2022-23 Highlights
- The Rotary Peace Center celebrated its 20th anniversary. Over two decades, the Center has welcomed 187 Rotary Peace Fellows from 67 different countries.
- Nine Fellows graduated in May - five from UNC and four from Duke. They came to North Carolina from Australia, Brazil, Central African Republic, Ethiopia, India, Israel, Ghana, Morocco and Nigeria.
- The Center received a record number of applications to the Rotary Peace Fellowship program, nearly a 35% increase from last year.
New Paradigms of Peace, Development and Sustainability
Annual Conference
More than 300 people (206 in person and 100 virtual) attended the Center's 20th annual conference on April 1 at UNC's Global Education Center. With the theme “New Paradigms of Peace, Development and Sustainability,” the conference included presentations of the 2023 Fellows' research, as well as panel discussions on overcoming marginalizing in governance and social policy; opportunities to move from conflict to cooperation; the role of disease prevention in peacebuilding; and marginalized voices.
20th Anniversary
Twenty blogs for 20 years
To mark the 20th anniversary, the Center introduced the "Twenty Blogs for 20 Years" series, featuring posts written by Rotary Peace Center Fellows and alumni – one from each cohort – who reflect on their experience as a Rotary Peace Fellow and how the fellowship has made a difference in their personal and professional lives.
Alumni Engagement
Networking
Following the Alliance for Peacebuilding's PeaceCon in May, the Center hosted an alumni reception at the Duke in D.C. office. Alumni and students in attendance included SangHee Jeong MIDP ’09, Georgia Harley MIDP ’12, Sharif Azami MIDP ’10, Carlos Guiza Ceron MIDP ’13, Diana Quintero MIDP ’22 and Christian Menin MIDP '24.
Guest Speaking
Bautista Logioco MIDP '04 returned to Duke in April to speak with current students about his career as a senior peacebuilding consultant for a wide range of United Nations agencies. He also spoke at the Rotary Foundation's post-annual conference dinner, helping to celebrate the Center's 20th anniversary.
Co-Teaching
Branka Panic MIDP '20, founder of AI for Peace, co-taught "Theory and Practice of Conflict Transformation," a required course for first-year Rotary Peace Fellows. She facilitated several in-person role-play exercises in negotiation, active listening and cross-cultural communication.
Professional Development
The D.C. trip included a tour of the U.S. Capitol.
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Scott Sellwood, policy lead for human rights and extractive industries at Oxfam America, spoke to students.
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Stefano Pettinato, UNDP, and Mariana Fariah, Pan American Health Organization, spoke to students.
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The Rotary Peace Fellows visited organizations including the U.S. Institute of Peace.
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Visit to D.C.
The Center organized a professional development trip to Washington D.C. in January. Eleven Rotary Peace Fellows along with three MIDP students attended two career panel discussions and a round table discussion with representatives from Oxfam, the World Bank, UNDP, FHI 360, Mercy Corps, the U.S. Institute of Peace and other organizations.
Workshops
Fellows participated in a variety of workshops on campus throughout the year, including:
- "Do No Harm" with Ruth Rhoads Allen, president and chief collaboration office at CDA Collaborative Learning Projects
- Gender Power Dynamics with equity and inclusion strategist Chimi Boyd-Keyes
- Presentation Skills with Dean Storelli, director of MIDP writing and communication services