Our speaker on March 5th was Katelynn Folkerts who is a Masters Student in Peace and Conflict and a recipient of a Rotary Peace Scholarship.
- Master's student in Peace and Conflict Studies (MPAC) at Conrad Grebel University College;
- focus on youth and conflict;
- started her undergrad as Queen’s Commerce student, then switched into International Development and Economics - where she learned more about how broken social and political systems (e.g. legacy of colonialism) impact issues of poverty, injustice and conflict;
- spent 3 summers working on literacy and related issues in Canadian indigenous communities, and 1 summer working at a drop-in centre for addiction and mental illness;
- also worked for her church for a year and got involved with Mennonite Central Committee project in Nigeria (focus on building relationships between Christian and Muslim members of community - mostly working with adults - but saw how lack of economic opportunities for youth created inter-faith conflicts, etc.);
- MPAC program looking more at: (i) issues of relationships and identity (versus technical economic development issues), working with grass roots organizations to build networks for a civil society (e.g. role of community in peace building); and (ii) practical relationship building tools;
- original research and internship program focus on Haiti - “On Vive Ensemble/Let’s Live Together” locally based experimental program (26 months, across 4 local communities);
- internship program involves youth training and qualitative research (e.g. interviewing local community leaders, pastors, etc.);
- working with Mercy Corps to address root issues of conflict (e.g. working with local hairdressers and their unique insights into the lives of their clients, and possible role in restorative justice initiatives); and
- looking at barriers to youth participation - working with “Base” (i.e. a local gang) and their “Soldats” (i.e. low-level foot soldiers) to better understand their challenges (e.g. illiteracy, vulnerability to participate in violence) and objectives (e.g. looking for “respect” within the community), as well as possible leverage points and positive influences (e.g. local pastors taking the time to sit down and talk to them, involve in local clean-up projects, etc.).
Katelynn also expressed her thanks to our Club and other local Clubs for supporting the Rotary Peace Scholarships (which in her case enabled an additional 4-months of work in Haiti with Mercy Corps).
