[United States Statutes at Large, Volume 122, 110th Congress, 2nd Session]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

 
[NOTE: June 18, 2008 -  [H.Con.Res.337]   SEEDS OF PEACE--15TH
ANNIVERSARY RECOGNITION

Whereas Seeds of Peace, founded by the late John Wallach, is a program
that brings together young people and educators from regions of
conflict to study and learn about coexistence and conflict
resolution;

Whereas these young people study and learn primarily at an international
conflict resolution summer camp operated by Seeds of Peace in
Otisfield, Maine, and also through its regional programs such as the
facilitation training course in the Middle East, the homestay
programs in South Asia, and international regional conferences;

Whereas the first international conflict resolution camp welcomed
Israeli, Palestinian, Jordanian, and Egyptian youths in the summer
of 1993, and has since expanded to involve youths from other regions
of conflict, including from Greece, Turkey and divided Cyprus, the
Balkans, India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan;

Whereas Seeds of Peace utilizes the summer camp to initiate dialogue
between the youths of the United States and the youths from various
conflict regions to dispel hatred and create religious and cultural
understanding;

Whereas Seeds of Peace regional programs have trained hundreds of
educators to teach peaceful conflict resolutions techniques in their
classrooms, positively influencing thousands of students;

Whereas Seeds of Peace works to dispel fear, mistrust, and prejudice,
which among others are root causes of violence and conflict, and to
build a new generation of leaders who are committed to achieving
peace;


[[Page 5192]]
122 STAT. 5192


Whereas Seeds of Peace reveals the human face of those whom youth may
have been taught to hate, by engaging campers in both guided
coexistence sessions and ordinary summer camp activities such as
living together in cabins, sharing meals, canoeing, swimming,
playing sports, and creative exploration through the arts and
computers;

Whereas long-term peace between Arabs and Israelis, Indians and
Pakistanis, and Afghans and Pakistanis can only be achieved with the
emergence of a new generation of leaders who will choose dialogue,
friendship, and openness over violence and hatred;

Whereas Seeds of Peace provides year-round opportunities via regional
programming and innovative technology to enable former participants
to build on the relationships forged at camp, so that the learning
processes begun at camp may continue subsequently in the
participants' home countries;

Whereas youth graduates of the camp, known as Seeds, currently number
over 4,000, with an additional 567 adult delegation leaders also
having completed Seeds of Peace training;

Whereas this graduate network receives continued support from Seeds of
Peace in promoting professional cooperation;

Whereas Seeds of Peace is strongly supported by participating
governments and many world leaders; and

Whereas continued partial Federal funding for Seeds of Peace
demonstrates its recognized importance in promoting peaceful
resolution of conflicts as a primary goal of United States policy:
Now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),
That Congress--
(1) reaffirms that youth should be involved in long-term,
visionary solutions to violent conflicts;
(2) honors the accomplishments of Seeds of Peace in its 15
years of promoting understanding, reconciliation, acceptance,
coexistence, and peace among youth from the Middle East and
other regions of conflict around the world; and
(3) views Seeds of Peace as a highly creative and successful
effort to achieve reconciliation among peoples from areas of
conflict, which inspires great hope that nations in conflict
ultimately can learn to live together in peace, cooperation, and
security.

Agreed to June 18, 2008.