The past president of Rotary International, Kalyan Banerjee from India, will be the keynote speaker at a dinner in Tsawwassen to celebrate the success of the Rotary Peace Centers.
Hosted by South Delta Rotarians, the dinner is on Sunday, May 4 at 6:30 p.m. at the Beach Grove Golf Club. Banerjee will speak on the growth and accomplishments of the Rotary Peace Centers globally.
Rotary is one of the world's largest humanitarian service organizations and Banerjee was president and leader of the 1.2 million Rotarians in 2011-2012.
Launched in 2002, Rotary's Peace Fellowship program provides academic and practical training to prepare scholars for leadership roles in solving conflicts around the world. Up to 100 fellows are selected every year in a globally competitive process based on personal, academic and professional achievements.
Fellows embark on one to two years of study to earn a master's-level degree or a three-month professional development certificate in peace and conflict studies at one of six Rotary Peace Centers at leading universities in Australia, England, Japan, Sweden, the United States and Thailand. Nearly 800 Rotary Peace Fellows have graduated from the program.
"We are thrilled to have Kalyan Banerjee in South Delta to hear about future plans for Rotary's Peace Centers," said Chris Offer of the Rotary Club of Ladner. "Today, there are still far too few mediators who are experienced practitioners in conflict resolution. There is an urgent need to produce another generation of people who can play a mediating role in the future."
Rotarians from South Delta are being joined at this event by members from Metro Vancouver, Washington, Vancouver Island and several other communities in B.C. Banerjee made history in 2012 when he met with Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Kabul to encourage partnerships on a variety of humanitarian projects. He is the first Rotary president to visit Afghanistan.
Banerjee worked closely with the government of India, urging it to focus more resources on polio eradication and partner with Rotary on immunization efforts. His work paid off when the World Health Organization last month declared India polio free.
For information on this event, contact Chris Offer at [email protected].
