Several of the past and present Peace Fellows keep blogs. We will put links to any that we know about, on Fellows' individual web pages. Please let us know of any we have missed. Thank you.
MABLE BEENE NEDZIWE
ZAMBIA
Sponsored by: Rotary Club of Lusaka, District 9210, Zambia
Country of Citizenship: Zambia
Language proficiency: English
Undergraduate degree: Social Work - University of Zambia
Areas of special interest: I have profound interest in International Politics and Security, Human Rights, Gender Equality, Research and Community Development. My interest in the MA in International Politics and Security lies in my desire to expand my knowledge and understanding of the attempts by the International community to promote democracy, peace and security at international level. I also desire to understand how peace building has evolved from modest attempt to keep the peace into the much more ambitious agenda of engineering the socio-political conditions for a stable peace.
Background to RWPF Award - I first learnt about the Rotary World Peace Fellowship from a colleague in Zimbabwe who had previously studied at the University of Queensland under the RWPF programme. She encouraged me to apply for the programme especially that I was at the time working in a conflict management environment with the Centre for Peace Initiatives in Africa, a regional NGO focussing on conflict resolution in Africa. I also attended a couple of the Rotary Club weekly meetings in Mutare, Zimbabwe hence my knowledge of Rotary International in general and their many community services such as the RWPF.
What are you going to do with your RWPF - I intend to work in an international environment through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Zambia with a view of one day working with the United Nations and its institutions; in a way, I hope to contribute to Rotary's Mission of Promoting world peace and understanding.
Background - Since graduating from the University of Zambia with a Bachelor of Social Work, I worked with the Centre for Peace Initiatives in Africa (CPIA), Zimbabwe. I specifically worked on the General Emmanuel Erskine Research and Documentation Centre in Mutare, a project under CPIA. My areas of focus were Conflict Management and Resolution, DDR, Research on Conflicts in Africa, Successful and Unsuccessful Peace Initiatives enacted in different regions and the continued political upheavals that were prevailing in Zimbabwe at the time. Further to the above, I attended a training course in Peace and Security - TOPS Africa in Sweden at Uppsala University which furthered my understanding on Peace and Security related issues in Africa. Both my experiences at CPIA and training in Sweden enabled me to have a deeper and wider understanding of the key issues surrounding Peace and Security at international level and I came to appreciate what it takes to build peace and security after civil wars and the role of the International community in engendering peace, security vis-à-vis development at large. Currently, I am working with the Ministry of Sport, Youth and Child Development as Sports Development Coordinator for Lusaka Province, Zambia. My focus is on Sport as a tool for Peace and Development, Unity, common language spoken by all, Right to play, Advocacy, HIV/AIDS, Gender and Disability. I would like to thank Rotary International for according me this great opportunity to pursue an MA in International Politics and Security. Through my studies at Bradford and my likely life-long affiliation with Rotary, I hope to work towards creating a safer environment which protects human beings in general from political instability, insecurity and conflict.