𝐏𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝
- PRM
- Dec 3, 2025
- 1 min read
From vastly different countries and cultures, the first fellows at Rotary’s Istanbul peace center unite around a shared purpose.
Rotary’s new peace fellows converged on Istanbul’s Bahçeşehir University from countries thousands of miles apart: Egypt, Bulgaria, Kenya, Jordan, and beyond. But they lost no time in finding out what they had in common.
“Where else on Earth would I have met with an Israeli participant and sat and talked and debated and laughed together?” says Suaad Abdo, a Yemeni fellow who now lives in Germany. “Having different opinions can enrich our discussions and expand our horizons.”
Abdo is one of 13 fellows in the first class at Rotary’s most recently opened peace center, the Otto and Fran Walter Rotary Peace Center at Bahçeşehir. Over the course of their yearlong professional development certificate program, which they began in February, the fellows are learning the theory and practice of sustainable peace, conflict resolution, and diplomacy. After 10 weeks studying together at the center, they returned home to carry out social change initiatives they designed.
The 13 peace fellows in the first class at the new Rotary Peace Center in Istanbul have similar priorities, from supporting migrants to empowering women. Learn more:
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This feature appeared in the November 2025 Magazine: https://www.philippinerotarymagazine.com/magazines/202511prm