Every February, the Rotary clubs of the Pikes Peak region gather together for a luncheon to focus on the topic of Peace & Understanding in our world. This special meeting is organized and presented by the presidents-elect of the area clubs and will be held at the Antlers on Friday, February 22nd, at our club's regular time. One tradition for this annual gathering includes "ringing of the bell" for area Rotarians who have passed away during the last year. We'll also get to see a slideshow reviewing our collective work in the community plus announcements from various clubs.
We are very pleased that our speaker will be Nicola Demme. Ms. Demme is a German national, currently living in Ethiopia, where she works as Program Manager for the Sustainable Training and Education Program. The Sustainable Training and Education Program for Ethiopia is a joint German/Norwegian/EU program that provides vocational training to refugees living in Ethiopia in an effort to reintegrate them into the community. Ms. Demme has a long work history in international affairs, including several years working towards post-Tsunami development planning and infrastructure development in Indonesia. She has a Masters in International Relations and speaks German, English, French, Indonesian, and Chinese. Ms. Demme will fly into Colorado Springs from Addis Ababa a week before the luncheon, and she is open to addressing other groups and meeting other people during her time here.
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Originally from Germany, Nicola Demme has lived, studied, and worked abroad for almost 20 years. She has lived in China, Japan, Australia, Indonesia and Ethiopia.
She began her career in international development in 2005 when she went to Aceh (Indonesia) after the Tsunami to help rebuild the region and give people hope for rebuilding their lives.
Nicola holds a master’s degree in International Relations and is a senior program manager for a German development organization (GIZ) in Ethiopia. She currently manages a 40 million Euro program of the German government. This program is in place to provide young Ethiopians a chance to receive quality vocational training, which in turn allows them to find a job and make a living.
Nicola is also a trainer for intercultural communication, an advisor for organizational and team development and a trained Gestalt therapist.
She is most passionate about exploring new cultures and countries. She believes that only when we are inspired by each other's differences and new discoveries, then we can grow as individuals, communities and societies.
