District Peacebuilder Committee

Peace is the cornerstone of Rotary’s mission! Rotary’s first area of focus!

When you hear the word peace, what images come to mind?
What does peace mean to you?
                                                           
I am passionate about peace education and peacebuilding!
 
Inspired by world events, an initiative during my Governor year, gathered tremendous support from our Rotarians, District and members of the general public, to achieve Peacebuilder status for two years. The District Peacebuilder Committee was a natural progression, formed to continue this important work.
 
Every day images of unrest and protest are broadcast into our homes. Recently, our world witnessed events that created unimaginable chaos, confusion and anger in a supposedly peaceful country. Our closest neighbors.
 
I believe Rotary’s peacebuilding work is now more important than ever before! Our committee joins a growing movement of concerned citizens from around the world committed to the advancement of peace education.
 
The purpose of District 5370’s Peacebuilder Committee is to build awareness of peacebuilding to fulfil Rotary’s mission to empower and enable Rotarians to advance world understanding, goodwill and peace.
 
When discussing peace, it is more than an absence of violence. Rotary International’s partnership with the Institute of Economics and Peace supports  positive pillars of peace necessary to sustain a peaceful society.
More importantly, peace  is about the attitudes, structures, and institutions that support and sustain a peaceful society.
Through Rotary International, we can support this initiative; whether it be service projects, peace fellowships and scholarships that aim to address the underlying causes of conflict such as poverty, lack of education, and gender inequality.
Through our work together in these various ways, we can build a community where there is peace and everyone has a sense of belonging and value.
 
The Rotary Foundation supports service projects for peace and conflict prevention and provides incredible support for Peace Centres located across the globe.  Peace Fellow graduates become agents of peace striving to lead reform and influence policy to address underlying causes of conflict to help create positive peace.
 
So, what can you do to promote peace?
 
The District Peacebuilder committee has launched a new initiative, an opportunity to become a Positive Peace Club.  Positive Peace Clubs are a Rotarian movement creating energy and momentum for peace education and peace literacy supporting Rotary Peace Centres and empowering members to engage in projects.
                                               
To become a Positive Peace Club, there’s a few things you have to do.
  • Form a Peace Committee in your Rotary club.
  • Make a donation to the Rotary Peace Centres via the Rotary Foundation.
  • Choose  two or more activities such as:
  •  Engage in a peace education seminar or workshop,
  • Integrat peace into one or more of your club’s annual service projects,
  • Apply a peace-builder lens when selecting those projects and programs,
  • Supporting a Peace Fellowship applicant,
  • Collaborating with Rotary members in our efforts build awareness of peace education,
  • Supporting other peace building groups through participation.
 
Application forms are on the District Peacebuilder Committee website. 
 
Please checkout the Resource list for additional information on peacebuilding.
                                               
We have a vibrant Peacebuilder committee excited about the work we are leading!
           
 Come join our peacebuilding mission.
 
Help us create peace one action at a time:
                                               
Start a positive peace club
Plan a service project
Have a conversation on peace
 
At the end of day, Peace depends on all of us!
 
Ingrid Neitsch - PDG 
ARRFC Zone 28
Chair- District Peacebuilder Committee
Download Files
Links
Peacebuilder Committee
Ingrid Neitsch
Donna Barrett
Tamara Larson
Shannon Peacocke
Myles Dykes
Yvone Joubert
Pauleanne Codilla
Jackie Hobal
Kim Sanderson
 
 
Positive Peace Pillars 

Testimonials from committee members:

 
Yvone Joubert, Rotaractor
Peace.
A simple word filled with complexity and different meaning to anyone you ask.
 
To me, peace is many things. Every person I meet in life has their own stories, thoughts, and lifestyles. Peace is being able to recognize and appreciate those unique differences; accepting the diversity and looking for the equality among it.
Most importantly, peace for me is being accepted for who I am, while still being challenged on how I can be better and continue to make an impact on my community.
 
Peace is both personal - something within ourselves, and something big out there in the world.
The concept of positive peace may seem so simple, and yet it’s rather revolutionary.
 
                                             
 
Myles Dykes, Rotaractor
To become a Positive Peace Club, there’s a few things you have to do. First, form a Peace Committee in your Rotary club. Second, make a donation to the Rotary Peace Centres via the Rotary Foundation. Third, select two or more of a variety of focuses, such as engaging in a peace education seminar or workshop, integrating peace into one or more of your club’s annual service projects, applying a peace-builder lens when selecting those projects and programs, supporting a Peace Fellowship applicant, collaborating with Rotary members in our efforts build awareness of peace education, or supporting other peace building groups through participation. And fourth, fill out the application form found on the District Peacebuilder Committee website. 
 
 
Peace is more than the absence of violence. To learn more about peacebuilding, you can find more resources on the Global Peace Index YouTube channel and our District website.
 
 
 
Shannon Peacocke, Rotaractor
We are actively seeking peacebuilding – connected through Rotary. Through initiatives like Positive Peace Clubs here in our District.
 
Because peace goes hand in hand with service above self. 
For some, peace can mean freedom. That’s what it is for me. The freedom to be yourself without taking away the freedom of another.
 
I look to the future and I am excited. And I’m also scared.
I’m content. And I’m also dissatisfied.
 
I want to live in a world that is more peaceful, more positive.
Because positive peace will help us ensure justice.
 
In my own experience, the hardest part is making the decision to act. After I make a decision, the research and conversations, the projects and meetings all rippled out from there.
That one decision to act.
 
As a past Interactor and current Rotaractor, I know that change is possible. I’ve seen it. Through local and international service projects, through conferences and workshops, and through amazing friendships forged in the soil of service.
 
That is why peace is the answer.