Rotary International District 9790

Peace Fellowship Recruitment

Rotary International January 2012

Happy New Year Rotary District Leaders! With the start of 2012, comes the start of the 2013 Rotary Peace Fellowship recruitment.

The 2011 Summer Rotary Peace Fellows graduated from the Professional Development Certificate program in June. The Winter 2012 class will start in February

If your district has never submitted a Rotary Peace Fellowship application, let us remind you that the fellowship is completely funded by The Rotary Foundation and requires no DDF! Also districts are allowed to submit as many applications as they deem qualifed for either a master's degree in peace related studies or a 3-month professional development certificate.

Many districts wonder where they can find qualified candidates for this world-competitive fellowship. In addition to talking to local nonprofits and schools, the best way is through word of mouth. Talk about the program at your club meetings, at work or at social meetings. See the tip section below or our recruitment flyer for some additional ideas. Potential peace fellows are in all of our communities and with Rotary’s help they can help become the peace leaders of tomorrow.

For questions about eligibility, you can see the Rotary website or browse the Program Guide for Rotarians. The Rotary Peace Center Program Assistant, Niki Fritz, is always happy to help with challenging eligibility questions. You can email her at niki.fritz@rotary.org.

If you or your district have already identified potential applicants, the 2013 fellowship application is now available online. Please feel free to download the application here and send it to potential applicants.

Thank you for all you do in helping Rotary promote a more peaceful world.

Sincerely,

The Rotary Peace Centers Department

Tip: Where to Recruit Rotary Peace Fellows

Rotary districts may be able to find potential Peace Fellows by looking in their past ranks of Ambassadorial Scholars and GSE team members. Scholars and team members are often internationally experienced and dedicated to peace and understanding. Send an email to your alumni explaining the Rotary Peace Fellowship and eligibility. Email and press release templates are available for interested districts. This simple recruitment tool may help your district find the next 2013 Rotary Peace Fellow.

However, please note that alumni must wait three years after date of completion of their scholarship or trip before applying for the Rotary Peace Fellowship. For example, scholars who completed their coursework after September 2009 are not eligible. If in doubt please contact Niki Fritz at niki.fritz@rotary.org.

Highlight: Nonviolent Peaceforce

Last year Michael Cavitt, D5950’s Peace Chair, reached out to the Nonviolent Peacekeeping Force, a Minnesota-headquartered organization that sends unarmed peacekeepers into conflict areas. Through recruitment among alumni of the force, several accomplished peacekeepers applied for the program and one Nonviolent Peacekeeping Force alumni will be starting at ICU in the fall.

Because of one Peace Chair’s initiative and dedication to connecting with like-minded organizations in his area, the Rotary Peace Centers has a new fellow with two years of direct peacekeeping experience.

Rotarian Cavitt’s example proves that it is extremely beneficial for districts to reach out to local organizations to recruit fellows. For more ideas on how to recruit, see the Rotary Peace Centers Recruitment flyer.