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Reflections on Peace Camp 2011: Turkey

Tuesday, June 21st, 2011
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The 12 days of PTPI’s 2011 Peace Camp have come to an end and the 28 students who represented 23 different countries have returned home. Throughout those twelve days, they learned about and saw firsthand the history, culture and people of Turkey. At the same time the got to know each other, and learned one another’s culture and history. They spent hours discussing how each of them could work for peace and a better future, and how the lessons learned during their 12 days together will help them to be globally minded leaders.

We asked each student to describe Peace Camp in their own words, in one or two sentences. Here are their responses:

“Amazing people, great country, and awesome program. As promised, a once in a lifetime experience!!” - Justus B., Germany

“The most life-changing experience of my life. It made me open my eyes to so many things and has given me confidence to achieve whatever I want.” - Samantha B., United States

“My experience at Peace Camp was amazing! I learned so much on this trip and I’m so glad that I got the opportunity to go and meet everyone from around the world. Every single one changed my life in some way. Thank you to everyone for making those ten days the best ten days of my life.” - Peter C., United States

“Peace Camp made me realize that no matter who we are, we have the same necessities and we are all human. I not only experienced Turkey, but I also experience a whole new world that I could never have imagined.” - Joao Pedro D., Brazil

“A life changing experience and a once in a lifetime opportunity.” - Hasnaa E., Morocco

“I experienced something that I had only learned from a textbook before: there is so much more to the world than just my country, and I love all these people from the rest of the world. But it doesn’t matter where we are, what we eat, how we live, because what matters are the people and the connections you make with them.” - Britt-Christine H., Norway

“My experience at Peace Camp was shocking! I discovered that I don’t live alone in this world. My eyes were opened to see other cultures and beliefs. Just thank you all – you made me GROW UP! I owe you a lot!” – Mereet H., Egypt

“A blessing to meet such an extrodinary people from around the world. I don’t think this experience could be compared to any kind of other camp. This was something special.” – Sarunas G., Lithuania

“A start for something new. I’ve learned so much and I can’t wait to bring it all back home with me. Thank you!” - Zain J., Palestinian Territories

“Peace Camp changed my life in more ways than I could have ever imagined. I made friends from around the world that I am going to share the world with for the rest of my life.” - Bobby K., United States

“I cannot condense my experience in just two sentences or sentences at all. I learned, laughed, cried, loved and made long lasting memories with friends. I traveled beyond Turkey.” - Ruby K., India

“Peace Camp, for me, was an emotional wake up call. It was a realization that an experience’s pivotal meaning lies in the people you share it with. Each and every day felt like a lifetime of overwhelming education on a multitude of levels. Thank you to everyone because each and every one of you made the trip as meaningful as it was.” – Max L., United States

“An amazing opportunity to truly experience diversity, learn and teach, change and be changed, travel and enjoy Turkish culture, get to see the world from different point of view, and, most importantly, gain a very special connection with the most wonderful people.” - Iryna N., Ukraine

“One of the most amazing experiences in my life. Everyone really changed me, and I miss every single person so much.” - Lesley N., United States

“I want to keep all the feelings and memories in my own heart only and never let them go away. It’s truly a ‘beginning of the rest of my life’ and I’m thankful to all of you for changing me into a better person who can live for PEACE :) .” - Trang N., Vietnam

“The best experience of my life. I learned about so many things and met the most amazing people. Peace Camp changed my life.” - Claudia P., Panama

“Peace Camp opened my mind. I have never felt so at ease. In a weird and indescribable way, the other Peace Campers made me a better Muslim and made me have this love and patriotic feeling towards my country. I’ve learned to look at things in a better perspective, to be positive. Each and everyday there was equivalent to a lifetime education. Peace Camp taught me that time was a very precious thing, that each and every second of your day should be used and enjoyed to the fullest. Each and every person I met inspired me to work harder academically. I love you everyone so much. Thank you for everything! Like Ruby said, we travelled beyond Turkey.” – Amalina R., Malaysia

“Every day was an equivlent of a month (or even a few months) of education, feelings, and relationships. I had never been more myself than with that group of 28 strangers. Thank you.” - Yuval R., Israel

“The best 10 days ever and the preparation for our new lives.” - Andrei S., Romania

“Peace Camp was a whirlwind of memories for me. So much was condensed into such a little time frame that I couldn’t tell which day it was throughout the course of the program. I grew amazingly close to people who were previously complete strangers to me, lived and breathed Turkey, absorbed as much as possible from the Peace Camp sessions, and last but not least, learned that Peace through Understanding can be made possible by an amazing bunch of students were truly the epitome of colour-blindness.” - Chia Chien T., Malaysia

To learn more about People to People International, visit www.ptpi.org

 

 

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More News from Peace Camp 2011: Turkey

Thursday, June 16th, 2011
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Earlier we told you what our 2011 PTPI Peace Camp delegates had been doing during the first few days of the program. Now that the 28 students from 23 countries are nearing the end of Peace Camp, read more about how they have been developing the skills they will need to become successful global leaders in the future. Special thanks to Peace Camp leaders Steven Youngblood and Kristine Knutter for sharing their writing:

Creating Peace Murals

June 13 kicked off with a 3:30am wake up call to catch a plane, and the PTPI Peace Campers arrived in Izmir, Turkey by late morning. It was a busy, full day that was capped off with creating murals that depict peace. The murals are as colorful as they are creative since, by now, the students have had a chance to explore peace and conflict topics. Their murals reflect their many different cultures and their interpretations of peace. One team of 10 students drew a vertical wall with words reflective of hatred inside the bricks. On either side of the wall, human figures wanting peace are shown throwing rocks at the wall. It’s clear that the wall of hatred between the figures is crumbling, and a large peace sign emerges on the horizon. The project proved challenging as the students display varied leadership characteristics and have different ideas about how to represent peace and conflict through art. Ultimately, the project was a huge success and a major lesson in working together to find common ground and beliefs.

On June 14, the students and their four leaders visited Ephesus, an ancient Greek city located near Izmir. They loved everything, especially the 20,000 seat amphitheater. A discussion session later in the day found all of the students, among them Jews, Christians, Muslims, agnostics and Hindus, together in a room to talk about their spiritual beliefs. Under normal circumstances, such a prospect might seem daunting or even dangerous. Fortunately, the students taking part in Peace Camp are able to dialogue in a mature, respectful and accepting manner.

Peace Campers in Izmir, Turkey

The session began with a religion quiz, then each student got up to explain their spiritual beliefs. Christians were the largest segment of the teen. They had an interesting discussion about the fact that they don’t agree on the date of Christmas (January 7 for some orthodox; December 25 for others), and also explored how rituals vary from denomination to denomination. They were followed by students intelligently discussing Judaism, Sikhism, and Islam. The last group to speak was loosely labeled non-believers, and consisted of atheists, agnostics, a secular humanist, and several students who labeled their spiritual beliefs “it’s complicated”. Their comments were especially interesting since these beliefs, those widely held, are often hidden out of fear of being ostracized – that “people wouldn’t be happy” or that they would receive negative comments. One student noted, “People don’t believe that you’ve decided (not to be religious). People say ‘oh, you haven’t searched enough.’ It’s definitely taboo.” Thanks to the camaraderie, warmth and sense of security at Peace Camp, nothing was taboo today in Izmir.

Today, on June 16, these 28 young people from around the world are saying goodbye to one another, amid hugs and tears. They have worked hard and played hard and now head for home tonight and tomorrow. Safe travels.

To learn more about People to People International, visit www.ptpi.org

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News from Peace Camp 2011: Turkey

Tuesday, June 14th, 2011
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Right now in Turkey, 28 students represent 23 countries are gathered for PTPI’s Peace Camp, a program that is designed to equip emerging youth leaders with tools to successfully meet the challenges of adulthood and global leadership. Participants were selected through a competitive application process. Peace Camp leader Steven Youngblood, who is teaching peace journalism and non-violent conflict resolution, has been writing about the participants daily activities, and he kindly allowed us to share some of his words here, so you can have a glimpse into what’s going on at Peace Camp:

Peace Camp began on June 8, 2011 with a morning session about the nature of peace followed by an afternoon tour of Istanbul. It didn’t take long for the Israeli-Palestinian issue to come up, however, since establishing dialogue between different people is one of the goals of Peace Camp, no one objected. We have one student from Palestine (the West Bank) and another student from Israel. At lunch, our Palestinian student and our Israeli student discussed peace prospects in their region. While not much new ground was broken, I was taken aback by the civility and politeness of the discussion. Indeed, the respect shown by both students was remarkable. Creating an atmosphere where the students can open up like this is certainly one of the goals of this endeavor.

Peace Campers in Turkey. Photo courtesy of Steven Youngblood.

On June 9, our students visited an educational center for special needs children. The center was spotless, modern, and well-run, and included many different kinds of programs ranging from cultural education to art. During the visit, the Peace Campers got a chance to meet and interact with about 15 diferentially-abled Turkish youngsters who were working on pottery and craft projects. I was surprised and pleased at how our students jumped right in and interacted. You can’t fake the smiles that radiated from both the creative kids at the center and our Peace Campers as they got to know one another.

I was equally surprised by the peace journalism session I taught this afternoon. I knew our Peace Campers were exceptional but I was really floored by the level of discourse during the lecture. The students asked analytical, sophisticated questions, and did not hesitate to challenge me. The students have been tasked with writing and producing a newspaper covering Peace Camp and international peace issues. Based on our first few days together, my expectations for the student newspaper are sky-high.

We traveled to Cappadocia on June 11, and were stunned by the surreal majesty of the landscape. The students split into groups and were welcomed into several Turkish homes for dinner. I watched the students closely as they walked up the stairs and into the living room of a typical Turkish family. If I had to choose one word to describe their demeanors (and mine), I would say we were all apprehensive. Two hours later, our demeanor would be more than slightly different. The idea of the in-home evening was to expose us to a typical Turkish residence and some home-cooked Turkish delicacies. As we sat down around a table in the living room, there was an awkward silence. I know the kids and I were thinking the same thing – what should we talk about? We were saved as the food began arriving. The delicious dinner broke the ice and gave us all something to discuss, namely what it was and how it was prepared. The dinner consisted of a traditional salad, tasty really long grain rice garnished with yogurt, spectacularly delicious lentil soup, and an interesting pudding made with honey and tiny bits of chicken.

Dinner in Cappadocia. Photo courtesy of Steven Youngblood

The conversation picked up during dinner, and reached overdrive as we sipped flavorful, strong tea in a sitting room. I talked politics and sports with our genial host Ismail, who moved about the room making it a point to spend at least a few minutes with each guest. Ismail’s nephew Ahmed, 12, also hung around, curious but shy. Finally, I called him over, and he walked sheepishly to the comfortable stuffed chair where I sat. I found out that Ahmed is learning English, so we practiced a few greetings. Then, Ahmed taught me some Turkish (table, for example, is masa). Our students educated their hosts about their home countries like Lithuania and Morocco, and we all shared a warm feeling when Ismail’s sister-in-law brought out colorful head scarves as gifts for the ladies in our party. As we left, I watched the students again closely. Their body language was much different than when they arrived, especially as they exchanged handshakes, hugs, email addresses, and cheek kisses with our hosts. Ahmed was pretty excited when I told him to email me his English assignments for feedback.

The idea behind People to People International  is that individuals can make connections that governments can’t or won’t, and that these connections can lay the foundation for peace. Anyone who doubts the viability of this idea wasn’t at dinner with us last night in Cappadocia, Turkey.

To learn more about People to People International, visit www.ptpi.org

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