Building Ecosystems of Peace and Conflict Resolution
Peace is fundamental to Rotary’s mission. In a time of heightened tensions and uncertainties due to global, regional, and local conflicts, as well as, several socio-economic and psychological factors that affect and influence communities and the individuals within them, it is critically important that Rotary clubs and members work together to build ecosystems where peace can thrive and conflict resolution becomes the go-to option.
Rotary invests in peace education and capacity building, fosters strategic relationships, and integrates peacebuilding into all of Rotary’s programs and service. With the belief that when people work to create peace in their communities, that change can have a global effect, by carrying out service projects and supporting peace fellowships and scholarships, our members take action to address the underlying causes of conflict, including poverty, discrimination, ethnic tension, lack of access to education, and unequal distribution of resources.
But...what exactly is peace and how do we obtain it?
Often regarded as an intangible, utopian concept eliciting vague images of beautiful, flower-bearing, mandala-wearing youth, what does peace actually look like and how do we know if and when we have it? Can peace be measured?
The answer, incidentally, is yes!
Founded in 2008, the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) is a world-renowned think tank that has shifted the way the world thinks about peace. By analysing data about peace in order to determine the social, political and economic factors that create and sustain peace, the IEP produces the annual Global Peace Index (GPI), the world’s leading measure of global peacefulness, ranking 163 countries according to their levels of peace.
The GPI enables an understanding of what factors create highly peaceful societies, and when that is understood, then knowing what to do to build resilience within societies so they can avoid conflict in the future becomes a reality.
What is really interesting, though, is that the same qualities that create highly peaceful societies also create many other things we think are important, such as higher GDP growth rate, better performance on environmental measures, better measures for wellbeing and happiness, and better measures of inclusion.
This concept of Positive Peace is the cornerstone of the IEP and its belief that peace is much more than the absence of violence (Negative Peace). Positive Peace describes the attitudes, structures and institutions that underpin and sustain peaceful societies.
Therefore, in many ways, Positive Peace not only creates peace, it also creates an optimal environment giving communities the potential to flourish, and in many ways this is transformational.
Partners in Peace: Rotary & the IEP
Rotary works with the IEP to address the causes of conflict and create conditions that foster peace. The partnership focuses on education and training about Positive Peace by looking at the underlying conditions that lead to more peaceful societies, including good governance, access to needed services, a sound business environment, and respect for human rights.
Through this partnership, clubs and members have several resources to promote Positive Peace in their communities, including:
- The IEP Positive Peace Academy, a free online course
- A Positive Peace presentation and facilitation guide
- Rotary's Positive Peace in Action Guide to support the creation of Positive Peace workshops
- Positive Peace Activators in the region
- Rotary's Positive Peace toolkit to help design your next project
Rotary's Four Roles In Promoting Peace
Rotary and its members are:
Practitioners – Our work fighting disease, providing clean water and sanitation, improving the health of mothers and children, supporting education, and growing local economies directly builds the optimal conditions for peaceful societies.
Practitioners – Our work fighting disease, providing clean water and sanitation, improving the health of mothers and children, supporting education, and growing local economies directly builds the optimal conditions for peaceful societies.
Educators – Our Rotary Peace Centres have trained over 1300 peace fellows to become effective catalysts for peace through careers in government, education, and international organizations.
Mediators – Our members have negotiated humanitarian ceasefires in areas of conflict to allow polio vaccinators to reach children who are at risk.
Advocates – Our members have an integral role as respected, impartial participants during peace processes and in post-conflict reconstruction. We focus on creating communities and convening groups that are connected, inclusive, and resilient.
Peace-Building and Conflict Resolution in District 7030
Rotary District 7030 joined many other districts and regions around the world by establishing its Peace-Building Program (PBP) which has the express purpose of promoting peace and conflict resolution within the Caribbean and encouraging members and clubs to take action by supporting and facilitating peace-building projects and activities.
During this 2026-2027 Rotary year and within the framework of clubs collaborating with each other and working together in clusters within each of our member countries and territories, the PBP will focus on providing clubs in District 7030 with the opportunity to foster IEP Positive Peace Academy among young persons and across schools and community youth groups.
IEP Peace Academy
- What is it?
The IEP Peace Academy is a 2-hour online course with 5 modules, quizzes, a Facebook group and post-completion opportunities.
- Who is it for?
The Academy is for anybody who wants to learn about peace and its implications for humanity. It is accessible for anybody.
- Where does it happen?
The IEP Peace Academy course is online and consists of training videos, text and infographics, and a Facebook community.
- How does it work?
You watch the videos, complete the reading, use the provided tools, and take quizzes. Once signed up, you get lifetime access.
- When does it start?
The IEP Academy is an online course, it starts the moment you enroll. You can complete it in your own time.
- Why does it exist?
The IEP Peace Academy was created to provide free, world-class peace education to more than 1 million people globally.
What will participants learn?
- Develop a comprehensive understanding of peace and its implications for humanity.
- Navigate the complex landscape of peace and conflict studies with an understanding of systems theory and positive and negative peace.
- Make decisions informed by leading IEP research on economics, conflict and peace.
- Understand how ecological threats and COVID-19 may impact levels of global peacefulness.
- Acquire the knowledge necessary to take the first steps in becoming an effective peacebuilder in your community and country — equipped with a plethora of links to IEP research and further peacebuilding opportunities.
The IEP Peace Academy Course includes:
- 5 modules consisting of 3-5 individual lessons, packed with videos, easy-to-follow visuals and information derived from leading IEP research.
- Lifetime access to the course so you can watch and re-watch whenever you want.
- This course is for: researchers, academics, diplomats, teachers, students, but most importantly — anyone, irrespective of background, who is interested in peace or wants to become more involved in the peacebuilding process.
- The unique opportunity to purchase an IEP certificate of attainment on completion of the course. This micro-qualification testifies to your expanded understanding of IEP research, and demonstrates your commitment to the pursuit of peace to prospective employers and fellow peacebuilders.
Additional details on this initiative will be communicated to clubs and clusters via respective Assistant Governors who shall be properly oriented to the PBP by its committee and who shall also be responsible for monitoring and managing the promotion, adoption and implementation of initiatives across clubs and clusters.
As District PBP Chair, I will maintain contact with Assistant Governors to monitor the roll-out and promotion of this program initiative, while the District PBP committee will be available to support clusters and clubs in their respective implementation of project initiatives.
Once officially launched, more information, guidelines and resources on the this and other PBP initiatives and next steps will be available via our district website and on the PBP Hub
https://go.rotarydistrict7030.org/PBP-Hub
https://go.rotarydistrict7030.org/PBP-Hub
For questions or assistance, please email Domanique