Peace and Conflict Studies

The vision

Rotary Centers provide Rotary World Peace Fellows with the opportunity to pursue a master’s degree in conflict resolution, peace studies, international relations, and related areas.

Each year, up to 60 Rotary World Peace Fellowships are offered on a competitive basis at six Rotary Centers, which operate in partnership with seven leading universities:

• Duke University and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA (joint Rotary Center)
• International Christian University, Tokyo, Japan
• Universidad del Salvador, Buenos Aires, Argentina
• University of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England
• University of California, Berkeley, USA
• University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia

Coursework at the Rotary Centers focuses on preventing and resolving conflict by addressing its root causes ― for example, responding to hunger with food security, disease with health care, illiteracy with education, poverty with sustainable development, and environmental degradation with conservation. Fellows put classroom lessons into practice through an applied field experience, when they work with a variety of governmental and nongovernmental organizations worldwide.

The fellows are chosen from countries and cultures around the globe based on their potential as leaders in government, business, education, media, and other professional areas.

Rotary Centers alumni have demonstrated their ability to further global understanding and peace in their work for United Nations agencies, the World Bank, European Parliament, the Organization of American States, and other nongovernmental organizations, along with national governments and international businesses.

Rotary Peace and Conflict Studies Program, Bangkok

The Rotary Peace and Conflict Studies Program was established to provide professionals from around the world with the opportunity to be trained in conflict resolution and mediation strategies. The program also can help participants become better equipped to prevent and resolve conflict and to foster policies and create settings that ensure peace worldwide. Offered in English, the program is aimed toward mid- to upper-level professionals in governments, nongovernmental organizations, and private corporations.

The intensive three-month course, which was started in July 2006, is housed at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand. Rotary will accept up to 30 program participants per session for two sessions annually. Each session will include both academic learning and practical fieldwork components. The program aims to:

• Inspire people to work for a culture of peace and tolerance while enhancing their capacity, knowledge, and skills in this area, in part by generating interaction between practitioners and academics
• Offer advanced international educational opportunities to Rotary Peace and Conflict Studies Program participants chosen from different countries and cultures on the basis of their potential as government, business, education, media, and other professional leaders
• Provide a means for The Rotary Foundation and Rotarians to increase their effectiveness in promoting greater tolerance and cooperation among peoples, thereby leading to world understanding and peace.