Myanmar a melting pot of religions and ethnic differences
Almost 2 years ago, I was attending a course on refugees’ law at Olomouc University (Czech Republic) and the professor set up a role game. She asked us to imagine a scenario where we would be under a life-threatening attack and fleeing was the only way to save ourselves. All the participants had in front of them 3 items: a passport, money and a picture of their family. We only had one minute...Read More
Community peacebuilding: Inclusion and equality in COVID times
As we are engaging in this week’s module on Inclusive Community Peacebuilding, I cannot help but reminisce. We are entering year 2 of the pandemic and how different does our world seem from the one I knew before. I have adapted to all of the changes as well as I can. Days at a time without leaving the house once. One year working from home in Mexico City without ever going back to the office....Read More
Broadening my perspective: from a bit too British toward something more global
Hi, my names Tim Mortimer and I’m an interfaith dialogue specialist from the UK, and part of the latest Rotary Peace Fellowship Class 30. I applied for and was accepted to the Fellowship with the intentions of broadening my perspective. I’ve been working at The Faith & Belief Forum, the UK’s leading interfaith charity for the last 6 and a half years. I love it, but I’ve definitely...Read More
No peace without peace of mind: Why we need to link mental health and psychosocial support into peacebuilding, now.
They say every cloud has a silver lining. While it took me a while to find the silver lining on the massive and ever-evolving dark cloud of Covid-19; I think I’ve found it: all of a sudden everyone around me is talking about (their) mental health. Cooped up in our homes, prevented from spending time with those we love; overwhelmed with anxiety and fear and uncertainty; mental health has...Read More
New Destiny in Peace Rotary Fellowship
Until last year when the Covid 19 pandemic spread across the globe, I was unaware of and would have never thought of applying for the Rotary Peace Fellowship. I received the scholarship application from a Rotarian friend based in Jordan who thought it might assist my daughter who is a recent graduate in political science and international relations. After reading the conditions of the...Read More
On witnessing power-games during the crisis
The first positive case of coronavirus (COVID-19) was officially found on 13th January 2020 in Kathmandu, Nepal. Before the identification of the case, Nepal was neither prepared enough to handle the pandemic crisis, nor did the government even consider it seriously. When the second case was diagnosed on March 17, 2020, the government haphazardly initiated implementing necessary measures to...Read More
Through my Lens: Accidental Activism
2020 will be remembered as the year that the Novel Coronovirus, Covid 19, decimated global healthcare systems and economies. As well as caused unprecedented death tolls and grief. The Rotary Peace Fellows of Class 29 became part of Class 30. A quick pivot due to travel restrictions enabled the first ever Virtual Peace Fellowship to launch in February 2021. Having just completed Week 5, I can...Read More
As deep as the ocean: the interconnectedness of peace building and marine conservation. The perspective of a Peace Fellow during the times of COVID-19.
So, here I am again. It’s 2 pm in Dili, Timor-Leste. I just rushed back from a squeezed-in 20 min lunch break to sit for another awe-inspiring three hours glued to my computer screen. This is not how I imagined this experience to be, yet here I am. COVID-19 has turned my entire life upside down and the Rotary Peace Fellowship is no exception. What was supposed to take place in 2020 as a...Read More