Category Archives: Rotary Peace Fellowship

Bangkok by Night

Posted on February 20, 2012 | 1 comment

A view of the city from the restaurant on the roof of the building next door.

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Posted in Bangkok, Rotary Peace Fellowship

Week 1

Posted on February 20, 2012 | 3 comments

The first module – “The Concepts and Values of Peace and Conflict Studies” got under-way today.  The lecturers are Dr. Tom Woodhouse from Bradford University and author of Contemporary Conflict Resolution and Irene Santiago Chair and CEO of the Mindanao Commission on Women and Convenor of Mothers for Peace in the Philippines.

We went into a recap of many of the theories of the founding figures of peace studies such as John Burton, Johan Galtung, Kenneth Bouldering and John Paul Lederach etc.  I’m looking forward to getting into more concepts as the week goes on.

Dr. Woodhouse with some opening slides.

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Posted in Course Content, Rotary Peace Fellowship

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Orientation

Posted on February 19, 2012 | 3 comments

Saturday was spent at an orientation meeting with the current fellows and our host coordinators who are all local Rotarian’s.  It was great to finally meet my host councillor who talked to me about his current work in putting together school bags full of books and resources for local children who experienced the worst of the recent floods in the City.  We were given an overview of Rotary in Thailand and an inspiring talk by Mr Bhichai Rattakul, an 86-year-old former Rotary International President and former Thai Foreign minister (among many other things).  It was Mr Rattakul who started the Peace Fellowship in Thailand and it was a humbling experience meeting such a well-respected, humorous and insightful elder of Thai society.

The first group photo of the whole group.

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Posted in Official Meetings, Rotary Peace Fellowship

World Conflict talks

Posted on February 17, 2012 | 2 comments

We spent today hearing a talk from each fellow about a conflict from their part of the world that they are currently involved with.  It was eye-opening to listen to issues spanning the globe from places such as North-East India, Sri Lanka, Papua New Guinea, Kosovo & Kenya.  It was a good way to get to see the diversity of the issues people are working on and it made me think of a map I came across recently:

You can find a more detailed version from the International Institute for Strategic Studies here

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Posted in Course Details, Rotary Peace Fellowship

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Dinner after Class

Posted on February 17, 2012 | Leave a comment

Traditional Thai food and evening culture from along the side of the road near the university campus.

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Posted in Rotary Peace Fellowship, Thailand

The First Session

Posted on February 15, 2012 | Leave a comment

So today was finally the first day of the course.   Were based in a well equipped, custom-built room on campus and we’ll be in lectures/classes from 9am-4/5pm every day (when were not on the field trips to Nepal and the Burmese border).  Today was spent talking about the overall course structure, logistical issues, Thai culture and generally starting to get to know each other.

The entrance to the Rotary Peace Centre

In all, there are about twelve countries represented by the fellows who are studying along with me.  Were due to give individual conflict presentations on Friday so I’ll have a better grasp of what everyone does after those.  There’s also going to be over 20 lectures and practitioners coming from all over the world to deliver topics from human trafficking and conflict models to civil/military relations and mediation.

The room for the next few weeks (thankfully with good air conditioners!)

Most of the group have arrived although one fellow is having difficulty leaving his country due to the current political situation there but hopefully he’ll be joining us by the weekend.

The “Cultural Centre” at the University on my walk home tonight

I’m off to start some prep for the presentations on Friday as I’ve just realised from the schedule I’ve been given the short straw and it looks like I’m going first…

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Posted in Course Details, Rotary Peace Fellowship

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Just Arrived

Posted on February 14, 2012 | 2 comments

I just arrived in Bangkok a few hours ago and I’ve been finding my feet around Chulalongkorn University campus where I’ll be based over the next twelve weeks.  Its been nine years since I was last in the city and it’s still every bit as humid as I remember it.  It’s the first day of the course tomorrow with an early start for 9am Bangkok time (2am Belfast time!) with four days of orientation ahead.

If your interested in more information on the course or on how to start an application through your local Rotary Club check out the link to the Rotary International site here.

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Posted in Course Details, Rotary Peace Fellowship

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My Conflict Resolution Blog

Posted on January 12, 2012 | 2 comments

I’m a conflict resolution facilitator working for TIDES Training and Consultancy in Northern Ireland and I’m planning to blog about my time as a Rotary World Peace Fellow from February 15th 2012.

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Posted in Conflict Resolution, Rotary Peace Fellowship

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Video

Peace Talks

Great video from International Alert

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Posted on January 12, 2012 in Conflict Resolution

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