What is Peace?
John Anderson
Rotary is dedicated to causes that improve lives and create a better world though its seven areas of focus one of which is the promotion of peace through conflict resolution and prevention. In our club we have two upcoming events to further the cause of peace:
. A peace conversation at the regular meeting of Sept 16
. The celebration of the UN's International Peace Day on Sept 21
John then showed two videos that illustrated and provided an understanding of peace
Canada and the Global Peace Index
This is a report produced by the Institute for Economics and Peace that ranks countries according to their levels of positive peace. The indicators that measure this include : well functioning government, equitable distribution of resources, free flow of information and acceptance of human rights. Of the 153 countries measured in this survey the most peaceful is Iceland with Canada ending up in tenth place.
Summer Lewis Peace Advocate
Summer spoke about peace at a Governor's conference in which she outlined Rotary's role in building a peaceful world. Many of Rotary's areas of focus are interrelated; providing clean water means children can remain in school longer which in turn gives them a better chance of economic success. Peace Fellowships directly help create promoters for the cause of peace. She illustrated Rotary's effectiveness by telling her personal history which began with a Rotary service grant that started her off working in Guatemala on a local women's project. From there she worked for social justice and fair trade projects in all manner of non-profit organizations. After serving as a Peace Fellow Summer now trains fellow Peace Builders while continuing her strong advocacy and charitable work.
John ended the session by emphasizing that we are all Peace Builders in one form or another. What we do in our Rotary and in our personal lives can foster peace; from donating to the food bank to supporting the fellowship progamme we are not standing alone but part of the collective effort in brining the world closer to harmony.