Their Majesties King Abdullah II of Jordan and Queen Rania presented the John Wallach Peacemaker Award

Seeds of Peace is an international organization dedicated to developing and empowering young leaders from regions of conflict to work towards peace through coexistence and conflict resolution.

Each year, Seeds of Peace acknowledges world leaders in recognition of their efforts to achieve peace in the Middle East with the John P. Wallach Peacemaker Award. Previous recipients include President Clinton, His Majesty King Hussein of Jordan, Madeleine Albright, Shimon Peres, Leah Rabin and Suzanne Mubarak.

"It is especially meaningful for me, as a citizen of Jordan to be continuing along the path set by His Majesty the late King Hussein," said Her Majesty Queen Rania in her acceptance speech. "Poised at the crossroads of East and West, and in the cradle of humanity's great religions, Jordanians know that intercultural respect is not an option ... it is an obligation. But even more, for us it is an opportunity to become our own best selves, by opening our minds and hearts to the rich diversity of humankind. We are proud of our role in promoting peace, in our region and beyond."

"Their Majesties' passion, understanding and dynamic characters are unmatched, as is their dedication to making a difference at home and with their neighboring countries," said Nicolla Hewitt President of Seeds of Peace, as she presented the award. She went on to highlight the challenges faced by this complex region and the impact Seeds of Peace continues to make since it was formed in 1993. Several young leaders or 'Seeds' from Israel, Jordan and Palestine, spoke at the event about the profound impact Seeds of Peace had on their lives.

The focal point of the night was an exclusive performance by Jihad Akl, the world renowned Lebanese Violinist from Beirut. He played for a prestigious audience including the Israel's UN Ambassador Dan Gillerman, Senator George Mitchell, Governor Edward Rendell, Iraq's UN Ambassador Hamid Al-Bayati, Qatar's UN Ambassador Nassir Al-Nasser, Pakistan's UN Ambassador Munir Akram and the Egypt's UN Ambassador Maged Abdel Fattah Abdelaziz.