Bruce and I had the opportunity to participate in The Rotary International Presidential Peace Conference in Istanbul Turkey February 20-22. A new peace center was dedicated during the time at Bahçeşehir University in Istanbul. Did you know that Rotary has peace centers around the world, associated with universities, offering masters degrees and certificates to peace fellows?
The goal of the Rotary Peace Fellowship program is to develop leaders who promote peace, conflict resolution, and national and international cooperation. We got to see some of these leaders in action during the conference, presenting their experiences with their projects and leading breakout sessions. They are impressive. Do you know of anyone interested in a peace fellowship program? Applications are being accepted now. Applicants for the Rotary Peace Fellowship program should have a bachelor's degree, strong leadership skills, and a demonstrated commitment to peacemaking. They should also be able to undertake extensive reading and research, and participate actively in a diverse group of students.
At the conference I learned about Rotary’s concept of positive peace and negative peace. Great definitions of these concepts can be found in the Peace Academy at rotary.org. More importantly I heard stories from peace fellows around the world about their experiences. One story was very moving to me—from a gentleman who survived genocide in Rwanda. His entire family was killed but he survived because his mother told him to run. He grew up, received an education, became a peace scholar and was able to find the men who killed his family and offer his forgiveness to them. It was an incredible story.
I kept coming back to the great stories we have here in our own district because of the important projects we do in our communities. Peace begins in our homes. When we participate in food distribution, literacy projects and the other countless ways we make our communities better, we support peace in our homes. When we provide highway cleanups and improvements in our city parks we contribute to peace in our communities. This is all such important work and we should be proud of what we do. RI
President Stephanie Urchick left me with a memorable quote—“Peace begins with peace within ourselves.”
Peace to you all.