Weekly Program - Spreading Peace and World Understanding
Janie
In January of 2012, President Tanaka announced that he’d chosen Peace Through Service as the RI theme for his year. “Peace is not something that can only be achieved through treaties, by governments, or through heroic struggles,” Tanaka said. “It is something that we can find and that we can achieve, every day and in many simple ways.”
He later elaborated: “Peace and conflict resolution should start at home. The family is the smallest unit of society, so we should start from there. If you are mindful of peace with your partner and your family members, that gives you an opportunity to reflect on your family life and to spread that sense of peace by example. Peaceful families lead to greater peace for everyone.”
The Japanese tradition of putting the needs of society above the needs of the individual parallels the Rotarian concept of Service Above Self, Tanaka says. He notes that this view has been instrumental in helping Japan rebuild after the tsunami and earthquake that ravaged the country in March 2011.
The cooperation among individuals throughout the recovery effort also presents a positive lesson that the world can learn from, he says. “I believe that Rotary is contributing to that lesson, especially in training and educating members of the younger generation through its Rotary Peace Centers. They will bear the personal responsibility to society and work to make the world a better place.”
The Rotary Peace Centers program supports the mission of The Rotary Foundation of improving health, supporting education, and alleviating poverty by
•• Supporting and advancing research, teaching, publication, and practical field experience on issues of peace, goodwill, causes of conflict, and world understanding
•• Inspiring people to work for a culture of peace and tolerance while enhancing their capacity, knowledge, and skills by generating interaction between practitioners and academics
•• Providing advanced international educational opportunities in the area of peace and conflict resolution
•• Providing a means for The Rotary Foundation and Rotarians to increase their effectiveness in promoting greater tolerance and cooperation among peoples, leading to world understanding and peace
Further, our recent series of Rotary Global Peace Forums furthered our objective of spreading peace through world understanding. In 2012-13, Rotary International will hold three Rotary Global Peace Forums. Each forum will consist of a three-day program to engage and inspire Rotarians and community leaders. The forum in Berlin emphasized the value of democracy and freedom. The forums in Honolulu and Hiroshima will focus on young people, including New Generations program participants (Rotaractors, Interactors, Youth Exchange students, and RYLArians), Ambassadorial Scholars, Rotary Peace Fellows, alumni, and young Rotarian leaders. President Tanaka encourages each district to send at least two participants from these demographic groups. Others will have an opportunity to participate in the forums remotely through live, interactive telecasts.