[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 337 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        H.Con.Res.337
                                                 Agreed to June 18, 2008

                       One Hundred Tenth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE SECOND SESSION

          Begun and held at the City of Washington on Thursday,
            the third day of January, two thousand and eight


                          Concurrent Resolution

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;

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.
Attest:

                                 Clerk of the House of Representatives.

Attest:

                                               Secretary of the Senate.