The United States Institute of Peace welcomes the first place winners of the state-level competition in the Eleventh Annual National Peace Essay Contest. More than 5,000 students in 50 states, the District of Columbia, U.S. territories, and American high schools overseas participated in this year's contest, writing on the manner in which war crimes and human rights violations are accounted for in various international conflicts.

This year's winners participate in a program that promotes an understanding of the nature and process of international peacemaking by focusing on war crimes and the continuing conflicts in Cambodia -- the topic of this year's essay contest.

This unique learning adventure includes a three-day simulation and takes students behind the scenes, allowing them to witness international relations and diplomacy in action.

Program activities immerse students in history, politics, and the culture of Cambodia. In these simulation exercises, students will assume the roles of Cambodian and other international leaders in proposing, formulating, and negotiating ways to redress past war crimes in Cambodia as they also begin to build a viable poltical future for the country.

In addition to the simulation, days are packed from morning to night with activities including:

• A welcome luncheon with Dr. Richard Solomon, President of the U. S. Institute of Peace. Solomon represented the United States in the 1991 peace talks that brought the 13 year Cambodian civil war to a close.
• A State Department briefing with Brian Aggeler, Desk Officer for Cambodia.
• A visit to the Cambodian Embassy with Ambassador Var Huoth.
• A briefing with Peter Cleveland, Senior Staff member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.
• Capitol Hill visit with each students' House and Senate members
• A current issues briefing with Tom Gjelten, a National Public Radio commentator who covered the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Neil Kritz, Senior Scholar with the Rule of Law Initiative at the United States Institute of Peace. Kritz has helped many countries address the issue of war crimes including Bosnia, Rwanda, South Africa, Guatemala, and El Salvador.
• Study visits to the Holocaust Museum and other Washington landmarks
• National Peace Essay Contest awards banquet, featuring Stephen Solarz, foreign affairs expert and former chairman of the Asian and Pacific Affairs and African Affairs subcommittees of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. The national first-, second-, and third-place scholarships of $5,000, $2,500, and $1,000 will be awarded at the banquet.

Students will gain firsthand experience on the rewards and complexities of diplomacy and politics. The simulation will deepen their understanding of how societies in conflict confront issues of war crimes and human rights violations.

Students will develop their own perspectives on world affairs as they begin to understand the intricacies involved in foreign policy, international negotiation, and conflict resolution.