The concept of sustainability doesn’t only span the realms of ecology and conservation, but just as much applies to human affairs. In a world where war-stricken regions rip apart communities and alienate people from each other, it is more important than ever to foster positive and progressive international solidarity, and therefore sustain peaceful human and international relations.

One particular organization is doing just that. Seeds of Peace is a non-profit organization dedicated to fostering leadership and communication skills amongst the youth of conflict-laden regions of the world. Its mission is to empower the youth of such regions with confidence, empathy, and respect and to subsequently equip them with diplomatic tools that will aid in fostering more peaceful affairs for the future, ideally, by contributing to the relief of turmoil within their home countries.

Seeds of Peace was founded in 1993 by John Wallach, an American journalist and international correspondent with several newspapers around the world. “Wallach wanted to address those conflicts through working with youth,” says Eric Kapenga, Director of Communications for Seeds of Peace. “The idea was to “sow the seeds of peace” beginning with younger generations, so that they may carry negotiation, communication and peacekeeping skills over into their conflict regions, thus creating a path to peace and change.

When Wallach approached a group of Middle Eastern diplomats and proposed his idea of starting a summer camp in Maine for kids from their home countries, the diplomats agreed to send the teenagers The inception of the Seeds of Peace International Camp included 46 Israeli, Palestinian, and Egyptian male campers that summer.”

In the years after that first summer, other countries rapidly caught on, and Seeds of Peace expanded their regional scope, including more Middle Eastern and surrounding countries, as well as female campers. Programs have been established for delegates from Morocco, Cyprus, the Balkans, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Egypt, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and a delegation for kids from the state of Maine.

“However,” explains Kapenga, “we have limited our scope to focus on the core countries and the main focus of the organization has been those regions involved in the Arab-Israeli conflict and South Asia. Despite the conflict-laden nature of many of these regions, most of the governments in such countries strongly support the work of Seeds of Peace.”

The Seeds of Peace programs are targeted to teens who are primarily between the ages of 14 and 16. Acceptance into the Seeds of Peace program is selective, and begins with entry into the summer camp. There is also an American Delegates program, whereby a small selection of American teens can participate in dialogue sessions, exploring issues such as multiculturalism and racism that are present in the U.S., in addition to providing support and friendship to the international campers.

“The summer camp is the gateway to the organization's programs back in the delegates’ home countries,” explains Kapenga. Seeds of Peace candidates typically apply through their school-systems in their home countries. There are two three-week camp sessions during the summer, and the number of delegates accepted for the summer camp sessions fluctuates depending upon funding for that year. “We get somewhere around 8,000 applicants each year,” says Kapenga, “this year we accepted around 320 delegates for the summer camp sessions.”

The International Camp provides a neutral ground by which teens from the Middle East and South Asia can discuss their community conflicts and issues without needing to contend with the difficulties from their home countries. “When they arrive, they don’t know what they’re in for,” smiled Kapenga. There are two primary elements to the camp: a dialogue program and a core program. “The dialogue program is a ninety-minute daily session that kids participate in.” Kapenga explains. “The kids are broken up into small groups of about fifteen, and by conflict region. Those groups are facilitated by two professional facilitators, who go through a year-long training program run by Seeds of Peace in the Middle East. These dialogue sessions include kids from opposite sides of the particular conflict and are where the kids have a chance to formally talk about their experiences, their version of history, and their narrative; to argue, yell, and be upset.”

The other element of the camp is like any normal summer camp, including a variety of sports and creative activities that maximize interaction. This is where kids from all regions get to intermingle, providing opportunities for them to understand each other’s regional conflicts and gradually learn empathy and tolerance. “Toward the end of the camp session, they reach a point where they’re able to communicate, listen respectfully, and come away with a deeper understanding of not only the other side, but their own,” states Kapenga.

Thus far, there have been over 4,000 graduates of the Seeds of Peace International Camp program, located in Maine. After graduating from the camp, they earn title of Seed, and training doesn’t stop with the conclusion of the International Camp. As the “Seed” graduates mature and grow over the years, other opportunities and challenges are provided for them in their home regions to keep the initial seeds of leadership growing. Back in their home countries, particularly in the Middle East and South Asia, programs exist for Seed graduates that help them to continue to exercise their diplomacy skills through a variety of opportunities.

Seeds participate in further dialogue sessions, global summits, community service projects, regional seminars, and community outreach efforts. Some may choose to be involved with the Seed’s regional newsletter, The Olive Branch. “The challenge is to run programs for a wide range of ages,” Kapenga explains. “They’re interested in a different type of program than the kids who are here in the summer, who are in their teens. So in their home countries, we run a range of year-round programs. We continue to run the dialogue sessions, and also run professional networking programs for some of the older Seeds.”

The “seeds” that have been planted over the years, have had many positive results thus far. “What these kids do with their life choices after participating in the camp is what we’re really interested in seeing,” Kapenga says. “Some of our Seeds have gone into the media, some become members of a negotiating team. We have some graduates who are working in politics and other grads who are in major positions of influence like teachers, news anchors and such.”

Time will still tell the collective results of the Seeds of Peace mission, as the years and numbers of Seeds delegates grows and spreads throughout the world. But the positive effects of the programs are evident as so many Seeds graduates continue to practice diplomacy and progressive human relations in some way; some directly through the Seeds of Peace organization. “As the Seeds get older, they take over other positions within Seeds of Peace,” Kapenga explains. “Some become full time staff. For example, our Israeli and Palestinian program directors are graduates of the organization. It’s great to see this becoming more of an organization rooted in these conflict regions and staffed by people from these regions.”

As a non-profit, Seeds of Peace keeps its programs running and growing with the help of a variety of corporate sponsors, foundation donations and private contributions, and U.S. State Department funding. You can learn more about Seeds of Peace, including volunteer and funding opportunities, on their extensive website: www.seedsofpeace.org.