I will be the first to admit my ignorance of all things Rotarian. I thought they were like other service clubs like the Lions, Elks, etc. Boy was I wrong. As the President of the Peace Memorial Park Foundation of Portland, Oregon, I have been researching Peace Parks. The results were eye opening. The first established peace park appears to be the Waterton Glacier International Peace Park.
Continued after the flip.
In June 1932, a group of Rotarians from Alberta, Canada, and Montana, USA, made history when they convinced their respective national governments to create the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, an enduring symbol of friendship and the model for peace parks worldwide.
Authorized by the U.S. Congress and Canada's Parliament, the peace park designation combines the 203-square-mile Waterton Lakes National Park in Canada with the 1,600-square-mile Glacier National Park in the United States. The arrangement allows both national parks to operate as separate entities under the peace park mantle. Each September, the Waterton Glacier International Peace Park Association (WGIPPA) hosts a goodwill gathering at the peace park. In even years, Rotarians from nearly 150 clubs within the three districts meet on the U.S. side, and in odd years on the Canadian side.
During this ceremony, the following is proclaimed by all Canadian and American Rotarians in attendance:
"In the name of God we will not take up arms against each other. We will work for peace: maintain liberty: strive for freedom: and demand equal opportunities for all mankind. May the long existing peace between our two nations stimulate other people to follow this example."
Peace Garden, Waterton Glacier International Peace Park.
My interest was growing as to exactly what these establishment peaceniks were up to. Google was my friend. The results of a quick search for "Rotary Peace Parks" was quite the education. Not only was there the Granddaddy of them all, the Waterton Glacier International Peace Park, but there were Rotary Peace Parks all over the world.
Not only were there Peace Parks all over but there are also Rotary Peace Cities/Peace Symbol Project!
The Rotary Peace City Project and the (then) Rotary Peace Symbol Project were introduced to the 1993 Melbourne World Rotary Convention by Past President Tony Quinlivan. This program originally initiated out of the Rotary Club of Wagga Wagga - Kooringal D9700 in 1992, where the City of Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia, was the first declared Rotary Peace City in the world.... Now there are over sixty Rotary Peace Cities.
Then there are Rotary World Peace Fellows.
Rotary Peace Fellows are leaders promoting national and international cooperation, peace, and the successful resolution of conflict throughout their lives, in their careers, and through service activities. Fellows can earn either a master’s degree in international relations, public administration, sustainable development, peace studies, conflict resolution, or a related field, or a professional development certificate in peace and conflict resolution.
Here in Portland, Oregon, we have a major benefactor of the fellowship program, Trucking tycoon helps fund peace program.
Rotarian Al Jubitz remembers the time when he was 12 years old and another boy punched him in the face. His ego was bruised, but he learned a lesson: Peace is always better than fighting.
Now he hopes to see that lesson applied on a global scale. A member of the Rotary Club of Portland, Oregon, USA, Jubitz has pledged US$300,000 to fund five Rotary World Peace Fellowships, for aspiring peacemakers as they pursue master’s degrees.
And then there is their work in Polio eradication.
PolioPlus, the most ambitious program in Rotary’s history, is the volunteer arm of the global partnership dedicated to eradicating polio. For more than 20 years, Rotary has led the private sector in the global effort to rid the world of this crippling disease. Today, PolioPlus and its role in the initiative is recognized worldwide as a model of public-private cooperation in pursuit of a humanitarian goal.
There is a lot more info that can be found at Rotary International.
Next week I will contacting my local Rotary Club and introducing myself and the Peace Memorial Park in an effort to get Portland recognized as a Peace City.
My education continues.
A simple poll is below. Just wondering how many know about this organization's peace work.