Director's Message

Dear Friends, It is with great pleasure that I would like to announce the inception of Peace Camp Nova Scotia, a camp whose mission lies in bringing together Palestinian and Israeli teens from conflict stricken cities and towns, for a life changing experience that engenders understanding, tolerance, mutual respect and self empowerment. Building upon our established Peace Camp Canada model of recent years, Peace Camp Nova Scotia provides a combination of dialogue, the creative arts and leadership building to create a program which is unique and quite different from any other camp experience in the world. Indeed we are delighted to be partnered with both the Coady International Institute and the Canadian Foreign Ministry (DFAIT), in developing a program that we hope will continue for years to come. So what is the value of what we do you might ask? And why Canada? In a nut shell, we at Peace Camp Nova Scotia are working to cultivate real change in the mindset and consciousness of young individuals from the Middle East, a goal which begins with education. We believe that the fundamental issue that lies at the heart of the Palestinian – Israeli conflict and our present inability to resolve it, is a lack of trust between both parties. Indeed, we see trust and mutual understanding as the only foundation upon which to build a lasting peace and thus move beyond the hatred, fear, and negative stereotypes that are rampant in the Middle East today. The cultivation of trust through education, facilitated dialogue and the creative arts is therefore what we do. Canada is an ideal location for the initiation of such a process. As an exemplar of cross-cultural integration and religious pluralism in the world, and as a country that prides itself on its balanced approach towards the Palestinian Israeli conflict, Canada represents a vision of all that is possible for our campers and further provides a safe, comfortable and sheltered environment for our youth to engage in difficult and painful dialogue. And the impact of our work? This is difficult to quantify in hard numbers, but the ripple effects are being felt by families, communities, schools and institutions across the Middle East. Our philosophy is simple; Change begins in the here and now, and it begins with the individual. As a Chinese proverb once said; “Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision is a nightmare. Vision with right action can change the world…” Our campers are doing just this, and their journey which began in Canada will certainly take us, one day, to the far shores of peace. With thanks and appreciation, Elan Divon Executive Director Peace Camp Nova Scotia