ROTARY & PEACE

competition was launched among students in the different countries of the district that was highly received, thus planting the seed of peace building among the youth. Also, in 2018-19, New Generation Peace Building, was a Global Grant, initiated in Lebanon, to target peace education for university students. First time ever in Lebanon and the D-2452, NewGen was launched in the ten top universities in Lebanon. 100 applicants were selected and were offered rigorous training in peace building by the director of the program, Patricia Schafer, in July 2020. This was the period of intense hardships in Lebanon, gas scarcity, internet challenges, yet Against All Odds, the program succeeded and a promising group of peace builders was born. Under the banner of District Peace Fellowship Subcommittee, serious efforts go into promoting the Master’s degree and Certificates programs offered at the seven Peace Centers Worldwide. We can boast that our District-2452 had eight people accepted from Lebanon, Sudan, Palestine and Cyprus. They are now pursuing their higher education in Peace Building and Conflict Resolution in Tokyo, Australia, Sweden, Uganda, USA and England.

And, FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER, in our District and the world, on February 23, 2023, a webinar was set up by Lebanon Chair for Peace Fellowships supported by the District Chair, where three Peace Centers presented their programs to the audience of Rotaractors, Interested Rotarians and friends: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA; Uppsala University in Stockholm, Sweden; and the International Christian University in Tokyo, Japan. The speakers from RI and the Peace Centers reiterated the fact that this webinar from D 2452 should be a model to be implemented by all the districts in the world. The journey of Peace Building is a long one. With our belief in the goodness of the human race, with our collective hope to live in harmony in communities based on mutual respect and fellowship, our journey becomes easier to navigate. Let us all work together to equip our young generation with the proper education of how to avoid conflict and be catalysts for Peace. “Rotary believes that if concerned citizens work together to create peace locally, we can create lasting change globally”.