Rotary: World peace, one friendship at a time

BOULDER – Leah Klass, a 2007 Rotary World Peace Fellow, reminded Boulder Rotarians that peace is created one friendship at a time.

Klass gained more than professional education through her Peace Fellowship. She concluded, “We are a reflection of those around us. There is value in stepping back, walking in others’ shoes. We make peace by exchanging self for others. Energy is contagious. Make it positive!”

Klass spoke to the Boulder Rotary Club in November to highlight Rotary International Foundation Month. Rotary World Peace Fellows are leaders promoting international cooperation, peace, and the successful resolution of conflict in their lives, their careers, and through service activities.

She now works in Denver for the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade as director of trade and investment for South America and the Caribbean. She extends her professional work through teaching international business, counseling youth, and writing.

Peace Fellows can earn either a master’s degree in international relations, public administration, sustainable development, peace studies or conflict resolution, or a professional development certificate in peace and conflict resolution. Fellows are chosen from countries and cultures around the globe, based on their ability to have a significant, positive impact on conflict resolution during their careers.

Klass received one of the 60 master’s degree fellowships to study first in Buenos Aires, Argentina, then in Brisbane, Australia. Her undergraduate degree in international relations from the University of Virginia, fluency in Spanish, and professional work in international business and local government met the program’s requirements.

She urged Rotarians to further promote the Peace Fellowship program because it addresses world problems of hunger, disease, illiteracy, poverty, and environmental degradation, all of which underlie conflict. The program is administered through seven Rotary Centers, which operate in partnership with leading universities in Bangkok, Tokyo, Buenos Aires, Brisbane, and West Yorkshire, England. In the United States, academic partners in the program are the University of California at Berkeley, Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Requirements to apply for the master’s program include a commitment to international understanding and peace, an undergraduate degree, relevant work experience, fluency in two languages, and excellent leadership skills.

-Reported by Carol Grever, Boulder Rotary Club

For more information on Rotary, see www.boulderrotary.org or www.rotary.org.

BOULDER ROTARY CLUB
5350 Manhattan Circle, Suite 201 Boulder, Colorado, 80303-4272
303-554-7074 Rotary@wxwax.com
Fax 303-499-6714 www.BoulderRotary.org


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