August 16, 2019, By Rotarian Action Group For Peace


Dear Rotarian Peacebuilders,

We are honored to be invited to participate at the Geneva Peace Week to promote Global Peacebuilding Grants. As you know, Global Grants provide many opportunities for Rotary clubs and districts to advance important causes. Of the different Global Grants available, Peacebuilding projects comprise the fewest number of Global Grants awarded. This isn’t because peacebuilding is less important to Rotarians, but that many Rotarians have difficulty conceptualizing what peace projects actually entail. One of the RAGFP’s goals is to address this gap by utilizing peace education and convening with partners to create peace projects in conflict zones and beyond.

At the end of June, the RAGFP presented our pilot workshop, “How to Spark and Build Sustainable Peace within Communities” to attendees of the 2019 RI Convention in Hamburg, Germany. A critical piece to the workshop was our interactive and informational workbook. This workbook served as a template and tool for Rotarians and Peacebuilders to conceptualize their project design and management under the positive peace model. We were invited to publish our workshop materials on the Rotary Positive Peace Academy so all Rotarians can utilize it. These are some of the comments shared about our workshop:

  • The best session of the entire 4 days!!!”
  • “The interactive parts were one-of-a-kind of all the break-out sessions I took part in! Really good – I take the spirit and inspiration into the club!”
  • “Tools for leadership to spark and enhance peace in our local club and community. Very much needed and helpful. Thank you!”

Response from the Rotarian community was overwhelmingly positive, and as a result, RAGFP has been invited to present our workshop at the 2019 Geneva Peace Week Convention.

Geneva Peace Week brings together top NGOs, international organizations, and the sharpest minds in the world to share and learn innovative methods of spreading peace. This is an excellent opportunity for the RAGFP to expand the scope of our pilot program by showing attendees how to utilize the positive peace model to create Global Grants. Our main goal for Geneva is to conceptualize one peace project which clubs can use as a framework for their own Global peacebuilding Grant. By presenting at Peace Week, we also open up opportunities for partnerships and to advance our peacebuilding strategies.

It is an incredible honor to be invited to Peace Week, but we need your help to get there.The cost for the RAGFP to present during Peace Week is $5,000. We have already received $1,000 in seed money from RAGFP board members, Chehab Elawar and Barbara Gaughen-Muller. Lodging has been donated in-kind through the generosity of Walter Gyger. Still, we need your support. You can help the RAGFP spread our Positive Peace Workshop to a global audience of peacebuilders and Rotary connections. If you, your club, or district would be interested in helping us, please circulate this with them. Your contribution goes far to help the RAGFP achieve its strategic plan: educating Rotarians, supporting peace projects, and raising the portfolio of peace in Rotary and beyond.

Rotarian Action Group For Peace is a 501(C) 3 non-profit organization. Please email us at [email protected] or call our office at 503-505-5720 with any questions and/or concerns.

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