Uppsala University, Sweden's oldest university (founded 1477), has just accepted University of Victoria BA graduate in political science, Vanessa Lanteigne, to its Master of Arts program in peace and conflict resolution.
Sponsorship for Vanessa's program is one of 50 at the Master's level and 100 at the Professional Certificate level provided by Rotary International as its multi-million-dollar investment in peace worldwide. Uppsala is one of seven universities in the world for which Rotary sponsors post-graduate candidates for peace-related programs.
A panel of District members, led by District 5040 Rotary Peace Fellowship Chair Gloria Staudt, interviewed Vanessa last June and recommended her as one of the candidates, among hundreds approved by an international Rotary Peace Scholarship panel. She has been completing her work in recent years as National Coordinator at Canadian Voice of Women for Peace in Toronto.
Vanessa was first introduced to other cultures and political systems during her Rotary Youth Exchange Program in 2008 where she lived in Mexico for her Grade 11 school year. After completing her studies from the University of Victoria in political science, Vanessa worked in a variety of roles in non-profits.
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Vanessa with a participant in a conference hosted by Eqwip Hubs in Ghana | "To remember is to end all war" at Canadian Voice of Women for Peace Remembrance Day gathering highlighting the White Poppy Campaign |
In Tanzania, she interned at a children’s rights organization which improves gender equality by preventing child marriage, unwanted teenage pregnancies and female genital cutting/mutilation.
Vanessa then took a contract in Ghana with Eqwip Hubs where she worked under a local training facilitator to train over 1,000 Ghanaian youth in employment and entrepreneurship programs. She was also the lead at her employment hub to roll out the first Eqwip Hubs Innovation Fund, which was then replicated in five other countries to give youth entrepreneurs seed capital for their businesses.
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At Eqwip Hubs employment & entrepreneurship program in Ghana where Vanessa worked for one year | Vanessa with three participants in the Ghanaian Entrepreneurship Program who received funding for their programs after completing the program |
When she returned to Canada she worked in a variety of roles in education, environmental and human rights fields and is currently wrapping up her job at the Canadian Voice of Women for Peace. In recent years, Rotarian Dana Jantzen, RC of Sechelt, has been mentoring Vanessa and, with Michael Price in that club, has recommended her application to the Peace Scholarship program.