Started over 100 years after Rotary’s founding, World Understanding and Peace Day marks that momentous event. Now, we are one of the largest philanthropic organizations in the world. Rotary’s principles served to expand the organization to 1.2 million members, in nearly every country on earth. Rotary’s humanitarian mission has not gone unnoticed by world leaders. Forty-nine Rotarians helped draft the United Nations Charter. Paul Harris and fellow Rotarians championed the UN as a viable alternative to war. “It is true that the way to war is a well-paved highway and that the way to peace is still a wilderness,” said Harris in 1949. Even as Rotary was banned in some countries during World War II, and elsewhere since, Rotarians there continued to meet the basic needs of their communities.
How will your clubs and districts recognize the day? Here are a few ideas:
- Make Peace the topic of a program at your club’s meetings or any district meetings this month
- Invite a Peace Scholar to present to your club or district
- Begin a peace project
- Recruit and Nominate a peace scholar
- Learn more about peace and conflict resolution
- Partner with another club or district on a peace project