We are proud of our many Seeds who are making their diverse viewpoints heard. That’s why we’re so pleased to offer a glimpse at their work creating change in this blog post series, Seeds in the Lead.
- Pakistani Seed Ahmed, Israeli Seed Avigail, and Chicago Seed Journey appeared alongside other alumni in Seeds of Peace’s new audio documentary series, INSPIRED. Since its launch in February, INSPIRED has been downloaded over 3,000 times and has been featured in iTunes’ New & Noteworthy section for two categories!
- As The New York Times’ senior Afghanistan correspondent, Afghan Seed Mujib has spent years covering the nation’s most pressing issues. Check out his most recent articles, which go in depth on the US and Taliban’s high-level talks to end the war.
- Pakistani Seed Emaan just launched her first social action project, Leading Change. The program aims to help young leaders in Pakistan develop “21st century skills” essential to strong leadership, such as communication, empathy, active listening, patience, and teamwork. “As students develop such skills,” Emaan told us, “they will be able to have a better understanding of conflicts and prove to be agents of change in the community at the very root level.”
- Since November, Egyptian Seed Bahira has written extensively for Scene Arabia, a digital podium for voices in the Middle East and North Africa covering the people, places, and events redefining the region. Check out her numerous articles on our alumni, including GATHER Fellows Lilly and Pooja, Palestinian Seed Yousef, and American Seed Micah.
- When he’s not busy being the subject of articles, Micah is teaming up with the Justice Choir DC, organizing for social and environmental justice with new protest and resistance songs. Meanwhile, his core initiative, the Jerusalem Youth Chorus, is convening in London to celebrate music and dialogue between Israeli and Palestinian singers.
- Palestinian Seed Dima quotes fellow Palestinian Seed Dalal in her on new piece on Mahmoud Abbas’ political maneuvering. Check it out on The Media Line!
- American Seed Abigail shared her experiences with intersectionality—or the lack thereof—with American feminist movements on the Lillith Magazine blog. “Feminism,” she writes, “is for Jewish women and Black women. For Zionists and Palestinians. None of these identities undermine the reality of the next. We seem to have forgotten that groups of people, by existing, are not and should not be mutually exclusive. We have forgotten that empathy, not a standard of moral purity, is the cornerstone of intersectionality.”
- Have you read our new blog series, Seed Stories? Each post gives Seeds the platform to elevate their voices with first-hand accounts of their lived experiences. Recent stories feature efforts by Israeli Seed and GATHER Fellow Keren to create a safer nightlife for women, thoughts by Pakistani Seed Sana on the rising tensions between India and Pakistan, and work by Los Angeles Seed Mihret advocating for dialogue.
- Speaking of Mihret, his efforts to spearhead a Civil Discourse Club at his high school was recently featured on ABC News in California. The initiative is designed to decrease polarization and foster dialogue around issues important to his school and community “I want to be as politically active as possible,” Mihret told reporter Brandi Hitt. “I think it’s my democratic obligation as a citizen of this country to try and promote as much political education, as much conflict resolution, and as much dialogue as possible.”
- Pakistani Seed Sahar reviewed the book Faith and Feminism in Pakistan in The Nation. Author Afiya S. Zia, she writes, “effectively argues against the reductive, religio-centric approach to feminist agency, and … sets up a strong case for the need to explore and expand spaces for secular feminist agency.” Sahar was also recently part of a three-person commission on safeguarding the rights of domestic workers in Pakistan, which ultimately led to a governmental ban on underage domestic workers. Read the report in The News!
Are there any recent Seed achievements that we missed? Let us know in the comments below!