I was fortunate to attend a dinner in Canberra with 9 Rotary Peace Scholars.

Each gave a brief speech about how they became involved in work related to peace and conflict resolution and the study they are doing as fellows.  A couple that stuck in my mind are:

• Joseph Hongoh (Kenya) – has been involved with negotiations between rebels and African governments in seven African countries.
• Zuska Petovska (Slovak Republic) – has been working for the UN High Commission on Refugees establishing a system for receiving refugees and asylum seekers in the Slovak Republic.
• Pamela Padilla (Philippines) – worked for the Philippine government in their peace negotiations with Communist rebels.

Up to 110 Rotary World Peace Fellowships are offered annually on a world-competitive basis for study at seven Rotary Centers.

Rotary World Peace Fellows obtain either a master’s degree in international relations, peace studies, conflict resolution, and related areas or a professional development certificate in peace and conflict studies. Through their unique and diverse interdisciplinary programs, the seven Rotary Centers provide academic and practical training to better equip peace fellows for leadership roles in solving the many problems that contribute to conflict around the world.

The 9 Fellows who were are the dinner are currently based at the University of Queensland. The other 6 are:

• Rose Foley (Scotland)
• Fanney Karlsdottir (Iceland)
• Teddy Foday-Musa (Sierra Leone)
• David Kozar (USA)
• Jeniece Olsen (USA)
• David LaMotte (USA)

You can get more information about Rotary Peace scholars here.