|
|
|
|
|
"It is true that the way to war is a well-paved highway and that the way to peace is still a wilderness." Paul Harris spoke those famous words in an interview with the Tuskegee Rotary Club in 1945. Mr. Harris and Rotary had experienced the structural "well-paved highway" that led to two world wars by this time, and he was promoting a new initiative involving Rotarians called the United Nations.
|
|
"My forty-one years of promoting understanding and goodwill in the ranks of Rotary give me the courage to insist that the plan of the United Nations is not an idle dream; that it is practical, and that given half a chance, it will succeed," Harris declared in the 1945 interview.
Rotarians wrote the outline for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1943. Learn Rotary's Role in the UN
|
|
|
Rotary's role in the formation of the United Nations helped establish a framework and opened a dialogue between nations that paved a way to peace in the wilderness. As the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights turns 70 this year, Rotarians around the world will recognize this anniversary on International Day of Peace, September 21st, 2018. The occasion allows Rotary clubs and districts to celebrate and focus on peace, and also commemorate Rotary's deep, historic relationship with the United Nations.
Rotarian Action Group For Peace (RAGFP) is celebrating Peace Day 2018 by activating Rotarians to spark peace within their communities worldwide. RAGFP Peacebuilder Clubs are a strategy we have adopted to build momentum for peace in Rotary. The number of Peacebuilder Clubs has grown from nine original Peacebuilder Clubs in 2011 to over 30 Peacebuilder Clubs in 2018. We've added eight new Peacebuilder Clubs since the beginning of the new Rotary year, with new Peacebuilder Clubs recently established in the United Kingdom, Serbia, and Uganda. Meet the Peacebuilder Clubs
|
|
Every Rotarian is a peacebuilder. Peacebuilder Clubs allow Rotarians to gather regularly and focus on peace, discuss peace action, and educate neighbors about Rotarian principles of peacebuilding. Peacebuilder Clubs establish peace projects and initiatives within Rotary clubs and districts that often involve bringing together local community members who may never have opportunities to meet otherwise. They provide an infrastructure for peace action at the grassroots level globally, just as the United Nations provides the institutional framework for peace among nations.
RAGFP Peacebuilder Clubs help identify Rotary Peace Fellow candidates to be sponsored by their Rotary districts. They provide local support of these candidates through an exhaustive selection process. Peacebuilder Clubs motivate fellow Rotarians to support the Rotary Peace Fellows program and become Peacebuilder Districts. Learn More
RAGFP is pleased to highlight that some of our new RAGFP Peacebuilder Clubs, including clubs in Serbia and Uganda, were formed in areas that are striving for institutionalized peace. Peacebuilder Clubs offer local Rotarians the means and methods to systemize peace in their communities and become part of an international network for peace. The United Nations empowers lives and builds resilience at the nation-state level. RAGFP Peacebuilder Clubs inspire this same model of cooperation at the local/community level.
|
|
|
Form a Peacebuilder Club for Peace Day 2018
|
|
|
September 21st, 2018 is the International Day of Peace. Last year's Peace Day commemoration had the highest participation level ever recorded, with peace events and celebrations held around the world. Your local Rotary club can help make Peace Day 2018 even more successful by forming a Peacebuilder Club as Peace Day action.
|
|
|
|
We also want to support and promote your Rotary club or district in International Day of Peace celebrations. Send your events to contact@rotariansforpeace.org, so we may add them to our Peace Day 2018 Rotary Calendar. Start a Peacebuilder Club, tell us about your Rotary club or district's Peace Day 2018 events, and help show the world how Rotarians can unify communities and inspire world peace on International Day of Peace 2018.
|
|
|
Get started today so we may honor your new Peacebuilder Club on Peace Day 2018. RAGFP offers step-by-step guidelines for Rotarians who desire to form a RAGFP Peacebuilder Club within their own Rotary club. The process is as simple as locating fellow Rotarians who desire to become peacebuilders. The following links provide resources to assist all Rotarians in forming and sustaining active Peacebuilder Clubs.
|
|
|
Rotarian Action Group For Peace is here to support and promote your Rotary Peacebuilder Club projects and initiatives. Submit your club's peace projects. You may email us at contact@rotariansforpeace.org or call our office at +1 503-505-5720 with any questions or requests for support.
|
|
|
Recruit and establish new and active Peacebuilder Clubs around the world on Peace Day 2018. Fill the RAGFP Peacebuilder Clubs Map and put more boots on the ground helping to expand the path to peace.
|
|
|
The RAGFP Peacebuilder Clubs Map allows you to locate Peacebuilder Clubs globally. This map joins Rotarians to share ideas, effective peace projects and initiatives. Yet, it is more than just a functional tool for Rotarian peacebuilders. As new RAGFP Peacebuilder Clubs populate this map, they create a visual representation of how Rotarians are planting seeds for peace in their communities.
|
|
|
Establishing Peacebuilder Clubs is a major part of our mission at RAGFP. Paul Harris pioneered a vision for paving the road to peace. RAGFP is inspired to continue his legacy. Please join and support us on this path.
|
|
Join or Donate to RAGFP and invest in our mission to educate, empower and engage Rotarian peacebuilders globally. Join us today!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
