2023-24 Highlights
- In fall 2023, the Duke-UNC Rotary Peace Center welcomed a cohort of nine Rotary Peace Fellows from Australia, Bolivia, Japan, Malawi, Palestine, Philippines and Poland.
- Ten Rotary Peace Fellows - six MIDP fellows and four UNC students - graduated in May 2024.
- Since the Center began operating in 2002, 187 Duke-UNC Rotary Peace Fellows, representing 67 countries, have graduated from either Duke University or UNC-Chapel Hill.
From Self to Society: Envisioning Our Relationship to Peace
Mustafa Rezaie MIDP'24 presents "From Humanitarian Aid to Sustainable Communities in Northern Afghanistan."
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Mai Nguyen MIDP'24 with Professor Edmund Malesky.
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Chone Chaowai MIDP'24 with Senior Lecturer Catherine Admay.
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Christian Menin MIDP'24, Mustafa Rezaie MIDP'24 and Jorge Delgado Golusda MIDP'24 with Lecturing Fellow Kerilyn Schewel.
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Class XXI Rotary Peace Fellows after presenting their master's research.
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Annual Conference
Approximately 275 people (200 in person and 75 virtual) attended the Center's 21st annual conference on April 6 at UNC's FedEx Global Education Center. With the theme “From Self to Society: Envisioning Our Relationship to Peace,” the conference explored individual and collective actions for peace across the world. Fellows presented their research, which ranged from training community health workers as peacebuilders in South Africa to investing in education in refugee camps in Ethiopia to preserving indigenous land rights in Thailand.
Professional Development Trip
The group stops for a photo in front of the White House.
Washington, D.C. Visit
The Center organized a professional development trip to Washington, D.C., Jan. 7-9, which included career panels and roundtable discussions with representatives from Fund for Peace, Alliance for Peacebuilding, PartnersGlobal, Search for Common Ground, UNHCR, UNDP, Inter-American Development Bank, and the World Bank. Fellows also visited Oxfam America, U.S. Institute of Peace, and the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Community Events
Marc Sommers speaks about his book, “We the Young Fighters: Pop Culture, Terror, and War in Sierra Leone.”
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The Rotary USA-France Intercountry Committee poses for a group photo at the Positive Peace and Leadership Dialogue Seminar.
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We the Young Fighters
Peacebuilding/conflict expert Marc Sommers spoke about his new book, “We the Young Fighters: Pop Culture, Terror, and War in Sierra Leone,” Nov. 14-15. The book explores the influence that three transatlantic pop culture figures - Bob Marley, Tupac Shakur, and John Rambo - had on adolescent combatants during Sierra Leone’s civil war. The Duke Center for International Development was a co-sponsor for Sommers’ visit to Duke and UNC-Chapel Hill.
Positive Peace and Leadership Dialogue Seminar
The Center partnered with the Rotary USA-France Intercountry Committee to host the fourth biennial seminar at UNC's FedEx Global Education Center, Oct. 18-21. The seminar brought together 12 French and 18 American young professionals for a series of intensive workshops on the principles of positive peace, systems thinking and other related topics.
Skills-Based Workshops
Ruth Rhoads Allen, president and chief collaboration officer at CDA leads the Systems Thinking Workshop.
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Lecturing Fellow Maureen Moriarty Lempke speaks with students in the Systems Thinking Workshop.
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Diana Campos MIDP'22, project coordinator at CDA, presents during the Systems Thinking Workshop.
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Systems Thinking Workshop with Ruth Rhoads Allen and Diana Campos of CDA Collaborative Learning Projects
In collaboration with the Duke Center of International Development, the Center hosted a systems thinking workshop where participants learned how to introduce and apply core concepts of conflict analysis and systems thinking while identifying key tools and approaches for peacebuilding effectiveness. They also explored a case study to identify potential program strategies and theories of change.
Resiliency Workshop with Dr. Gina Chowa, UNC School of Social Work
Fellows participated in a workshop on resiliency and trauma-informed practice, a requirement of all fellows at all Peace Centers. They explored socio-ecological perspectives of resilience, looking at micro and macro causes of trauma and instability and identifying best practices for self-care.
The Duke-UNC Rotary Peace Center, jointly managed by the Duke Center for International Development (DCID) and UNC’s Office of the Vice Provost for Global Affairs, prepares Rotary Peace Fellows to have a significant, positive impact on world peace and conflict resolution. Learn more about the Center.