Nonviolent Peaceforce gets Rotary Peace Fellowships
Three Nonviolent Peaceforce peacekeepers and one NP Chapter President were awarded Rotary Peace Fellowships this year. Three will be going to the Rotary Peace Center at the University of Queensland, Australia, for a two year Master’s Degree. Two will be going to Chulalongkorn University Rotary Peace Center for the three-month peace and conflict studies certificate. In addition, NP Minneapolis office Intern, last year’s fellowship winner will be heading for University of Queensland in January. These fellowships will contribute greatly to their personal leadership and management skills when returning to work in the field of peace and conflict.
(Published Dec. 13, 2014)
The NP Rotary Peace Scholars are:
Going to Chulalongkorn University Rotary Peace Center:
Aseervatham Florington
(Flory), from Sri Lanka, NP Sri Lanka, South Sudan.
Flory is the Deputy Director of the NP South Sudan team. He has six years experience working in international project management and administration of programs in Sri Lanka and South Sudan. He has designed and implemented advocacy strategy forchild and human rights defenders and protection issues. Hehas gained recognition for negotiation, mediation- particularly when it concernsinterpersonal and intercultural sensitivities in delicate situations. (June 2015)
Jeanne Lound Schaller, from Midland Michigan US
heads the Nonviolent Peaceforce Chapter in Midland, Michigan, and is co-founder of the Midland Helen M. Casey Center for Nonviolence. Jeanne facilitates guest speakers from Nonviolent Peaceforce and runs fundraising campaigns with the the Midland Chapter. She is a mediator with the Community Resolution Center, based in Flint, Michigan, that covers nine counties, including Midland. (June 2015)
Going to University of Queensland Rotary Peace Center (January 2016):
Rachel Beecroft
Former NP Intern in the Minneapolis office, received the Rotary Peace Fellowship last year and will be leaving soon for University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. Rachel studied human rights and genocide studies at the University of Minnesota and interned with NP for a year post graduation. Rachel assisted in fundraising, website development, and donor correspondence.
Rotary Peace Centers
Rotary, founded in 1905, isa humanitarian service organization dedicated to world peace and understanding. Since 2002, Rotary’s Peace Fellowship program has provided 100 full fellowships each year for peace professionals to advance their knowledge and skill in peacekeeping, peacebuilding and peacemaking in the world. The participating universities are International Christian University, Tokyo; Duke University, Durham, North Carolina US; University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia; Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand; Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden; Bradford University, Bradford UK. Rotary hosts centers in each of these universities to enhance the teaching and learning about peace and conflict prevention and resolution.
Peace and Conflict Prevention and Resolution is one of Rotary’s six major areas of focus. Rotary has five other areas of focus that seek to bring peace to the world: improved water and sanitation, challenging major medical diseases such as polio, enhancing maternal and child health, education and literacy and economic development.
Ann Frisch, Senior Adviser to Nonviolent Peaceforce and St. Paul Rotarian, and J. Michael Cavitt, Minneapolis Rotarian, identify and mentor NP peacekeepers and assist them with their application for Rotary Peace Fellowships. This year, Georgia Afton, writer and designer, assisted with the mentoring process.