Scholars of Peace
This year, 12 international
students joined the University's Department of Peace Studies as part of
its new Rotary Centre for International Studies set up to study peace
and conflict.
Not only do the scholars
originate from diverse parts of the world, including Sri Lanka, Japan
and the United States, they also bring a wealth of global experience in
conflict resolution, voluntary work and peace studies to the Department.
The students arrived at Bradford from a wide range of occupational backgrounds,
adding a further dimension to their experiences, and to which they will
return taking with them the skills taught in the programme.
The first batch of
scholars to join the Centre includes teachers, a US Air Force Captain,
an accomplished musician, a superintendent of police, a journalist and
former political prisoner, and leading youth workers.
The University is
one of just seven universities in the world to be taking part in the scheme,
set up by the Rotary Foundation. It is anticipated, in the future, more
universities could come on board so that, eventually, there would be several
hundred people worldwide who can draw on each other's experiences to help
reduce tensions and increase co-operation around the world.
The students are working
on a two-year degree programme in either peace studies, conflict resolution
or international relations before returning to their home country at the
end of the programme. The ultimate goal of the programme is to further
international tolerance and understanding by developing leaders in the
area of conflict resolution. The Scholarship students, known as Rotary
World Peace Scholars, may specialise in a diverse range of topics from
hunger and poverty, to technology and science, to religious and ethnic
conflict.
Core courses cover
an introduction to peace studies, research methods, comparative peace
processes, conflict resolution in contemporary conflict, and regional
security studies. Optional courses include human rights and democracy,
politics of the global environment, arms control and proliferation, and
issues in gender and development. Students may select course options from
other programmes. By the time the scholars return to their home countries,
they will have earned both their MA and MPhil degrees. Rotary World Peace
Scholars will also participate in the annual Rotary Centre seminar in
May as part of their programme.
Some experienced Rotary
leaders have expressed the view that this may be the most exciting thing
to come out of the Rotary Foundation in a long time. The programme was
initiated by the University's Professor Paul Rogers and is headed by Dr
Karen Abi-Ezzi.
Paul said: "The University's
Department of Peace Studies is already the world's largest university
Centre for research and courses on peace studies and conflict resolution.
The Department is intensely international in outlook with students from
more than 30 countries. Many are mature students, often with extensive
and personal experience in conflict situations. With scholars being carefully
selected for their expertise and coming from all areas of the globe they
will add a significant new dimension to the Department's international
expertise."
 Jeffrey
Whitfield, United States
Jeffrey is a US Air
Force captain and a community servant dedicated to helping those in need.
Jeffrey is a distinguished graduate of the Air Force Academy and was selected
as the top graduate from the academy's legal studies programme. He completed
graduate studies at Arizona State University. He was honoured to be the
only cadet in the history of the US Air Force Academy selected to serve
as a summer clerk to a US federal district court judge; he followed this
assignment with a month term in Washington, DC, as a US Air Force liaison
to Congress. Jeffrey has been active with Habitat for Humanity as a volunteer
homebuilder and a board member. He has been a mediator in Texas and Arizona
and advocated for the interests of abused children. As a Rotary World
Peace Scholar, Jeffrey will focus on the economic aspects of conflict
and conflict resolution, especially with regard to China.
Jeffrey said: "With
the development of the World Peace Scholarship programme, Rotary has sent
a powerful message around the globe that they are prepared to dedicate
their energy and resources toward affecting positive results in the struggle
for peaceful resolution of conflict wherever it may arise. To my knowledge,
there is no other scholarship that so directly focuses on this goal, which
is of such great import to all humanity. The Rhodes, Marshall, and even
Fulbright programmes tend toward a more vague goal of improving mutual
understanding between the scholars and their host countries or fellow
students. This scholarship, a bold statement against disharmony, hunger,
disease, illiteracy, environmental degradation, resource scarcity, poverty,
and the other contributors to war, will not only begin a new type of conversation
about how we can better aid our fellow mankind but will inspire a cadre
of leaders and thinkers who are wholly dedicated to this vision.
"I am particularly
impressed by the concept of a global network of people in a variety of
fields all working toward the same objective. The Peace Centres have been
purposely planted on five continents (with another centre in Africa being
considered) for many reasons, not the least of which is to demonstrate
that the work of peace cannot be isolated only in certain areas, but that
there is work to be done on every continent, in every country, and within
every society. Add to this the fact that there are Rotarians spread across
the globe who are already working toward these same goals, and you can
imagine the synergistic effect that will be achieved as this network becomes
fully linked and mobilised. It is an exciting programme with which to
be associated."
 Monica
Alfred, Sri Lanka
Monica is a trainer
and facilitator on non-violent conflict resolution. She is a founder of
AHIMSA (Centre for Conflict Resolution and Peace), an organisation that
focuses on bridging divides between Sinhalese and Tamil communities in
her native Sri Lanka. Monica's commitment to non-violent forms of conflict
resolution has led her to initiate youth programmes for people of different
ethnic and religious persuasions to promote peaceful co-existence. As
a social worker with the Sri Lankan Red Cross Society, she has worked
in more than 200 camps for the internally displaced, directing a rehabilitation
programme for displaced children who are victims of armed conflict. She
lectures on national integration and reconciliation in her country. Monica
has an undergraduate degree from the University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka.
She believes that education, open dialogue, and coalition building are
vital steps toward establishing a lasting peace in Sri Lanka.
Monica said: "Learning
about peace is not as difficult as facing a war. But it is very important
for me that I take the learning from Bradford to my fieldwork in Sri Lanka.
The growth of violence in the world constantly challenges my efforts to
help people combat violence. So the course is a good opportunity to upgrade
my knowledge and skills on peace building."
 Helga
Bara Bragadottir, Iceland
Helga Bara is a teacher,
linguist, and dedicated international volunteer. She speaks nine languages
and has worked and studied in ten countries. She has been heavily involved
with the Icelandic Red Cross for more than seven years, serving on the
board of directors at local and national levels. Beyond Iceland, Helga
Bara has volunteered abroad in Mozambique, England, and Estonia. Before
arriving in Bradford she taught sociology, life skills, organic chemistry,
and Spanish at Isafjordur College in Iceland. With a Bachelor's degree
in social anthropology and teaching credentials, Helga Bara will use the
knowledge gained from her studies in Bradford to work with programmes
that promote multiculturalism and tolerance.
Helga Bara said: "I
am very happy about the content of the course itself and the general atmosphere
in the Department, which is indeed very friendly. I also like the fact
that I am studying with 80 people from all over the world with incredible
diverse backgrounds. I am learning as much from them, as through the course
itself. I am very grateful for this experience which I would have gone
without if not for the Rotary scholarship."
Amy Erickson, United States
Amy has extensive
experience in conflict resolution at the grassroots level. She recently
returned from four years working in the Democratic Republic of Congo as
a peace educator, writing a peace education curriculum for elementary
schools. She has planned and led seminars and workshops in conflict transformation
with youth groups and local associations in the Congo. Amy graduated from
St. Olaf College with a degree in peace studies. She speaks five languages,
including three African dialects. Amy has travelled to several countries
in the Middle East to study the complex conflict situation there from
the perspectives of the countries involved. She spent a year in Kenya,
most of which was with the Masai community. The realities of life in rural
Africa have inspired Amy to explore the relationship between development
and peace. Though she considers her efforts as a peacemaker very small
compared to the enormity of the task, she feels that the seeds of hope
may lie dormant for a time but are never lost.
 Amritha
Fernandes-Bakshi, Canada
Amritha's early career
interests were in the performing arts playing classical violin and piano.
After living in India to study South Indian classical music, she developed
a passion for poverty issues and international justice. Her new interests
led her to pursue degrees in political science, international development
and law. Through her legal studies, she came to understand and respect
the difficulty of responding to crime and conflict, but also learned of
the legal system's limitations. While studying in Cape Town, South Africa,
she worked with the Judicial Inspectorate. This organisation was formed
to ensure a minimum level of human rights in prisons and mediated conflicts
between prisoners and prison officials. This experience strengthened her
desire to pursue an MA in conflict resolution, which she hopes will integrate
her focus on legal reform, international development and human rights.
Amritha said: "The
Department offers all of us in the programme the opportunity to use our
training to support international humanitarian efforts to reduce violent
conflict. I am grateful for this opportunity to study from incredibly
dedicated and knowledgeable faculty and learn amongst such accomplished
colleagues."
Krishna Jhugroo, Mauritius
Krishna has experienced
conflict resolution and peacekeeping from a military perspective. He is
from Mauritius, a small island off the south-east coast of Africa. As
superintendent of police in the Mauritius police force and principal co-ordinator
in security matters at the Prime Minister's office, he actively engages
in preventive diplomacy, conflict resolution, peacemaking, and post-conflict
peace building. Krishna will use his Rotary World Peace Scholarship to
better understand conflict situations and contribute toward their resolution.
His focus is on conflicts in Africa and he would like to contribute in
some way to peace building in Africa.
 Toshiaki
Komatsuzaki, Japan
Toshiaki holds Bachelor's
and Master's degrees in international organisation from International
Christian University in Tokyo. He is also pursuing a doctorate in the
same field. Toshiaki has done extensive research on post-World War II
Europe, and in conjunction with this research he has studied political
theory and philosophy. He spent one month on a cultural exchange in Birmingham,
England, in 1990, and nine months in York from 1994 to 1995 doing language
studies, broadening his views. Toshiaki volunteers teaching music to young
people and assisting foreign visitors in Japan. With the Rotary World
Peace Scholarship, he intends "to manifest my commitment to peace as a
research worker and/or administrative worker contributing to the resolution
of conflicts among people."
Toshiaki said: "What
I have learnt so far during the course is that we are in the circle of
animosity. I think we need the mind of caring and saving others instead
of the inclination to mete out justice to 'enemy' or 'evil' in order to
break the circle. I hope to find tangible guideposts for this during the
course."
Martha McManus, Canada
Martha is an instructor
in the Conflict Resolution Certificate Programme at Mount Royal College
and founder of the Conflict Resolution and Communication Centre in her
native Calgary, Alberta, Canada. As a negotiator and teacher, Martha has
participated in peace activities at the grassroots level and on the international
stage. She attended the Belfast peace conference headed by delegates such
as former Prime Minister John Major, former President Mikhail Gorbachev,
and Bishop Desmond Tutu. She has delivered quality programmes in mediation,
negotiation, and conflict resolution for community groups in Romania and
Colombia. Martha holds a Master's degree in counselling and certificates
in violence prevention and negotiation. She has also dedicated herself
to the training of trainers, thus planting the seeds of peacemaking.
Wendi McMillan, United States
Wendi is a teacher
whose passion for language and culture led her to teach English as a second
language in the USA and in the Czech Republic. Through her experiences
in the classroom, she has seen how cross-cultural integration can lead
to a genuine appreciation of others, beyond mere tolerance. Wendi received
her degree in linguistics from the University of Toledo and has a Master's
degree in the teaching of English as a second language. She previously
served as a US Army officer stationed in the Middle East. She is a volunteer
firefighter in her hometown of Siler City, North Carolina. The skills
Wendi will gain from her Rotary World Peace Scholarship will better equip
her as an educator in cross-cultural settings.
 Tunde
O Thompson, Nigeria
Tunde holds a degree
in political sciences from the University of Ibadan in Nigeria and attended
a four-month programme at Cambridge University in England. In between
educational experiences, Tunde led an active journalistic life for 12
years, working for three newspaper agencies in Nigeria. During that time,
Tunde was confronted by the harsh reality of censure by being imprisoned
and later pardoned. Now Tunde does freelance peace education and conflict
resolution public relations. Tunde is also heavily involved in community
activities centred on rural development in his community.
Tunde said: "I feel
very happy about my participation in peace and conflict studies, thanks
to the Rotary International Award Peace Scholars programme. The courses
are realistically relevant and well organised. I regard the Department
as a "mini-United Nations" in terms of the diversity of students' backgrounds
in geographical cultural and political terms. I am finding the courses
fulfilling and they are helpful in identifying and seeking solutions to
relationship problems at the personal, communal, national and international
levels.
"I see the future
as full of work. Many steps have to be taken to safeguard international
peace and security in real terms. I intend to play my part in that crusade
by teaming up for concerted initiatives against war and war-mongers everywhere."
Ximena Valente, Argentina
Ximena is a teacher
and foundation director who has taken up the rights of children and the
elderly in her native Argentina. She is the executive director of the
Saint Francis Foundation in the city of Villa Gobernador G‡lvez, working
with abandoned and abused children who come to the Foundation by way of
the juvenile court system. The Foundation also runs a home for the elderly
indigent. Ximena teaches international relations courses at the Universidad
Nacional de Rosario. She has lectured at international conferences and
participated in international technical assistance programmes. Ximena
speaks seven languages and holds degrees in international relations and
law from the Universidad Nacional de Rosario. With her Rotary World Peace
Scholarship, Ximena hopes to study conflict resolution and its application
in alternative dispute resolution, community mediation, and prejudice
reduction.
Amy Van Poperin, United States
Amy Van Poperin is
an experienced youth leader with a special interest in multicultural education.
Originally from Minnesota, USA, she studied for six months in Costa Rica
and taught English in Botswana for two years while serving as a Peace
Corps volunteer. Working with the Centre for 4-H Youth Development, Amy
assists with multicultural and youth leadership programming. She was a
founding member of the Minnesota Multicultural Youth Corps, a cross-cultural
youth leadership and empowerment programme. Earlier in her career Amy
worked for AFS Intercultural Programmes, a non-profit high school exchange
organisation based on the notion of promoting peace. Amy's AFS experience
introduced her to cross-cultural conflicts and gave her a better understanding
of the impact that culture and language has on conflict. Amy hopes to
use her Rotary World Peace Scholarship to further develop knowledge and
strategies to maintain peace and resolve conflict in our culturally diverse
society.
- For more information
on rotary scholarships, visit the Rotary International Web site at www.rotary.org
11 February
2002
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