Rotary Peace Fellowships

Rotary Peace Fellowship: a career opportunity for peacebuilders in our communities
 
 
As a humanitarian organization, promoting peace is a cornerstone of Rotary’s mission. By carrying out service projects, supporting peace fellowships and scholarships, and partnering with others, Rotary members take action to address the underlying causes of conflict, including poverty, discrimination, ethnic tension, lack of access to education, and unequal distribution of resources. 
 
Rotary believes that supporting peace and development leaders in their education and careers is key to creating a more peaceful world.
 
The fully funded Rotary Peace Fellowship, which covers tuition and living expenses, increases the capacity of dedicated peacebuilders from communities around the world to prevent and resolve conflict by offering academic training, field experience, and professional networking.
 
Rotary Peace Fellows are selected every year in a globally competitive process based on personal, academic, and professional achievements. Fellows earn either a master’s degree or a postgraduate diploma in peace and development studies at one of the Rotary Peace Centers located at leading universities around the world.
 
More than 1,700 program alumni are working in more than 140 countries as leaders in national governments, nongovernmental organizations, education and research, peacekeeping and law enforcement, business and consulting, human rights law, media and the arts, and international organizations such as the United Nations.
 
 
Applications for the 2025 Rotary Peace Fellowship are open until May 15, 2024. 
 
Master’s degree
▪ 15-24 month program, small-group classroom learning, in fields related to peace and development
▪ Intended for leaders near the start of their careers
▪ 50 fellows selected annually to study at one of five Rotary Peace Centers at partner universities, which offer interdisciplinary curricula with research-informed teaching
▪ 2-3 month field study experience to develop practical skills
▪ Fellows connect with an international cohort of fellows, experts and thought leaders, and a global network of Rotary members
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Professional development certificate
▪ One-year program for working professionals that blends online learning, in-person classes, and an independent project
▪ Intended for social change leaders with extensive experience working in peace-related fields
▪ Interdisciplinary program includes a one- or two-week online preliminary course, 10 weeks of on-site courses with field studies, a nine-month period during which fellows implement a social change initiative (with interactive online sessions), and an on-site capstone seminar
▪ 40 fellows will be selected to earn a postgraduate diploma in peacebuilding and conflict transformation at Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda. Candidates who are from Africa, have worked in Africa, work with African communities or initiatives outside the continent, or demonstrate a compelling interest in learning about peacebuilding within Africa can apply for the certificate program at Makerere University.
▪ 40 fellows will be selected to earn a postgraduate diploma in peace and development studies at Bahçeşehir University, Istanbul, Turkey. Candidates who are from the Middle East or North Africa, have worked in the region, work elsewhere around the world with communities or initiatives related to the Middle East or North Africa, or demonstrate a compelling interest in learning about peacebuilding within the region can apply for the program at Bahçeşehir University.
 
 
Eligibility
Qualified candidates must:
▪ Have three years of related work experience for the master’s program ▪ Have five years of related work experience for the certificate program and be able to explain how their plan to promote peace aligns with Rotary’s mission Be proficient in English (Master’s candidates whose first language is not English must provide English language standardized test scores.)
▪ Have a bachelor’s degree (Master’s candidates must provide a copy of their transcripts.)
▪ Demonstrate leadership skills
▪ Have a strong commitment to cross-cultural understanding and peace
Candidates must have at least three years between the completion of their most recent academic degree program (undergraduate or graduate degree) and their intended start date for the fellowship. Candidates currently enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program are not eligible to apply.
 
Application tips 
▪ Review the eligibility restrictions and the relevant experience guide. 
▪ Research the curriculum and programs at each of the Rotary Peace Centers. 
▪ Connect with a local Rotary or Rotaract Club or an online club for application mentorship and a recommendation.
 
Learn more about the Rotary Peace Fellowships
or
Rotary Peace Centers Facebook page
 
For more information of clubs and members in our Rotary District 5040, about how to identify and recommend candidates for this huge opportunity, please contact:
Christopher Loat 
Rotary Club of West Vancouver Sunrise
District Rotary Peace Fellowship Co-ordinator
E: chris-loat@shaw.ca
T: 604 922 8342
C: 778 928 5625
Rotary Peace Fellows from home and abroad
Julia Smith completed her Master’s degree at the University of Bradford on a Rotary Peace Fellowship. She took courses on African Approaches to Conflict Resolution and Applied Conflict Resolution then went to work in Sierra Leone. On one occasion she mediated a dispute between blacksmiths and farmers in a rural village still recovering from civil war. By drawing on indigenous practices and negotiation skills we were able to reach an agreement that resulted in improved food production, as well as community harmony. She then passed on some of what she learned as a peace fellow by teaching a course similar to one I took at Bradford – the Politics of International Peacekeeping – at Kwantlen Polytechnic University in Surrey, passing on "some of the remarkable learning I was lucky enough to benefit from as a Rotary Peace Fellow."
 
Vancouver Police Department's Use of Force instruction for new recruits has included judo which Rotary Peace Fellow Constable Bryan Nykon has been providing as instructor. Having completed his Rotary-funded Master's degree program at the University of Bradford in the United Kingdom in 2011, through a Rotary Peace Fellowship, Bryan has been instrumental in bringing conflict resolution principles into police training. Bryan Nykon is also an instructor in Conflict Resolution at Langara College in Vancouver and judo instructor at Steveston Judo Club in Richmond.
 
With a nursing degree from UBC, Sara Eftekhar completed her graduate degree in Peace, Conflict and Development from the University Bradford, UK as a Rotary Peace Fellow. At home in Canada she created public service announcements about youth rights, contributed to a national advocacy agenda on youth priorities, raised awareness through art about children living with disabilities in an Aboriginal community and served as the B.C Youth Ambassador for the Canadian Council for Refugees. She also worked with refugees in Egypt, helped build houses in Ecuador, volunteered as a nurse in Tanzania and is the co-founder of a community organization to help teenage mothers in Kenya. She has represented Canada at the World Youth Congress, the first Global Forum on Youth Policies and the United Nations. She received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, YWCA Vancouver’s Young Women of Distinction Award and Top 25 Immigrants of Canada Award.
 
Florence Maher graduated from her Master’s program in peace studies at International Christian University in Tokyo. At the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, she believes she found that sweet spot where academic theory found practical application. OECD member countries passed an international policy instrument to improve representation of women in our nuclear sectors. She says, "There’s a well-established body of research showing that diverse teams perform better in innovation and performance,” which could offer significant benefits to combating climate change. More women in the nuclear sector, Maher adds, could also help garner trust in and support for nuclear technology, closing the gap between how it’s perceived and its real potential.
 
ElsaMarie D’Silva of Mumbai, who became a Rotary Peace Fellow at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, had been vice president of network planning for one of India’s largest airlines, but left that position to found and lead the Red Dot Foundation to work with nongovernmental organizations in India, Nepal, and Kenya to address street harassment and violence against women. In addition to community workshops, the foundation empowers women to document catcalling, groping, and other incidents through an online crowdmapping platform called Safecity. "We’re trying to help people understand gender stereotypes that reinforce toxic masculinity on a daily basis, give them a safe space to discuss this and understand each other’s point of view, and help them navigate these complex issues and be agents of change."
 
Editor and senior political journalist for The Patriot newspaper in Harare, Zimbabwe, Patience Rusare earned a Master’s degree in peace, leadership, and conflict resolution. She says, “I made a commitment to myself to use the media to create a more just and peaceful world.” Through her social change initiative, Rusare has aimed to change the approach of journalism in Zimbabwe. “We’ve got to get rid of the idea of ‘if it bleeds, it leads,’ and work as peace practitioners,” she says. “A positive peace story can get people to buy a newspaper if it’s a good enough human-interest story." She does not want her children to go through what she went through. “I want them to grow up in an environment where all people love each other regardless of the ethnic groups they belong to. They will know that we are all diverse, but we are all one.”
 
"I may not single-handedly change Uganda’s direction. But every intervention I make to change the ordinary citizen’s outlook toward human rights is a good contribution." -- Rotary Peace Scholar Catherine Baine-Omugisha
 
"If you want change to come, empower people with the knowledge that they have the right to something." -- Rotary Peace Scholar Jew Moonde