III 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. CON. RES. 337 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 11, 2008 

Received 

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 

Honoring Seeds of Peace for its 15th anniversary as an 

organization promoting understanding, reconciliation, acceptance, coexistence, and peace in the Middle East, 

South Asia, and other regions of conflict. 

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 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
2 

HCON 337 RDS 

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; 

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 leadVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:33 Jun 18, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HC337.RDS HC337

wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
3 

HCON 337 RDS 

ers 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 

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 

2 concurring), That Congress— 

3 (1) reaffirms that youth should be involved in 

4 long-term, visionary solutions to violent conflicts; 

5 (2) honors the accomplishments of Seeds of 

6 Peace in its 15 years of promoting understanding, 

7 reconciliation, acceptance, coexistence, and peace 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS
4 

HCON 337 RDS 

1 among youth from the Middle East and other re2 gions of conflict around the world; and 

3 (3) views Seeds of Peace as a highly creative 

4 and successful effort to achieve reconciliation among 

5 peoples from areas of conflict, which inspires great 

6 hope that nations in conflict ultimately can learn to 

7 live together in peace, cooperation, and security. 

Passed the House of Representatives June 10, 2008. 

Attest: LORRAINE C. MILLER, 

Clerk. 


wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS