NEW YORK | Seeds of Peace awarded NBC News Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent Andrea Mitchell the John P. Wallach Peacemaker award on May 13 for her long career reporting stories of international importance.
“We are honored to be able to recognize Andrea Mitchell for her incredible career reporting on some of the most important foreign affairs issues of our time,” said Seeds of Peace Executive Director Leslie Lewin.
“Andrea connects audiences to issues with courage and conviction, values that are of great importance to our work at Seeds of Peace as well.”
The award was presented at Seeds of Peace’s annual Spring Dinner in New York City celebrating 22 years of inspiring and equipping new leaders. CNN contributor and comedian Dean Obeidallah hosted the event, held at 583 Park Ave. for over 450 distinguished supporters, including diplomats, journalists, and philanthropists.
The Dinner raised over $1 million in support of Seeds of Peace programs, including its Camp in Maine, regional programming, and the new GATHER initiative for emerging changemakers.
Mitchell spoke about her time visiting Maine during the Gaza War last summer while producing her report on the Seeds of Peace Camp.
The evening featured three Seeds—Salma (Palestinian), an Afghan Seed, and Iddo (Israeli)—who shared how Seeds of Peace has inspired them to work for change at home. Each of them spoke thoughtfully and compassionately about their journey as Seeds and the impact of their experiences.
“I learned that as we fight for peace, we cannot ignore justice,” said Salma, who is from Gaza. “Seeds of Peace provided me with the tools to seek justice without taking justice away from anyone else.”
They also spoke about how they navigate their Seeds identities back home.
“I no longer viewed others as ‘others’ and myself as ‘me,’ said Jawed. “It was ‘we’ because only ‘we’ could change the situation in insecure regions of the world.”
All three spoke about how they stand as leaders in their communities ready to create change.
“Change starts in the classroom,” said Iddo, a school teacher in Jerusalem. “My students become less ignorant and so they are less afraid and hateful.”
SEED SPEECHES: IDDO AND SALMA