Seeds of Peace Impact Report

30YearsofImpact

Our purpose,power,andpotential

Our alumni are open thinkers with the skills needed to meet the challenges of today.

Seeds often tell us how their Seeds of Peace experience affects not just what they do, but how they do it. Empathy, inclusion, and a commitment to dialogue across differences— skills too often missing from today’s leaders.

Seeds of Peace alumni are leading in countless human rights, civil society, media, educational, and political organizations and businesses, including these institutions:

ANNA

Skills of empathy, dialogue, cross-cultural understanding, embracing and celebrating differences are instilled in teens in Seeds of Peace programs ... These skills are as relevant in classrooms as they are in boardrooms, political offices, arts and culture and media today. These

My experience at Seeds of Peace kicked off a lifetime of political awareness and interest in civic duty [and] influenced my college major in political science. I am now

It was a turning point in my life, Seeds of Peace expanded my thinking processes to include and feel all sides of any story, influenced me to prioritize human beings over anything else regardless of my culture, beliefs, religion and tradition.

MAINE SEED Educator

1995 Israeli Seed & global public affairs, business diplomacy,

and social impact leader

PALESTINIAN SEED Journalist

AMERICAN SEED

Seeds of Peace was the most important, formative experience of my adolescence, and 
 as a result, of my educational and career paths …

It was the catapult that set me on a life's path 
 of service-oriented work that puts people at the center, seeking to build bridges where otherwise there are none, or few.

Mission Seeds of Peace develops courageous leaders who work 
 in solidarity across differences to create more 
 just and inclusive societies.

What is Seeds of Peace?

We exist to help grow new generations of leaders in communities divided by conflict. Creating spaces for young people to meet face to face, across lines of difference, has given rise to a network of more than 8,000 open thinkers throughout the Middle East, South Asia, Europe, and the United States with the skills and relationships to catalyze change.

Our model is both dialogue-rooted and action-oriented. We don’t just talk the talk: we expect and enable our alumni to contribute to effectively addressing local and global issues. And they are.

How do we define and measure our impact?

Governments sign treaties, but only people can make peace. We go after the roots of conflict by focusing on transformational, rather than transactional, peacebuilding.

Our approach supports personal growth and develops interpersonal relationships, bridging lines of difference, as first steps towards creating a community of global leaders who can effectively lead waves of wider societal change.

To understand the true potential and power of this community, we document the ripples of change that our alumni create— individually and collectively, through economic, social, and political systems—and conservatively estimate they have reached over 10 million people and counting.

Bridging: closing physical 
 and ideological gaps as 
 a first step towards peace.

We partnered with behavioral science researchers at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and together, have over a decade of data that demonstrates that relationships across lines of conflict are the key to transformative impact: they change attitudes, inspire hope, increase commitment to action, and make it possible to imagine a different future.

Over 8,000 of our alumni 
 helping to bridge the world.

5,000+ change-minded leaders in the Middle East.

Seeds of Peace began by bringing together 46 Palestinians, Israelis, and Egyptians in 1993. They have since been joined by campers from Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and Yemen, and there are now 5,000 youth and educators from the Middle East who have graduated from the Seeds of Peace Camp.

1,000+

Israeli and Palestinian educators trained in crosscultural understanding

Camp is just the start, however. Local, yearround staff and leadership programs support alumni in planting their ideas back home, in their schools and communities, so their work takes root where it is needed most.

BY THE NUMBERS

650+

schools attended 
 by alumni throughout
 the Middle East

135+

Israeli and Palestinian professionals trained 
 in dialogue facilitation

40+

local Israeli and Palestinian peace organizations staffed by alumni

YOUSEF

2005 Palestinian Seed, diplomat and author

[Camp] became a way of life for me, and a reason to be hopeful and optimistic. I came to believe that as long as Seeds of Peace lives on, Israelis and Palestinians have a chance to live in a true, lasting peace …. There has to be a way to meet the needs of both Palestinians and Israelis,

Shira

1995 Israeli Seed, musician

Wael

1993 Egyptian Seed, mediamaker

I coexist with the people in my building, but we don’t know each other. We don’t have these warm, neighborly relations. We don’t share a story. And that’s what I’m trying to do, I’m trying to take the world into that warmth, that warmth of community.

I sing, speak, and shout about what is whispered, censored, and suppressed … I think the fact that I want to do stuff, even if it’s just a tiny bit, it’s definitely inspired by the Seed in me —it’s that part of me that was supported ever since.

Iddo

1997 Israeli Seed, teacher

Seeds of Peace has made me a better teacher. I bring my experiences throughout the years into my classrooms. My students get to hear about a variety of narratives and voices ... But most important of all, I try to pass from Seeds of Peace to my classrooms a sense of hope and commitment to that hope.

600+ young leaders in Afghanistan, India, 
 and Pakistan

In South Asia, youth have been attending the Seeds of Peace Camp and bridging religious and ethnic tensions within their countries and across their borders since 2001. At Camp, they build skills to turn their communities around through dialogue.

Once home, they ripple change throughout their countries by organizing and leading camps that bring hundreds more into dialogue and action to deal with local violence and injustice.

In 2022, we launched the Dialogue Academy in Pakistan, an online platform that stands to bring hundreds of thousands across the region into compassionate and critical conversations.

Whether as journalists at major national newspapers, as lawyers fighting for gender justice, or as founders of schools and nonprofits, our alumni in South Asia are leading local economic, social, and political change.

Behishta

2009 Afghan Seed

IRA

2003 Indian Seed

I think everything—ranging from my decision to do law to my belief in solving gender discrimination in India—have been initiated through Camp. Camp made me see the personal as political and the political as personal. I never saw the world the same

Ahmed

2004 Pakistani Seed

I founded the Lincoln School System to address gender inequity in Pakistan because I firmly believe that we cannot build a peaceful and prosperous future without giving girls access to affordable, high quality education ... As a Seed, I believe in the power that each of us has to change our societies from within.

2,000+ young leaders in US and UK

While youth from the US have been part of our International Camp since the very beginning, our first US-focused program was born in 2000—right in our home state of Maine.

When recent immigrants and refugees, primarily from Africa and Southeast Asia, started settling in Maine, one of the whitest states in the country, friction began to surface. Camp was the perfect space for youth to build transformative relationships and leadership skills that could bridge their communities.

Today, our alumni in the US and UK are taking on the systems and beliefs fueling conflict and discrimination based on racial, religious, political, and geographical difference.

Seeds have stepped up to advise state policymakers on education, lead dialogue programs for students and faculty in their schools, organize walkouts for gun control, act in solidarity for gender equity and Black liberation, and publish op-eds advocating for their future.

In 2006, youth from the UK joined to help shift rifts existing within their communities.

American and UK Seeds have studied at more than across their countries. 350 high schools

As a documentary filmmaker, my goal is to build trusting relationships with people so that their personal narratives can be uncovered and selfreflection encouraged. It has been my greatest pleasure to work to make a difference in my community through my art.

Seeds of Peace was where we turned our whispers for change into shouts. It empowered us to see that we are radiant, that our voices were revolutionary, and that revolution is now.

Camp taught me about relationships and storytelling. It is only through the forging of strong relationships and a genuine appreciation for the stories of others that we can hope to bring peace to the world. Both insights are key to cultivating empathy, the foundation of my personal and professional life.

ZAMZAM

2017 American Seed Filmmaker

Danielle

2019 American Seed Student, activist

Joey

2004 American Seed Coaching and leadership specialist

500+ young leaders in Cyprus, Greece, Turkey and the Balkans

In 1998, Seeds of Peace expanded to a new region for the first time. bringing together Greek and Turkish Cypriots, living on opposite sides of the Green Line, along with smaller delegations from Greece and Turkey.

Two years later, we adapted our model to take on conflict between religious and ethnic groups in the Balkans. Youth from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania and Serbia met in the Olympic Village, site of Greece’s historic games.

Our alumni from these countries have become diplomats, news anchors, social entrepreneurs, educators, and founders of peace organizations.

ZANA

As an Ambassador of Kosovo, I proudly represent one of the newest countries in the world ... Having been part of Seeds of Peace at an early age, I believe I was uniquely positioned to succeed and build ties of friendship and cooperation that last forever.

MARIOS

1998 Cypriot Seed, Peace Educator & Author

Camp was my life-changing moment, when I first understood the conflict from the other side. From there, I decided to study education. I believe that education should be used to end the conflict, not to regenerate it.

At the first UN Kosovo Assembly, I said that when I was 16, I was part of Seeds of Peace and awarded an Ambassador of Peace certificate, and now after receiving so many degrees and certificates, [it] is still the most significant. No matter what we are professionally, we have a bigger role: to serve and act in a way that will contribute to peace. This is what I always have 
 in mind.

Dijana

2001 Kosovo Seed & Civil Affairs Officer, United Nations Mission in Kosovo

Impact

The programs we run, connections we make, the eyes 
 we open—these ripple across the world and into the future. 
 We are a community rippling change: 8,000 alumni; 10 million+ lives impacted.

For over 30 years, we’ve been bridging communities in conflict. Our leadership programs equip both young minds and educators with what it takes to turn the world around.

8,000+

global community

6,500+

ALUMNI over age 18

COUNTRIES REPRESENTED

27 form POSITIVE RELATIONSHIPS ACROSS LINES 
 OF DIFFERENCE

250+

90% trained in mediation and negotation by harvard law faculty

Shaping people ...

We develop change-minded leaders 
 at the Seeds of Peace Camp.

In a 2017 study, alumni shared the most significant change they experienced through Seeds of Peace. Their most common responses, whether it had been two years or 20 since attending Camp, speak to the life-altering effects—and invaluable leadership skills—that can come from an opportunity to step outside of your comfort zone and reach across lines of conflict:

Camp enabled understanding 
 or acceptance of others across 
 lines of conflict.

Broadened perspectives or developed a more open mind.

Empowerment and personal development. Shaped

59%

The strength of our impact rests 
 on the strength of our relationships.

Researchers at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business have spent more than a decade studying the impact of Camp. While most Seeds have no cross-conflict relationships beforehand, more than 90% consistently form at least one strong connection at Camp. This type of relationship has proven to correlate with key indicators of transformative impact: it changes how they see each other, grows their trust and empathy, builds solidarity, activates hope, mobilizes action, and makes it possible to imagine a different future.

... who shape the world.

Seeds are at the heart of peacebuilding around the world.

Research on 800+ Palestinian and Israeli Seeds from the first decade of Seeds of Peace found that 17.5%—nearly one in five —were professionally involved in joint peace efforts, working for more than 40 local organizations. The vast majority of active alumni credited their experience with Seeds of Peace as the inspiration for their activism as adults.** Beyond direct peacebuilding efforts, Seeds are working in a number of fields to bridge communities and impact peace, including politics, education, business, media, and the arts.

76%

of alumni actively and intentionally take action to transform conflict through economic, social, and/or political change

100+

Fellows leading high impact ventures through the arts, social enterprise, and civil society

More than two-thirds of Seeds actively work to transform conflict.

76% of Seeds report to be intentionally and actively working to transform conflict through economic, social, and political change—as elected officials, educators, economists, entrepreneurs, journalists, community organizers, artists.* 
 For so many, Seeds of Peace put them on the path and continues to inform how they do their work.

engaged through GATHER, dedicated to alumni and others taking action on critical issues 
 at the heart of conflict

100+

1,700+ aim to or already hold political office.

ISRAELI SEED

I have a better understanding of the conflict, and it made my perspective a lot more complicated. Having said that, I try my best to hear out different opinions and bridge across differences in whatever

it is I'm doing.

Our alumni create ripples of change in social, economic, and political spheres around the world.

Our alumni are creating greater economic development and shared prosperity in their countries, through initiatives that create jobs and food security through agritech in Jordan create new impact innovation, impact investing, and ESG strategies in Israel address unemployment in India that help people—no matter their gender, caste, class or income—get the skills and opportunities to join the workforce and lead a more secure life.

They are founding and leading civil society organizations for social change, such as Project Amal ou Salam, which provides educational opportunities for Syrians who have been displaced as a result of war Shalom Acshav, Israel’s oldest and largest peace organization Aadeh, which engages Palestinian women in intergenerational, interreligious dialogue CivilTEA, a dialogue model to enable civil discourse in American high schools.

WHAT OUR SEEDS SAY

70%

stay involved with our programs following their time at Camp.

89%

describe themselves as active supporters of Seeds of Peace.

In politics and law, our alumni are serving as ambassadors, diplomats, elected officials, advisors to prime ministers and foreign ministers in Palestine, Israel, Kosovo, United States, and the United Nations human rights legal scholars supporting refugees and immigrants access their legal rights.

48%

have given back to Seeds of Peace by donating time, money, or services.

99%

recommend Seeds of Peace to others.

Our network of more than 1,000 educators is creating waves through classrooms, schools, and educational systems, including establishing the first conflict resolution and diplomacy program in a Palestinian university founding a school for refugees in Greece creating bicommunal camps in Cyprus.

“Slowly but surely, more and more of us will be in key positions and places where we can influence others.”

- Lior, 1999 Israeli Seed

8,000 Seeds. 10 million+ lives impacted.

We know that our impact is not limited to those that directly participate in our programs. Our alumni working to transform conflict reportedly reach nearly 2,000 people on average. As leaders of schools and organizations, news anchors and aid workers, they are impacting and improving

Conservatively, this puts the broader reach of our community north of 10 million people. We know that through often difficult conversations with family and friends, and through common interactions of every day life, they are influencing even more. It is through these ever-expanding circles that

Seeds of Peace has shaped the leadership capacity of many young people globally, especially the ones in my community who are working to improve our city, state, and the world.

Tiziana sousou Seeds of Peace Board Member

My support for Seeds comes from having seen the transformation Camp had on my two older children. They connected with their Palestinian heritage and came to acknowledge the need for empathy in order to achieve a lasting peace.

Tom etzel Founder & President Global Peace Building Foundation & Seeds of Peace Supporter

We believe in the power of dialogue in [Seeds of Peace’s] peace building processes. We have witnessed the transformation of the participants as they begin to see the human faces of those they were raised to hate, build relationships around mutual trust and respect, and go out into the world and become leaders and advocates for peace in their home communities.

pious ali

Portland City Council & Seeds of Peace Board Member

Each of us play a meaningful role in this work. Some are strategists, some are frontline protesters; some are researchers, others storytellers; some are negotiators, healers, funders. Every day, in countries all around the world, this community is doing their part to realize a more just and peaceful world.

To our generous community of supporters: thank you. We see you and are grateful to the choice you make to help resource this work, at whatever level you are able.

You are an integral part of making change possible.

BY THE NUMBERS

36,451

48% donors over 30 years

of alumni have donated time, money, or services to Seeds of Peace

members of our Board 
 of Directors are alumni 4

OUR donors

We are grateful to the following donors who have contributed $5OO,000 or more over the last 30 years.

Alan Ginsburg

Arn Tellem and Nancy Reiss Tellem

Carlson Wagonlit Travel

Eugene and Carolyn Mercy

ExxonMobil Corporation

Fredric H. and Helaine B. Gould

Gilbert Silverman

James M. and Nora Orphanides

Janet Wallach

John & Linda MacDonald Foundation

Jordan L. and Julie B. Solomon

Kathryn W. Davis

Leila & Mickey Straus Family Charitable Trust

Michelle Mercer and Bruce Golden

Moses and Susan Feldman

Paul P. and Margaret Bernstein

OUR PARTNERS

Peggy and David Tanner

Robert B. Menschel

Robert De Courcy

Samuel P. and Wendy M. Frieder

Sandra Wijnberg and Hugh Freund

Seven Turns Fund, Inc.

Shaiza Rizavi and Jon Friedland

Shelby Cullom Davis Charitable Fund Inc.

Steven B. and Elizabeth S. Gruber

Stuart Miller

The John C. & Karyl Kay Hughes Foundation

The Moses Feldman Family Foundation

The Robert and Jane Toll Foundation

Tiziana and Ramez Sousou

USAID

Vital Projects Fund, Inc.

We deeply value the partnerships we have built over 
 the last 30 years with institutions like these.

We have partnered with a vast network of schools across the Middle East, South Asia, and the United States to recruit program participants. Meanwhile, corporations and philanthropic organizations have stepped up over the years and provided in-kind donations, financial support, and other resources to strengthen the organization and our mission.

Harvard Negotiation & Mediation Clinical Program

Harman Family Foundation

Thank you

for being part of our community.

We are grateful for you.

“We

now refuse to accept what is when we know what can be.”

— Seeds of Peace alumni in their Charter on Uprooting Hatred & Terror

370 Lexington Ave, Suite 201, New York, NY 10017  T. 212 573 8040  |  info@seedsofpeace.org www.seedsofpeace.org