Peace FOR OUR Time

©️ Anne Matthews Director d9560 Passport Club

TODAY MARKS THE FIRST ANNIVERSARY OF THE UKRAINE BY RUSSIA. THE INVASION, ON 24 FEBRUARY 2022, WAS A SIGNIFICANT EXPANSION OF THE RUSSO-UKRAINIAN WAR, WHICH BEGAN IN 2014.

Can any of us really remember a time when somewhere in the world there has not been conflict of some type? The IsraeliPalestinian conflict has been seething for decades and the invasion of Ukraine by Russia has caused tens of thousands of deaths on both sides and set in motion Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II.

Conflict between the various ethnic factions in Myanmar began in 1948 and and has continued in varying degrees ever since, making this the longest civil war in the world. Currently there are civil wars and terrorist insurgency in Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Iraq, Nigeria, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

The infamous ‘Peace for our time’ declaration, made by British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain on 30 September 1938, after he had signed the Munich Agreement, is today remembered for its irony rather than a peace agreement. Less than a year after signing, Hitler invaded Poland and started Word War II.

Despite all the ongoing conflicts, Rotarians know that peace doesn’t come easily, it must be worked for, at many levels and often over many years. That is why peace building and conflict prevention is one of rotary’s seven areas of focus. In fact, peace is so important to Rotary that the month of February is devoted to it. And what a fitting time to recognise and promote peace - we have just celebrated Christmas - a time of peace and good will.

Through service projects, peace fellowships, and scholarships, Rotary members are taking action to address the underlying reasons for conflict and finding ways to prevent it.

Each year, the Rotary Foundation awards up to 50 fellowships for master’s degrees and up to 40 for certificate studies at premier universities for Peace and Conflict qualifications. Through academic training, practice, and global networking opportunities, the Rotary Peace Centre program helps develop the capacity of peace and development professionals to become effective catalysts for peace. The fellowships cover tuition and fees, room and board, round-trip transportation, and internship and field-study expenses. Many of the graduates go on to careers in national governments, peacekeeping and law enforcement agencies, education and research institutions and international organisations such as the United Nations and World Bank.

The University of Queensland (UQ) is home to one of the five dedicated Peace Centres located around the world who offer Masters Degrees. Here students study for their masters degrees in Peace and Conflict Resolution. Master’s fellowship recipients cannot study at a Rotary Peace Centre in their home countries. So students from Australia have studied at Uppsala University in Sweden; University of Bradford in England; the international Christian University in Tokyo Japan; or Duke University and University of North Carolina in USA.

Students who attend Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda and Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand graduate with certificates in Peace and Conflict Prevention. Since the Peace Fellow program became in 2022, the

Peace Centre’s have trained more than 1,600 fellows who now work in over 140 countries.

Applications are now open for 2024 peace fellowships. Candidates have until 15 May