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Letter from the Rotary Foundation:

Dear Rotary Centers community,

The inaugural Rotary Alumni Celebration took place this June before the 2008 RI
Convention in Los Angeles. This event was an opportunity for over 400 attendees
from 35 countries, including both Foundation alumni and Rotarians, to reconnect
with each other, discuss how alumni can engage with Rotary, and celebrate their
experiences. It was the successful start of a three-year pilot project to explore
how The Rotary Foundation can stay connected to its alumni, with future events slated
for the 2009 RI Convention in Birmingham, England, and the 2010 convention in Montreal.
In Birmingham, a second Rotary World Peace Symposium will be held in conjunction
 with the alumni celebration. These events together will offer a three-day program
spotlighting the ways all Foundation alumni are making our world a better place
through peace and understanding.
The Rotary World Peace Symposium will be held Thursday, 18 June, and Friday, 19
June,  2009 followed by the Rotary Alumni Celebration on Saturday, 20 June. Registration
for the symposium will automatically include the Rotary Alumni Celebration.
I look forward to sharing more information over the next several months about these
exciting opportunities for Rotarians and Foundation alumni to come together. For
 now, I hope you'll all mark your calendars for Birmingham in June!
Jennifer Willbanks
Alumni Relations Supervisor
The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International
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News

The peace fellow and the king

Shakeel Ahmed (Duke University and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,
2003-05) is a faculty member at King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia,
whose experience as a Rotary World Peace Fellow led him to an auspicious meeting.
Here is the story as he related it to Rotary Centers staff:
On the afternoon of 1 March, I found an invitation in my mailbox, signed by an army
general in the Saudi National Guard, to attend the 23rd National Festival for Heritage
and Culture at Jenadriya and have the honor of meeting King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia.
It was an invitation on the king's behalf, as King Abdullah is the commander of
the national guard. My first thought was that someone was trying to scam me, thanks
to the cautiousness I developed while living in United States. The very next question
in my mind was, how could someone dare such a scam, using the names of Saudi government
officials, inside the kingdom? The next morning, to my utter surprise, the general
confirmed in a phone conversation that it was not a scam. I asked him how and why
I was selected. He told me he received instruction from the capital to send the
invitation and knew nothing more. My colleagues at the university were surprised
 to learn about the invitation.
I went to Riyadh and was treated as a royal guest. I was received by Saudi officials
at the airport and was taken to the grand VIP terminal, which is used for state
guests and other high officials, for some refreshments. I was taken to the Royal
 Guest Palace, where I was welcomed by an army colonel who was responsible for looking
after the guests. I asked him about the next day's program, as I was still unaware
of it. He told me that because of security reasons, the guests would be told about
the program only after dinner.
I realized afterward that I was in Riyadh to attend a symposium on Israeli-Palestinian
issues and that I was invited because of my past participation in a Middle East
peace symposium in Cyprus, where I had the opportunity to interact with high-level
politicians and diplomats from the United States and United Nations as well as from
the Middle East. Rotary sponsored my participation in this symposium as part of
the summer internship I completed for my world peace fellowship program at Duke
University.
So it was again Rotary that brought me respect and dignity. In Riyadh, I was able
to meet policymakers, diplomats, scholars, and regional politicians. I also had
an exclusive meeting with King Abdullah, which was shown on Saudi state TV. Many
 of my students were surprised to see me with their king.

ShelterBox and Rotary

The ShelterBox Trust is a registered charity in the United Kingdom that provides
 emergency aid for victims of natural and other disasters anywhere in the world.
 Learn more from the Shelter Box Video
 ShelterBox has close ties to Rotary; it may be helpful to your work.
Rotary World Peace Fellow Mai Hosoi (Duke University/University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill, 2003-05) sent this photo of ShelterBox tents in Myanmar, where she
was temporarily assigned as part of her position with the United Nations High Commissioner
for Refugees.
http://www.shelterbox.org/news_index.htm

Peace fellows in Rotary World
Rotary World Peace Fellows Umar Shavurov (Universidad del Salvador, 2003-05) and
 Simon Milward (Chulalongkorn University, July 2007) were featured in the April
2008 issue of Rotary World  (page 8)

Peace studies programs integrated
The Rotary Foundation is pleased to announce the integration of its peace education
initiatives. The Rotary World Peace Fellowships master's degree program and the
Rotary Peace and Conflict Studies professional development certificate program have
been consolidated. This change allows applicants to apply simultaneously for both
options by choosing their placement preferences from among all seven Rotary Centers:

* Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand (professional development certificate)

* Duke University and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA

* International Christian University, Tokyo, Japan

* Universidad del Salvador, Buenos Aires, Argentina

* University of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England

* University of California, Berkeley, USA

* University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia

As part of this integration, the application and selection schedule for the professional
development option has been adjusted. The Rotary Center at Chulalongkorn University
will continue to offer two sessions each year, January-April and June-August. Applications
for both sessions will now be due at the same time as applications for the master's
degree option. The selection process will take place once each year, and it will
 cover not only master's degree fellows but also professional development fellows
in both sessions.


Monograph now available
The latest edition of the Rotary Centers for International Studies Monograph Series,
Peace-Building and Security in the Twenty-first Century (909), edited by Professor
Tom Woodhouse of the University of Bradford, is now available for purchase online
Shop Rotary.org

Peace fellows to speak at conference in Oxford, England
Peace fellows Ryan Gawn (Universidad del Salvador, 2003-05) and Francesca del Mese
(University of Queensland, 2002-04) will speak at the District 1090 (England) Oxford

Learn about about the conference on the district's Web site.


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On the move

Send us your news and photos
Have you just started a blog? Have you changed jobs or moved to a new city? Did
you recently become a Rotarian? We would love to hear about it. By sharing your
successes, we can update Rotarians on peace fellows' activities and inspire current
students and alumni.
Bring your unique experiences as a Rotary World Peace Fellow to our attention by
 submitting any related news items or photographs for possible use in future Rotary
publications. We welcome any action-oriented images of you at school or work, with
your host Rotarians, or in your host community. Send your updates to Alumni Relations
Coordinator Mike Pfriem [mailto:michael.pfriem@rotary.org].
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Alumni

We encourage all of our alumni and friends to stay connected, especially those in
the same line of work or geographical area. Here are some of our most recent alumni
updates:

Karen Bernstein (Bradford 03-05) is completing her contract as a civil affairs officer
with the United Nations Mission in Nepal in the country's far western region and
 hopes to return to New York, USA.

Christina Bischoff (Bradford 05-07) is a coordinator for the Anchor Project, an
effort based at a church in Bradford that aims to serve the community in a way that
addresses poverty issues, promotes social inclusion, and encourages relationships
between people of different ages, cultures, and religions.

Phumphat Chetiyanonth (ICU 06-08) oversees operations at a Burmese refugee camp
for the Catholic Office for Emergency Relief and Refugees.

Cameron Chisholm (Bradford 06-08) recently accepted a position as a security analyst
at the World Bank.

John Foster (UQ 05-07) is a coordinator of American programs for Humanity in Action,
a human rights educational organization in New York City. He will work there over
the summer before starting law school at Vanderbilt University in the fall.

Path Heang (UQ 02-04) is a community conversations specialist for the United Nations
Development Programme and is working on Cambodia's Access to Justice project.

Amy Kay (UQ 02-04) returned to Washington, D.C., to take a position as a senior
technical adviser for the Centre for Development and Population Activities, a member
of a UNAIDS regional resource group. She will create a leadership training series
across Arab nations for the organization, which improves the lives of women and
girls in developing countries.

Scott Lang (Bradford 05-07) was invited to join the Council on Foreign Relations
 as a term member.

Ellis Luciano (Chulalongkorn Jan08) joined the Augustinians of the Assumption community
and is participating in ongoing Catholic formation to become a priest. He is also
doing volunteer work at the Gaston Z. Ortigas Peace Institute.

Margaret Carolla Maes (USAL 02-04) was promoted to program officer at the National
Democratic Institute for International Affairs in Washington, D.C., and recently
 got married.
Nani Mahanta (UC Berkeley 02-04) is a lecturer in political science at Gauhati University,
where he led an initiative to open a two-year postgraduate peace and conflict studies
program.

Godfrey Mukalazi (UQ 04-06) founded the Great Lakes Center for Conflict Resolution
in Uganda with alumnus Robert Opira:
 http://rotarnet.com.au/users/9/96452/godfrey010708.pdf

Cecilia Nedziwe (UQ 06-08) is manager of operations for the Centre for Peace Initiatives
in Africa, based in Harare, Zimbabwe.

María Aurora Mercadé Novaczyk (Bradford 04-06) is a professional assessor in international
affairs for a member of the Argentine House of Representatives.

Akiko Okudaira (UQ 05-07) works for Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a Southeast
Asian analyst, currently focusing on Myanmar.

Robert Opira (UQ 05-07) was officially inducted into the Rotary Club of Gulu, Uganda,
on 28 June. He also helped establish the Great Lakes Center for Conflict Resolution
in Uganda with alumnus Godfrey Mukalazi.

Izabela Costa Pereira (USAL 05-07) is a democratic governance officer with the United
Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste.

Saeed Rid (UC Berkeley 04-06) is a lecturer at the National Institute of Pakistan
Studies at Quaid-i-Azam University in Islamabad.

María Zazil Romero Echavarría (Duke/UNC 04-06) is director of international relations
at Tecnológico de Monterrey in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Ana Salazar Manzur (Duke/UNC 05-07) recently moved to the San Francisco Bay area.

Anna Schurmann (Duke/UNC 06-08) is a research assistant at Measure Evaluation, which
works in consultation with USAID staff, local counterparts, cooperating agencies,
and others to strengthen the capacity of host countries' programs to measure progress
in confronting disease, population issues, and poverty.

Colin Spurway (UQ 03-05) is a project manager for the BBC World Service Trust.

Shai Tamari (Duke/UNC 06-08) will be a legislative assistant to U.S. Representative

Jim Moran (Democrat-Virginia) advising on Middle East issues, with a special focus
on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Etsuko Teranishi (UQ 05-07) accepted a position as a training officer at the Osaka
office of the Japan International Cooperation Agency's technical training program.
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Career resources:

The Peace and Collaborative Development Network
is a free professional networking site that aims to foster dialogue and resource
 sharing in international development, conflict resolution, gender mainstreaming,
human rights, social entrepreneurship, and related fields. Several career guides
 Peace and Collaborative Development Network
have recently been added, each featuring strategies and resources. You're encouraged
to review them, share them with colleagues, and contribute your own suggestions
to help further develop these tools.

The Alliance for Conflict Transformation
maintains one of the premier resources for individuals seeking employment, funding,
and networking opportunities in the fields of peace and conflict resolution, civil
society development, human rights, and international education.

Fellows and alumni may also be interested in these Web sites:
Canadian Centres for Teaching Peace

Foreign Policy Association Job Board

Idealist

Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution Career Services

International Jobs Center

International Peace and Conflict Resolution at American University


ReliefWeb
 

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