Planet Pic: Solving conflict, one camper at a time

It’s a summer camp with a mission.

That pretty much sums up Seeds of Peace International, a global organization with offices in New York, Tel Aviv, Ramallah, Lahore, and – every summer – a camp in Otisfield, Maine.

But this isn’t your typical summer camp.

At Seeds of Peace, teens from conflict regions around the world converge in the deep woods to better understand their “enemies,” and to see long-running and complex conflicts from their opponent’s point of view.

For the past 21 years, campers from Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Egypt, India, Pakistan and the United States have shared cabins and meals.

Their traditional camp activities – think swimming, water skiing, tennis, art and others – are designed not only for fun, but to encourage open mindedness, fairness and commonality.

To see how it all works, GlobalPost sent photographer Aynsley Floyd to Maine.

Here’s what she found: