Rotary Peace Fellow Saad Kairm who is in the first month of his studies at Chulatongkorn University sends a personal report.
 

The Rotary Club of North Vancouver, District 5040 nominated Saad Karim to the Rotary Peace Centers program. He was accepted and is in his first month of the three month professional certificate program at Chulatongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand.  Saad is from Metro Vancouver.

The Rotary Peace Center at Chulalongkorn University was established in 2004 to provide a three month, professional development certificate to individuals currently working in related fields. Sessions run  twice each year with a maximum of 25 Rotary Peace Fellows in each session.  www.rotary-chula.org.

Prior to being accepted as a Rotary Peace Fellow Saad has worked for a variety of NGOs (Non Government Organizations) in Africa. Most recently he worked in IDP (internally displaced person) camps and conflict affected areas, with children and young adults to build towards sustainable peace and greater cohesion among communities.

This is the report sent to District 5004 from Saad.

The program thus far has been fantastic. We are heading on our first field trip tomorrow morning to Northern Thailand for one week. A diverse group of professionals and fantastic and experienced lecturers.

 I have been in Bangkok at the Rotary Peace Centre for the professional development certificate programme for four weeks. It has been nothing short of inspiring. Among 22 other peace practitioners from varied backgrounds and fantastic visiting lecturers, the collective experience is impressive.

This is in reality an understatement. The participants include aid workers, activists, university professors, civil servants, police, media, researchers and more from across the globe.  The learning opportunities are constant, the discussions are rich and have been both introspective and extrospective. The class has been able to admirably mix theoretical and participatory learning processes along with practical field excursions.

We embark soon on our first of two field missions. This is part of the program I was looking forward to before I left Vancouver. Honestly, I had not anticipated the impact, already in the first four weeks.

The visit to the Thai-Burma border, visiting refugee camps and organisations involved in the efforts for assistance will be a highlight. And if all this was not enough, we are given ample opportunity to explore and learn Thai culture and history through visits, talks, food, dance, sport and immersion.

Thank You and Best Regards
 
Saad

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. See: www.Rotary.org/rotarycenters

 

Watch this website for an announcement when your Rotary club can nominate leaders in your community for the Rotary Peace Centers program.

 Image  Image
 

Image

 

Image