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Peace has also been a primary goal of Rotary's ever since it was founded in 1905. During the 1914 Rotary convention, a resolution was adopted stating that the International Association of Rotary Clubs "lend its influence to the maintenance of peace among the nations of the world." And in 1921, the influence of World War I was felt when Rotary incorporated this goal into their constitution: "to aid in the advancement of international peace and goodwill through a fellowship of business and professional men of all nations united in the Rotary ideal of service." Arch Klumph in his address at the convention said "Rotary is not a university and yet it has an educational task to perform, and that task is to divert the world's mind to thoughts of friendly cooperation." Decades later, this would still be a Rotary goal, as more and more leaders were calling for Rotary to do more to promote peace. The idea of founding a university to promote peace had been proposed many times, but it wasn't until 1995-96 rotary year that the idea gained momentum. A Trustee Chair (elect), Rajendra Saboo, was walking through Northwestern University when he thought that establishing a school or center at an existing institution, rather than starting an entirely new one, might be a more feasible idea. He brought the idea to RI President-elect Luis Giay who also agreed it was an excellent idea. A committed was formed and the Trustees approved the creation of the Rotary Centers for International Studies in peace and conflict resolution, in April 1999. The idea was to seek applicants from a worldwide pool of people engaged in peace-building and conflict resolution for a two-year master's program - to be funded by the Rotary Foundation. The committee scoured the world for top universities offering graduate programs in peace and conflict resolution and established seven Rotary Peace Centers at universities from Duke and University of North Carolina to Japan, England and Australia. The first class of Rotary Peace Fellows graduated 68 Peace Fellows from 29 countries in 2004. They have worked among such organizations as The Red Cross, The Carter Center and UNESCO. So when confronted with the question of what one organization can do - Rotary has proven that working to improve health conditions and promote economic improvement is a pathway to a more peaceful world. As past Trustee chair Cliff Dochterman said, "We work with food for the hungry, water for the thirsty, medicine for the sick, education for the children, and opportunity for the hopeless. These are not weapons of war, but rather they are Rotary's instruments of peace." |
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