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The Rotary Centers for International Studies in peace and conflict resolution
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Recruit Future Global Peace Leaders!
The Rotary Peace Fellowship provides your district with the opportunity to discover and nurture a future global leader without requiring an allocation of District Designated Funds. The Rotary Peace Fellowship trains peace leaders through a Master’s degree or a professional certificate program.
Here’s how your district can participate:
1. Send out a press release The best applicants are in your own community. A press release will allow you to target the maximum amount of people with minimal effort. Send your district or club’s press release to local newspapers, universities or any of the community partners listed on the right. Contact [email protected] for a press release template.
2. Meet with community
partners Meeting with local organizations allows you to establish a mutually beneficial relationship with potential applicants. Engage interested community members and organizations through:
Face-to-face meetings
Create a 30 second promotional pitch to give to friends, colleagues and community members.
Informational sessions about the Rotary Peace Fellowship. The Rotary Peace Centers Department can supply relevant PowerPoint presentations.
Lectures or discussions about peace and other international events. For example, invite Peace Fellows to speak at information sessions.
3. Promote on social media Recruiting new applicants doesn’t end with your Rotary meetings. Use social media avenues, such Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, to announce the Rotary Peace Fellowship opportunity. You can also follow Rotary Peace Centers on Facebook and repost interesting photos and stories.
Potential Community Partners
Local universities: alumni associations, career offices, study abroad offices and academic departments of international studies, political sciences or peace studies.
Returned Peace Corps volunteers and other international volunteers
Former Ambassadorial Scholars and other Rotary alumni
Non-governmental organizations involved in peace and conflict resolution, such as the Red Cross or Doctors without Borders
International corporations in your community
Governmental agencies, diplomatic corps, local police and military offices Questions?
Contact the Rotary Peace Centers Program Coordinator Niki Fritz at
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1. Send out a press release The best applicants are in your own community. A press release will allow you to target the maximum amount of people with minimal effort. You can send press releases to both print and online local news sources.
Create a localized press release Press release templates for announcing the Rotary Peace Fellowship are available in all Rotary languages. Email Niki Fritz, Rotary Peace Centers Coordinator, at [email protected] for the template. You can localize your press release by adding your club or district’s specific deadlines, contact information, information about past Peace Fellow alumni from your district or even a quote from local alumni or Rotary representatives. Community newspapers particularly like information about local residents; if your district has an alum make sure to include that information.
Send to local news sources Figuring out where to send a press release can be the most challenging part of sending a press release. Luckily most newspapers and news sources have online directories and submissions. If you don’t know the direct email of your local newspaper or news source, you can find it online!
Find your community newspaper’s website. Usually on the top or bottom of most websites is a “Contact us” link.
Often the newspaper will have a general email for submission of community news.
If you cannot find a general email for community news or press release submissions, search for the staff member responsible for community news. Often times this is the community news editor, the lifestyles editor or in small papers the managing or associate editor.
It is always best to have a direct email to send a press release to. Make sure you include your accurate contact information in the press release in case the paper has questions.
You can also send your press release to local community blogs or TV stations by searching online for the correct email address.
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2. Meet with community partners Meeting with community partners isn’t just about finding potential Rotary Peace Fellows, it’s also about interacting more in your local community. These interactions don’t have to be overwhelming or have a specific agenda behind them. The first step is to brain storm for potential community partners. Below are some suggestions but also think outside of the box. Try to think of as many people that might be interested in peace, world affairs, living abroad, Rotary and/or volunteerism.
Potential Community Partners
Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs): Most RPCVs are interested in volunteer service, peace and world affairs. Not only that but they tend to know other people who have similar interests, whether in the United States or in a developing country. You can find local RPCVs by searching for the local member group and contacting a group near you (http://www.peacecorpsconnect.org/resources/member-groups/). Collaborate with them on a Rotary/RPCV service project or social event or information about the fellowship on their website. Former Ambassadorial Scholars Ambassadorial Scholars and other Rotary alumni are eligible for the Rotary Peace Centers fellowship. Not only do they make great applicants they also may know people from their country of study that may be a good applicant. Contact [email protected] for help finding alumni in your area. Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) Reach out to local NGOs and regional branches of larger NGOs. Contact employees and volunteers, looking to them as applicants or to help you pass along information about program to other people. If you need help finding NGOs in your area you can search on www.Idealist.org for ideas.
Local universities: Think of any contacts you have at the university and ask them for help. You can reach out to alumni associations, career offices, study abroad offices and academic departments of international studies, political sciences or peace studies. The people in these departments want to talk to you because you can help them and their students. Check out the university’s website through a simple search to find potential staff/professors/clubs at the university that might be interested and helpful. Search for “international”, “community”, “peace”, “government”, “diplomacy”, “study abroad”, etc. Consider stopping by the university and post informational flyers on community boards (http://www.rotary.org/RIdocuments/en_pdf/610en.pdf). Also connect with the university’s online or print newspaper and submit a press release or ask to write a story about a local Rotary Peace Fellow.
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International Corporations Many past Rotary Peace Fellows come from the private sector. It can be helpful to reach out to people you know who work at international corporations and ask them how you can spread the word about the Rotary Peace Centers Program or find out if they know someone who might be interested. Governmental Agencies Connect with your local government agencies, diplomatic corps working in an embassy or consulate, local police and military offices. Many of these people are already working toward spreading peace and may be interested in continuing their education in the field.
Other Ideas for Networking in the Community Face-to-face meetings While these can be formal meetings in an office or a local coffee shop, these “meetings” can also take place at any gathering—a sports event, a cocktail party, a work event, etc. Talk to everyone about the Rotary Peace
Centers fellowship. Just like when you’re looking for a new job, the more connections you make the better odds you’ll meet someone who knows a potential candidate.
Create a 30 second promotional pitch When you meet someone you want to talk to about the Rotary Peace Centers Program it can be helpful to know what information you want to convey so that you can be clear and concise. Below is an example but you can feel free to make up your own “promotional pitch.”
The Rotary Peace Centers Program is a great opportunity for people with a passion for peace to take their education to the next level. Fellows study at one of six Rotary Peace Centers around the world and can either earn a professional development certificate in peace and conflict resolution or a master’s degree in international relations, public administration, sustainable development, peace studies, or a related field. The fellowship covers tuition and fees, room and board, round-trip transportation, and internship or field study expenses. Do you know anyone who might be a good candidate? Hold an informational session about the Rotary Peace Fellowship Make sure the Rotarians in your club are familiar with the Rotary Peace Centers program. The Rotary Peace Centers Department at ORC can supply relevant PowerPoint presentations that you can share with your club or district. In addition, think about holding lectures or discussions about peace and other international events at various locations in your community. You could even invite current or former Rotary Peace Fellows to speak at information sessions.
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3. Promote on social media Recruiting new applicants doesn’t end with your Rotary meetings. Use social media avenues, such Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, to announce the Rotary Peace Fellowship opportunity. You can also follow Rotary Peace Centers on Facebook and repost interesting photos and stories. LinkedIn Use your personal LinkedIn account to advertise the Rotary Peace Fellowship by sharing an update on your homepage. You can either share a link to www.rotary.org/rotarycenters or post a more comprehensive explanation of the fellowship. Also target specific connections who you think would be interested in the fellowship by sending them a direct message. Consider announcing the fellowship on your club or district LinkedIn profiles if they are available. You can also search for interested applicants who do not have partner districts on Rotary Peace Fellowships subgroup of Rotary International. Applicants without partner districts will post their interest on the promotions tab.
Facebook You can utilize Facebook in two ways.
a) If you only have a few seconds to promote: Friend Rotary Peace Centers at http://www.facebook.com/Rotarycenters and share our posts with your network.
b) If you have more time to dedicate to promotion: Take it a step further and create your own content. Tell the story or post photos of one of your local alumni in the field or show how your district is working to create peace.
Twitter If you or your district has a Twitter account you have 140 characters to share your excitement about Rotary’s priority educational program: the Rotary Peace Fellowship. Here is a sample tweet but feel free to use your own creativity:
EX: Rotary is looking for peace builders to apply for the Rotary Peace Fellowship! Hurry! The deadline is 1 July! www.rotary.org/rotarycenters.