Teens Report on the International Day of Peace at the UN

On Sept. 19 a bus-load of students traveled to attend the UN International Day of Peace observance at the UN headquarters in New York. Danya Wellmon spearheaded the planning. When Monica Willard of the UN office of United Religions Initiative invited some young people to come down for the UN Day of Peace, Beth Broadway of InterFaith Works of Central New York suggested students from Seeds of Peace. They provided financial assistance for the trip, along with United Religions International-North America and WTB.

Syracuse teens outside the UN headquarters in New York.
Photo courtesy of InterFaith Works of Central New York

Gay Montague, who accompanied the group, reported that 3 am a group of nearly 30 Syracuse high school students and chaperones boarded a bus for New York City. After breakfasts provided by Wegman’s (unfortunately sans coffee), the group disembarked at 8 am to begin an amazing and inspiring day. Gay was truly moved to watch young people from all over the world collaborate with each other. Seated in a large conference room (complete with language translating equipment), the group participated in a program including an address by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, a concert by Yo-Yo Ma and a presentation by Jane Goodall. After the UN event, the Syracuse young people visited the nearby Museum of Tolerance and the Seeds of Peace office in New York City, where they enjoyed pizza  before boarding the bus back to Syracuse.

Kathy Ferro, Administrative Assistant at the El-Hindi Center for Dialogue of InterFaith Works, also chaperoned the trip. She said that her favorite part of the day was getting out of her office and really getting to know the kids!

She explained that Seeds of Peace was founded in 1993 by John Wallach, who started a camp in Maine to provide a safe environment where Palestinian and Israeli kids could come to learn about each other, share their ideas honestly, and learn the skills needed to work toward peace. It was expanded to include teenagers from our country and others. The Syracuse chapter of Seeds of Peace, with 60 participants in five high schools, is sponsored by Say Yes To Education.

Kathy showed a slide presentation of last summer’s Seeds of Peace camp experience in Otisfield, Maine, attended by 24 refugee and American-born students from five Syracuse high schools. The camp experience increases their cultural awareness and helps break down barriers among those who are different from one another. The students returned to Syracuse energized to become ambassadors of understanding in their schools.

She then turned the meeting over to a panel of students: Anna Nguyen (Fowler), Cimone S. Jordan (Fowler), Tatyanna K. Jordan (Fowler), Olivia Vought (Nottingham), Ahmed Shalaan (Corcoran), Yousif Kareem (Nottingham), and Yasir Almafrachi (Nottingham). They introduced themselves and shared their impressions.

Several students said the UN International Day of Peace trip was truly memorable. Two members from Syracuse read a speech about non-violence and the importance of tolerance. Others got to hold a flag during the Moment of Silence. One was impressed with the amazing building itself–all the flags–an auditorium filled with young leaders. Honoring the good things happening in the country and throughout the world really “made you feel like peace can happen.” Students were excited to hear different perspectives of kids from different areas of the world. A video feed from Africa brought home that some areas of the world face worse challenges than we do. One student summarized: “Peace is when there is conflict but you are able to cope and compromise.” Jane Goodall’s portion of the program expanded the notion of peace to include our need to be in peace with our environment.

Their  trip was enriched by their visit to the Museum of Tolerance, which featured interactive displays about stereotypes throughout history and included information about slavery existing today. After watching a film, they left the Museum and visited the NYC office of Seeds of  Peace. Students  welcomed the chance to reunite with some of their counselors from Camp, to dialogue about the experiences of the morning–and  to eat some pizza!

The two-week Seeds of Peace summer camp in Maine is a transformative experience. With no internet available, a very diverse group of kids and counselors from all over the world meet and get to know each other beyond stereotypes. “I learned not to trust the media because of stereotypes,” one student said. “Never judge the other side unless you have interacted with them.” The approximately 160 campers break up into groups and dialogue twice a day. Any subject can be brought up. Discussions can be highly intense as people have strong emotional opinions and often come from communities in conflict. Some panel members returned a second year as peer support to facilitate discussion and support kids.

Campers learn that listening is equally as important as talking. When asked which topics were most difficult to talk about during dialogue sessions, various panelists answered: stereotyping and its influence on behavior, gender issues and feminism, White privilege, opening up and sharing your personal background/story. One student said that he talked and wrote about the violent conflict she had personally experienced–his family had to leave first Iraq and then Syria because of war/civil war before coming to Syracuse.

The camp seeks to validate every culture and every religion. As Ramadan occurred during their last camp session, accommodations were made for fasting, and everyone ate together at the end of the daily fast. Muslim, Quaker, Jewish, and Christian religious services are offered and campers can attend those of other faiths. Camp is about building relationships; it includes group challenges where teams must work together to meet physical challenges and culminates in Color Games, a camp-wide competition between two teams that encourages real teamwork across cultural differences. Several students stressed that campers become “as close as family” in two and a half weeks.  

When students return from Seeds of Peace Camp they sometimes have a difficult time communicating their new perspectives with their families. “It’s hard when you’re the only one who believes in something different.” They stay connected through Facebook and try to spread the word to their friends. Each school Seeds of Peace club plans activities to get other teens involved such as poetry slams, multicultural festivals, a “speed friending” event to foster relationships  across school groups and inter-school dialogues. School administrators are supportive of their efforts. Some teens on our panel plan to continue to work with Seeds of Peace after graduation as counselors, or plan a career influenced by their camp experience (Peace Corps, UN, environmental policy.)

After a break for refreshments, the panel of young people continued to answer questions. The sentiments they expressed, as well as their eloquence and sincerity truly inspired all of us.

Penny Hart voiced our gratitude for the opportunity to meet these young people who have such bright futures ahead.