How Peace Corps can help expand the impact of Rotary clubs
By Azka Asif, Published in Rotary International
Cal Mann is semi-retired industrial designer leading a consulting firm. He has been a Rotarian since 2004, and member of California Rotary Clubs of La Jolla, Del Mar and Oakland. He has also served as director of his club’s Youth Service Committee overseeing Interact clubs, and served on his District’s RYLA committee and supported outreach to the school community. Cal joined Peace Corps as a Community Development Volunteer in North Macedonia in September 2017. We asked him to share his experience serving as a volunteer.
10 reasons to apply for a Rotary Peace Fellowship at ICU
By Lorraine Hayman, May 14, 2019, Published in Rotary International
This summer, I will join the 18th class of Rotary Peace Fellows at International Christian University. Here are my top ten reasons for applying to ICU: #1. Cultural Immersion. ICU is home to the only Peace Center in East Asia. As a student at ICU, I can draw on peace-building traditions from Asia, while becoming a highly responsible global citizen. I will explore a culture that contrasts my own, making connections and building friendships that transcend language and cultural barriers. In August, I will meet local Rotarians and experience language and culture training with other new fellows.
Putting civility back into civil discourse
By
The woman sitting at the end of the carefully arranged tables looks as though she would rather be someplace else — maybe at her real estate agency, maybe just with people she knows, people who see the world the way she does. But a friend asked her to come here, and she agreed, and she will carry out her role. “It’s not my notion of a family,” she says firmly, her chin set as she explains the burden of holding conservative views in a liberal town. “It’s my truth of a family. I don’t want my views to be considered hate speech. But I don’t want to celebrate things that I don’t celebrate.”
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
By2019, 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.