World Peace and Understanding Day

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.

See https://www.giz.de/en/worldwide/18887.html and https://akzente.giz.de/en/artikel/stuff-futures-are-made andhttps://reliefweb.int/report/ethiopia/german-launches-special-training-initiative-refugees-ethiopia .

The very first Rotary Meeting took place when Paul Harris, Gustavus Loehr, Silvester Schiele, and Hiram Shorey met in Loehr's office in Room 711 of the Unity Building in downtown Chicago. The anniversary of that event is known as "World Peace and Understanding Day." On this day, Rotarians all over the word demonstrate the founding of Rotary and their commitment to peace and understanding.