A bovE Celebrations during the
Purim in the Mahane Yehuda
Market in Jerusalem. Purim is
an ancient Jewish holiday that
commemorates a time when
many Jewish people in Persia
were saved from extermination
Right The Western Wall in the
Old City of Jerusalem is a holy
site where many Jews come to
pray. The wall separates people
by gender, with men on one
side, and women on the other
“The immediate goal of camp
dialogue is not agreement or
consensus, and there is no expectation
that campers adopt or even embrace
each other’s viewpoints,” Kapenga
explains. “Through dialogue, campers
reflect on their own identities and
gain insights into the dynamics that
perpetuate conflict. In doing so,
they lay the groundwork necessary
for exploring and addressing these
dynamics through local Seeds of Peace
programmes once they return home.”
In 2015, Seeds of Peace unveiled
a new initiative called “Gather”, which
is a five-day conference with the task
of investigating new solutions for
unified progress. “Seeds of Peace’s
programme in Jordan marked the
launch of our initiative to spark locally-
rooted efforts to change the status
quo,” Kapenga says.“The immediate goal of camp dialogue is
not agreement or consensus, and there
is no expectation that campers adopt or
even embrace each other’s viewpoints”
Eric Kapenga, camp counsellor at Seeds of Peace“We convened over 200
changemakers from more than 20
countries in Jordan to focus on the
roles that business, entrepreneurship,
media, technology and gender play in
social change,” he adds.
Svoboda elaborates: “Gather was
a place where people who had big
ideas could find practical ways to put
them into action to have an impact on
communities typically in conflict.”
By bringing people together who would
not normally have the chance to meet –
and could possibly continue their lives
as enemies – a natural shift took place,
simply from listening to and learning
from one another, she explains.
Of the 100 year-round projects
and over 40 peace-building initiatives
staffed by Seeds of Peace alumni
across the globe, they all share a
common goal. They are designed tocare