With the conclusion of the Rotary International Convention on June 25, some 16,000 guests from over 140 nations gathered to spread a shared message of goodwill and peace.
Ranging from fundraising efforts to direct action, Rotarians will be leaving Calgary over the next several days to take lessons learnt to their home districts, all to improve their local communities.
“The world right now can feel divided, but Rotary brings together people from every corner of the globe, not to erase
our differences, but to celebrate them,” said Rotary International President Stephanie Urchick.
“That’s how we spread peace, because peace is more than the absence of conflict: It’s the presence of understanding.”
One Rotarian, who dressed in an R costume reminiscent of the Superman S, said that Rotarians are everyday superheroes, proudly serving their communities.
“There’s heroes out there every single day that we need to work with to make an impact,” said Alex Parajon, District Governor for the Rotary Club of Glendale Sunrise in Los Angeles.
He said that Calgary was his sixth convention, and that there was always an opportunity to meet new people and network at each.
“One thing we’re talking a lot about right now is peace. So we’re going to bring actually more discussions about peace, because right now the things are going on in LA, it’s kind of crazy,” Parajon said.
“We want to see what we can do to be peaceful Rotarians, and see what we can do to help the community. We’re going to have a peace walk on September 8 in LA, and that way people could see that Rotarians are peaceful individuals, and we’re just there to spread the awareness of peace.”
He said in a world divided and in fear, that there needs to be more awareness of peace.
Tangibly, his group of Rotarians has been helping immigrants to LA who have been afraid to go to their jobs or even go to the grocery store to get food because of the raids by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement targeting Latinos in LA
“The world’s so divided now, and we need folks to be talking about it more, just to create the awareness about what peace is,” Parajon said.
Permanent symbol of peace left in Calgary from convention
Rotarians on the other side of the United States, Annie Mathisen and Dr. Ronald Kahn both from the Camden-Wyoming Rotary Club in Delaware, said that one of the great things about the Calgary convention was to meet Rotary Peace fellows.
“We talked with them, bought their books, and these are things we just don’t see on the club level,” said Dr. Kahn.
Mathisen said that she would be taking over as club president on July 1, and that her initiative for her tenure was to promote peace.
“So, of course, here I am at the peace section of this whole convention, and peace has been just everywhere here,” she said.
She said that Rotary was doing that through things like the eradication of Polio globally, and more locally in Delaware, promoting literacy and connecting with younger generations.
“That’s the next generation, and if you can keep them literate, maybe they can do a little bit better as far as peace and everything else,” Mathisen said.
One of the lasting legacies that will continue on in Calgary is a peace pole, which will remain in perpetuity at the Hilton Garden Inn in the East Village.
Dave McCleary, Global Chair for the Rotarian Action Group Against Slavery (RAGAS) said that more than 500 of the poles have been installed worldwide as part of peace awareness.
The Calgary pole, like others installed elsewhere, contains the message “may peace prevail on Earth.”
“The peace poll is about creating peace within a community, and peace with survivors, peace with the community, make them understand the importance of peace around the world,” said McCleary.
“Every time somebody sees that, it creates peace. We launched one in the U.S. at a facility that did drug addiction and talked about the peace that they felt by seeing that every day. That’s what’s so important about these peace poles. It’s more than just a symbol. Every time someone sees that, it makes them want to work towards peace.”
