Uncategorized 9 - Rotarian Action Group for Peace

Rotary Peace Centers Webinar

May 8, 2019, Published in Rotary International

The Rotary Peace Centers Program annually grants academic fellowships to up to 100 peace fellows from around the world. This is Rotary’s most significant peacebuilding program. Within Rotary’s area of focus of Peace, Rotary clubs invest in projects that address the causes of conflict, including poverty, inequality, ethnic tension, lack of access to education, and unequal distribution of resources. This webinar will focus on proposed changes and growth of the Rotary Peace Centers and the role of clubs and districts in nominating candidates. Opportunities and strategies for Rotarians, clubs, and districts to support Peace Centers and the Peace area of focus with directed and endowed gifts will be reviewed. The new Legacy Society will be discussed.

Rotarian Action Group for Peace founders strive for global harmony

April 24, 2019, Published in Rotary International

Since its creation in November 2012, the Rotarian Action Group for Peace has helped Rotary advance the cause of global harmony. Six-plus years later, Al Jubitz and Dennis Wong, two of the group’s founders, talked with senior editor Geoffrey Johnson about the group’s goals, its Peacebuilder Clubs and other peace tools, and how the RAG for Peace had its genesis in a Rotarian article.

Turning teens away from crime

By Ryan Hyland, Produced by Andrew Chudzinski, April 9, 2019, Published in Rotary International

Akeem Stephenson wanted to go to jail. He believed it was the only way he could free himself from a life of crime — a life he desperately wanted to change. After being arrested for a fourth time more than 10 years ago, for aggravated robbery, the teenager in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, was set to go to prison. But the judge saw something in Stephenson that suggested that he could redeem himself. So he gave Stephenson a choice: participate in an 18-month youth program, or serve the six-month sentence. For Stephenson, the choice was clear. He decided to transform his life through the PACT Urban Peace Program.

How Rotarians are already fighting climate change

By Diana Schoberg, April 8, 2019, Published in Rotary International

Rotarians are doers. Show them a problem and they look for solutions. But a global problem such as climate change might seem daunting to even the most resourceful Rotary member. Break that complex problem down into smaller pieces, however, and you find there are many things Rotarians can do — and are already doing, with help from The Rotary Foundation. A coalition of researchers and scientists led by environmentalist and writer Paul Hawken mathematically modeled the climatic and economic impact of potential solutions to learn which ones would yield the best results for people and the planet. The list, compiled in a 2017 book called "Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming," included some surprising possibilities, such as educating girls, promoting family planning, and assisting farmers. As it happens, all of those align with Rotary’s areas of focus.

The Rotary Positive Peace Academy

March 31, 2019, By Laurie Smolenski, Published in Rotary International

The Rotary Positive Peace Academy is one of the main initiatives of the strategic partnership between Rotary and the Institute for Economics and Peace. It’s a training course to educate Rotarians on the IEP’s technical research on positive peace. The goal is to help Rotarians use these concepts to improve their peacebuilding and development work in their own communities. The content was created by the IEP, but it has been developed with Rotarians in mind. It includes stories of Rotarians’ projects so Rotarians will be able to recognize themselves and their work as they go through the academy.

Rotary Peace Center offers Action for Peace Livestream

April 2, 2019, Published in RotaryPeaceCenterNC.org

This year’s theme, “Action for Peace”, highlights steps that individuals and communities need to take at local and global levels to address pressing challenges around the world. It is Class 16 Rotary Peace Fellows’ call for immediate action to tackle climate change, violence, human displacement, lack of education and livelihoods, planetary health and famine.

One Billion Signatures for Peace seeks worldwide infrastructures for peace

March 21, 2019, Published in PeaceNow.com

Our mission is to gather One Billion Signatures in support of peace and the creation of departments of peace within all governments. Each initiative -Peace Education- Films for Peace – Peace Business Certification – supports building a grassroots constituency that will help enact The Global Resolution for the Establishment of Infrastructures to Support the Culture of Peace. We are empowering One Billion global citizens to create the cultural, economic, and governmental framework needed to co-create a new era of enduring peace. With the ambitious goal of uniting One Billion of us, we intend to build the tipping point of peace. This transformative force will demand substantive and lasting change for the betterment of humankind now and for all future generations.

Building peace through Rotary service

By Soomin Kim, February 20, 2019, Published in Rotary International

Most of the members the Rotary Club of Ulsan Jayu (meaning freedom in Korean) are refugees emigrants from North Korea. Many risked their lives emigrating in pursuit of greater opportunities and are still struggling to adapt to South Korean society. Through the humanitarian service work of South Korean Rotary clubs, immigrants are healing and increasing their sense of belonging and pride as productive citizens of society. Club President Ju-Eun Seok shares her journey and the role Rotary plays in her life.

A creative look at the Four-Way Test

By Dennis Wong, February 27, 2019, Published in Rotary International

Imagine yourself addressing conflicts through the lenses of fellowship, empathy, accountability and trust. That is the Four-Way Test. Imagine the power four questions and twenty-four words can have to help resolve conflicts without violence and fulfill our Rotary peace mission. The Four-Way Test is Rotary’s unique approach and process to address conflicts, solve problems and make decisions to achieve desired outcomes. It can help us be more successful in reaching mutually beneficial, sustainable and scalable solutions.

RAGFP Educational Mission to the Middle East

The purpose of the RAGFP Education Mission is for the Rotarian Action Group for Peace board to learn about the various aspects of the conflict by respectfully listening to and learning without judgment from engaged citizens as well as leaders on both sides to hear their perspectives on the current status and the future of the peace process.

This educational mission is set to establish a citizen diplomacy approach to conflict where people are learning from people. The group will meet Israeli and Palestinian Rotarians to hear from them about the current challenges and how RAGFP can assist them to advance understanding, goodwill and peace on the ground.

This mission is not to show an affiliation to any group or party. It is simply to identify and collaborate with peacebuilder Rotarians, Rotaractors and Rotary Peace Fellows in the region who can advance peace on the ground.