over the previous four days. These included awareness campaigns, social work projects, outreach programs, workshops, and camps mimicking the NIC model.

Participants’ reflections and comments on exit surveys showed the impact that the camp has already had on their thinking and commitment to interprovincial social endeavors.

Showing how the camp could lead to unified efforts to create national-level change, Ayesha of Lahore said that she came to understand not only “how pointless stereotypes about provinces are” but also “the problems other provinces are suffering from.” Altogether, 81 percent of the campers acknowledged that NIC had changed their views about people from other provinces; 81 percent considered that a friendly relationship between provinces is highly possible; and 90 percent wanted to continue participating in activities such as NIC in the future.

Educators’ Program

The 10 educators who had accompanied students to the National Integration Camp also focused on illustrating similarities between people from each province and learning to dismantle existing stereotypes.

They spent the first day discussing their hopes and the things they wished to learn from each other as well as the problems and issues that Pakistan currently faces. Educators analyzed the problems and effects of provincialism that are particular to each region on the second day, and the third day brought presentations of cultural knowledge during which they described their customs, values, and festivals for their professional peers.

On the fourth day, the educators undertook the difficult task of discussing stereotypes that existed about residents of each province and clearing out any lingering misconceptions.

Following a wrap-up session on the last day, the educators rejoined their respective delegations, assisting them with the planning of follow-up programs.
 
EVENT PHOTOS

July 2020 Notes from the Field Newsletter

Jul 29, 2020 / No Comments

Dear Seeds of Peace Community,

Since I was 12 years old, I’ve spent every summer at camp, first at my Scout camp in Pennsylvania and for the last decade at youth peace camps in the US and the Middle East. This year, I was hoping to visit the Seeds of Peace Camp in Maine for the very first time.

I’ve heard so many stories about Camp as the transformative focal point of the Seeds of Peace journey. For thousands of youth around the world, the dialogue huts, group challenge course, bunks, and dining hall have been places of growth and discovery.

Most of all, I’ve heard about “the Field”—a reference to Rumi’s poem and the literal and metaphorical space where young leaders meet across lines of difference.

“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a Field.
I’ll meet you there.” – Rumi (1207-1273)

In the Field, Seeds develop understanding and respect for one another—even those they’ve been taught to hate or fear. In the Field, they gain the skills and confidence to work side by side in creating a “world as it could be.”

I’m excited to be in Maine next summer when it’s safe to gather in person again. But the Field extends far beyond Camp to the many places where Seeds live and work for change.

I’m proud to introduce this Notes From The Field newsletter. At least once a month, we’ll share organizational updates and stories from across the Seeds of Peace community to keep you connected to our work, and to one another, as we rise to meet this challenging moment in our world.

With hope,
Josh
Fr. Josh Thomas | Executive Director, Seeds of Peace

2019 Seeds reflect on Camp

What does it mean to be a Seed? In this video created by Seeds, they give their honest, heartfelt, and certainly raggedy (a term used in dialogue sessions that means going beyond the superficial and getting real) takes on topics. These include meeting with the “other,” their best and most difficult moments at Camp, and why they wanted to come to Camp in the first place.


Maine Seed Gracia speaks at a Juneteenth rally in Portland (photo courtesy Fred Bever/Maine Public)

Alumni respond to BLM, COVID-19

Here are a few ways Seeds of Peace alumni have been supporting the Black Lives Matter movement as well as responding to the Coronavirus pandemic in their communities over the past few months:

Black Lives Matter

Shelby (2003 American Seed) co-authored an opinion piece in the Portland Press Herald calling for legal reforms that would make it easier to hold police officers more accountable for their actions.

Gracia and Christina (2017 Maine Seeds) organized a Juneteenth celebration and protest in Portland, Maine, that was attended by around 1,000 people.

Micah (2004 American Seed) is working with conductors in the Washington, D.C., area to start a local branch of Justice Choir, and co-organized the “Juneteenth Solidarity Sing for Black Lives.”

Over 130 Seeds and their peers in seven countries have attended online Seeds of Peace programming centered around racial justice, racism, and the Black Lives Matter movement.

Read about more Seeds working for racial equality and justice â€șâ€ș

COVID-19 Pandemic

Charlie (2019 American Seed) is helping those in his community who are homeless by providing them with basic hygiene supplies. By teaming up with local businesses, he was able to donate 200 individual Ziplock bags with soap, a toothbrush, toothpaste, and homemade hand sanitizer.

Keya (2018 Indian Seed) and Alina (2019 Indian Seed) launched community COVID-19 support campaigns. Keya raised funds to buy 25,000 washable cloth face masks for people living in Mumbai’s slums. She was involved in the process from design to distribution, and exceeded her goal by raising enough to buy 32,100 masks.

Meanwhile, Alina raised over $13,000 (her original goal was around $660) for Habitat for Humanity, which supplied 45,176 Family Essential Kits (with items like flour, rice and oil), and 20,438 Hygiene Kits (handsoap, disinfectant, masks, sanitary napkins, etc.) to approximately 60,000 families.

Nas (2019 GATHER Fellow) raised over $127,000 as of July 16 and has provided thousands of meals for frontline health care workers and the food insecure through the Migrant Kitchen, a social impact catering company that employees refugees at livable wages.

#ChangeTakesAllofUs

Change comes in many packages. It’s an Afghan teacher using education to upend generational cycles of poverty, a young Black woman organizing for racial justice in the whitest state in America, and a Palestinian doctor fighting to ensure that all patients receive equal care.

All next week, we will bring you the voices of a unique tapestry of changemakers through #ChangeTakesAllofUs, a social media campaign featuring Seeds, Fellows, Educators, and staff members as they re-imagine approaches to the world’s most pressing issues.

Here’s a preview of the campaign â€șâ€ș

These are voices not just from dreamers, but from doers: people who are working in the fields of health care, education, social justice, law, politics, journalism, the arts, and NGOs to build more free and inclusive systems in their corners of the world. History shows us that social change happens when leaders work across all sectors of society to challenge, re-imagine, and then build new systems.

Across political, economic, generational, and cultural divides, the voices we’ll share will demonstrate that #ChangeTakesAllofUs, including you.

Throughout this campaign we’ll offer opportunities to sign up for virtual discussions with our alumni, engage with changemakers, share your story, and learn about ways you can support or join Seeds of Peace programs.

Follow Seeds of Peace on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to hear their stories and join us in re-imagining the world as it could be.

Upcoming events

‱ Educators Course (July 20-August 13): Educating in a Diverse Democracy.
‱ Virtual Camp (August 9-16): We’re taking Camp online! Stay tuned for an update in the next newsletter.
 

 

Follow the Fellows: A north star for Arab women

Nov 12, 2019 / No Comments

“One thing I dislike the most is being told I can’t.”

That fire is what compelled Mariam to hike Mount Kilimanjaro at the age of 17, surprising the rest of her tour group who said that they had never seen an Arab woman on the climb before. And it’s the same burning energy that fuels her desire to create a platform that changes the narrative for what it means to be a woman in Egyptian society.

Mariam, a 2010 Egyptian Seed and a 2019 GATHER Fellow, has always been passionate about female empowerment and gender equality. Although she grew up in a supportive family and didn’t have to battle many of the same inequities as her peers, she acknowledges the almost invisible ways that gender roles played out in her relationships. “When I was going through college,” she said, “there wasn’t this expectation or pressure on me to find a job and make a career for myself, when there was the same for my brother because he was expected to ‘open a home.’”

Mariam spoke of how women in Egypt, and Arab society in general, are “constantly being told that they can’t.” They can’t go after their dreams; they can’t abandon their duties as homemakers or mothers or wives. “Ambition tends to be a scarlet letter in some ways over here.”

Even though there are anti-discrimination laws in Egypt that forbid employers from making hiring and firing decisions based on gender, Mariam said these laws aren’t truly applied. While a company won’t admit that it didn’t hire a woman solely because she’s a woman, that female candidate is still battling perceptions of not being fully committed to her work. “And there are job advertisements that say ‘males only.’ There may be ‘females only,’ but that’s usually for secretary work. Very 1950s,” she said, referring to the way many societies around the world were at that time.

So how did Mariam come to reject these deeply ingrained beliefs? “Growing up in the age of the Internet, you saw all these inspiring women doing some really amazing stuff—like Rana el Kaliouby, who uses AI to make technology more emotionally aware, or Leila Janah who uses data services to expand opportunities to low-income women and youth. And it was hard not to be inspired by that. There’s a lot of power in the Internet, technology and social media.”

It’s this power that Mariam is harnessing through a platform she has developed called Zahera, which means ‘to flourish’ in Arabic. It’s an online community for ambitious women, as Mariam describes it, that provides educational tools—articles, interviews, online courses, expert advice—in Arabic. “I wanted to build a community where women can have candid conversations on the pressure that comes with being a working woman. Basically, just create a space that really speaks in their language, where you can be inspired and encouraged and emboldened.”

What Mariam wants to do is change the narrative. “I think Arab women are perceived as timid and prude and obedient,” she said, “and one of the goals of Zahera is to highlight women from all sorts of backgrounds and walks of life, women who are challenging old-fashioned rules and traditions every day.”

As she points out, most of the online content that is currently targeted towards Arab women tends to be clustered around traditional topics such as fashion, parenting, cooking. Mariam doesn’t see information about how to negotiate a salary or maternity leave policies or dealing with gender-based violence or harassment in the workplace.

“I feel like this time is pivotal,” Mariam said. “There are protests happening in Palestine, there are widespread calls for gender equity, and we need to tap into that. That’s what Zahera aims to do.” She also noted how dangerous it is for women to even be in public spaces in Egypt. “The streets aren’t made for you. The sexual harassment levels here are staggering, at just over 99 percent of women having experienced some sort of harassment.”

Mariam has a nickname, which is the female word for ‘star’ in Arabic. She sees it as her purpose in life to light the way for others. That doesn’t mean being front and center; rather, just forging a path for others to follow, amplifying their voices along the way. She wants to pass the mic, so to speak. And she taps into her professional network, having worked on international development projects for a few years already, to find women from all areas of Egypt—Cairo and Alexandria, but also Upper Egypt and the Delta. She’s especially keen to reach places that aren’t highlighted enough, where more conservative mindsets are deeply rooted. Because there are artists and scientists and women winning awards in these places, who are bravely challenging the rules and traditions and paving the way for other women.

“There’s this perception that women cannot work with other women. And it just angers me so much,” she said, referring to a recent poll on a woman’s Facebook group that asked if women would prefer to have a male or female manager. Almost all of the respondents preferred a male manager. “It made me wonder: how do you, as a woman, expect to be a manager someday? I feel like my success is seeing other women succeed.”

She talks about bringing more women ‘to the table,’ but notes that it’s not enough to reserve one space for a female perspective. “We don’t want to remove you from the table; just create more seats.”

Mariam is appreciative of the GATHER Fellowship in that it forced her to focus on her own personal development, apart from gaining technical skills. She calls it a ‘judgment-free zone’ that taught her to take care of herself and look inside. “Don’t go on autopilot, be more reflective,” she shared. “This field can be very draining, and GATHER teaches us that it is important not to pour from an empty cup.”

For Mariam, hiking is that meditative process that helps her clear her head. And while not every hike takes her up the highest mountain on the continent at nearly 6,000 meters above sea level, the idea is the same: “You don’t think of the overwhelming factors in front of you. You just put one leg in front of the other until you reach the summit.”

Going on adventures and trying new things that might seem uncomfortable—like hiking Mount Kilimanjaro—is what anchors her in times of doubt and insecurity. She acknowledges that it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and to shy away from doing something bold. But her call to other women is to get out of their comfort zone.

“Just do one thing you’re really really proud of,” Mariam said. “Maybe two. Because they’re going to turn into three and then they’re going to just keep coming.”

This series highlights our 2019 GATHER Fellows. To learn more about the inspiring social change that Mariam and our other Fellows are working towards, check out #FollowtheFellows on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Meet Saumya: Doing the most good with 3,900 weekends

Oct 31, 2021 / No Comments

How much good can one person do, how much love can one person spread, in the course of a lifetime? Saumya, a 2018 Indian Seed, is well on her way to finding out.

The 17-year-old said she calculated some time ago that she probably has around 3,900 weekends left on earth. The realization was a motivator, but also put much into perspective: What did she want to do with this precious time?

In many ways, she’s already done more than most. In the eighth grade she attended the Seeds of Peace Interfaith Camp in India, a choice that set her on a path to attending Camp in Maine in 2018, becoming a dialogue facilitator, and using a few of her favorite tools—particularly dialogue, art, dancing, and a lot of love—to becoming a champion of female empowerment and youth education.

“Through dialogue with Seeds of Peace, I began to see small things in the ways that women were treated, whether they had professional lives or worked from home. Seeing the hypocrisy inspired me to do something, and I started by going back to my roots.”

Thus was born Project Sachetna (birth or renewal in Hindi), a weeklong, in-person program that Saumya and her sister Sanmyukta (2019 Indian Seed) founded in 2018 for girls in the rural community where her father grew up. Using primarily dialogue and arts and crafts, they sought to bring a message of empowerment to girls who were only a few years younger than them.

“Most of the kids go to school for the free lunch, and most of the girls get married after 10th grade,” Saumya said. “There’s not much a future for them if they want something else, but we wanted to show them they did have a choice, and that their voices mattered.”

The program was scheduled for a week during the students’ vacation, and Saumya was told not to expect much in terms of attendance.

“The first few days started with around 20 girls, but the numbers kept increasing. They were showing up an hour early, and before long, boys began coming as well, intrigued by what the girls were learning. By the end of the week, the number had more than doubled,” Saumya said.

She has since been selected for a number of prestigious fellowships that allow youth to explore and express ideas around intersections of topics like feminism, equality, and leadership. Most recently, she was invited by Teach for India to participate in a project examining the repercussions of the pandemic on education in India. Organizing community dialogues, creating toolkits that countered misinformation, and even speaking on national television, she advocated for the millions of students—some 60 percent of children—without internet access who were suffering from a lack of education during the pandemic.

“These are not just statistics, there are actually humans behind them,” she told a newscaster. “If we can put resources into reopening restaurants and reopening bars, why are we not putting the same resources into re-opening our schools?”

While Saumya is motivated to make the most of her time on earth, she said her focus is on empowering others to make changes in their own lives and communities.

“I want to do remarkable work that sustains my soul, but it’s not about fame or money,” she said, “If I’m able to help out even one person, I’ll feel like this is a life well lived.”

Janet Wallach named next Seeds of Peace president

Feb 16, 2006 / No Comments

NEW YORK | On the night of its unique and spectacular Young Leadership Committee fundraising event in New York, Seeds of Peace officially announced that Janet Wallach, the widow of Seeds of Peace founder the late John Wallach, will take over as President of the international nonprofit organization.

“Seeds of Peace has been an important part of my life since my husband, John, created it in 1993.  Under his direction as well as that of past president, Aaron Miller, I have been honored to remain integrally involved in the organization’s growth—helping it to become one of the most internationally recognized institutions working for peace in the Middle East and other conflict regions,” said Janet Wallach. “I look forward to contributing to Seeds of Peace in a more official capacity as Seeds of Peace expands in its second decade; with over 3,000 graduates—many of whom are now young adults trained and positioned to become leaders, Seeds of Peace is needed more than ever.”

During the three years Mr. Miller served as President of Seeds of Peace, Janet Wallach remained in the New York office as Executive Vice President. Miller, who transitioned to the role of Senior Advisor, is currently at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars working on his new book “America and the Much Too Promised Land: The Elusive Search for Arab-Israeli Peace” (Bantam/Dell, 2008). After an extensive executive search, Seeds of Peace chose Wallach as the natural successor to Miller.

Janet Wallach is a journalist and the author of eight books—writing extensively about the Middle East. Her most well-known book, “Desert Queen; The Extraordinary Life of Gertrude Bell” (Nan A. Talese/Doubleday, 1996), has been translated into twelve languages and was praised by The Boston Globe for being “as timely as today’s headlines.” “Wallach comfortably commands the political and diplomatic history of the Middle East,” said the Chicago Tribune.

Janet Wallach has spent much of her life living and working in the Middle East, and has also co-authored “Arafat: In the Eyes of the Beholder” (Carol Publishing, 1991, updated 1997); “The New Palestinians” (Prima, 1992), and “Still Small Voices” (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1988).  Her most recent book, “Seraglio” (Nan A. Talese/Doubleday, 2003) is an historical novel that was called “both serious and enchanting” by Publisher’s Weekly.  Janet Wallach has been a frequent contributor to The Washington Post Magazine as well as a contributor to Smithsonian Magazine and other periodicals. She has written cover story profiles of Iraqi Ambassador Nizar Hamdoon; Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan; Reza Pahlavi, putative heir to the throne of Iran; Palestinian envoy Hassan Abdul Rahman; Saudi entrepreneur Adnan Khashoggi; First Lady of Egypt Jihan Sadat; and the British official Gertrude Bell.

The official announcement of Janet Wallach as President took place at the Seeds of Peace fundraiser A Journey Through the Peace Market on Thursday, February 16th.  This star-studded fundraiser featured “Best New Artist” and 3-time Grammy winner, John Legend as well as 40 Israeli, Palestinian, Indian, Pakistani and Afghan Seeds of Peace program graduates.

With recent events and leadership transitions in the Middle East, Seeds of Peace has recently been highlighted as a critical organization to the Middle East and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict because it is investing in a new generation of leaders who are capable of understanding and reaching out to the “enemy.” Former President Bill Clinton spoke to this at the World Economic Forum in Davos just weeks ago when he praised the work of Seeds of Peace and discussed the importance of finding ways to help people understand the other side.

Seeds of Peace is dedicated to empowering young people from regions of conflict with the leadership skills required to advance reconciliation and coexistence.  Since 1993, it has graduated over 3,000 teenagers from its internationally-recognized program that begins at its Camp in Maine and continues through its Center for Coexistence in Jerusalem. More information can be found at www.seedsofpeace.org.

‘Women want sexual health advice’
Express Tribune (Pakistan)

Dec 4, 2011 / No Comments

LAHORE | Women made up the bulk of visitors at a free medical camp. According to Dr Mahak Mansoor – a gynaecologist who works at Mayo Hospital and was one of the four doctors who volunteered at the camp – said most of them sought advice about reproductive health.

Around 300 people came to the camp, according to the organisers. Free of charge tests for diabetes, calcium and cholesterol levels were also provided.

The camp was set up by the Seeds of Peace, as part of their ‘Change Maker’ programme, in collaboration with the Trust for Education and Development of Deserving Students at The Trust School in Green Town.

Dr Mansoor, said that the women’s interest had highlighted the need for counselling women from rural and impoverished areas about reproductive health. She said that such programmes were essential for incorporating a sense of social responsibility in the youth.

About 10 students from various educational institutes including Beaconhouse School System, Crescent Model School and FC College volunteered at the camp along with 15 members of Seeds of Peace. The young volunteers put up banners and distributed leaflets in the surrounding areas to help create awareness about personal hygiene. They also delivered lectures in Urdu and Punjabi at the camp.

Read Aroosa Shaukat’s article in The Express Tribune â€șâ€ș