Road to peace through environmental sustainability
focus of first of six Peacebuilding
Conferences worldwide
VANCOUVER, BC (January 15, 2018) Having played a key role in founding of the United Nations and led the 30-year global campaign to rid the world of polio, from 350,000 cases in 120 countries to 21 over the past year in three countries, Rotary International is highlighting opportunities to address the massive, complex challenge of peacebuilding through a series of six international conferences, the first to be held in Vancouver on February 10, 2018. The theme of this first conference is peacebuilding through environmental sustainability.
For further information, please contact:
John Anderson, Chair
Rotary Presidential Peacebuilding Conference
Vancouver February 10, 2018
778-989-2948
Peter Roaf
PR Chair, Rotary District 5040
604-839-1465
Conflict and violence displace millions of people each year. Half of those killed in conflict are children, and 90 percent are civilians. Often conflict starts and continues over long periods in competition for dwindling resources and as environmental changes force people to migrate.
The conference https://environmentandpeace.com/ will examine sustainable global and local environmental practices, and their contributions to peacebuilding and peacemaking. Participants will discuss the impact of environmental issues on health, fresh air, clean water, vegetation, and food production - and how improved environmental conditions are a fundamental condition of building peace within communities. The conference will bring together global and local community leaders, youth, and representatives from the public, private, and government sectors.
This Rotary Presidential Peacebuilding Conference in Vancouver is the first in a series of six in 2018 to be held on different aspects of peacebuilding, with others scheduled for Beirut, Lebanon, Coventry, United Kingdom, Sydney, Australia, Taranto, Italy and Chicago, United States.
“The six peacebuilding conferences are designed to help us better understand the connections between Rotary’s six areas of focus – disease prevention and treatment, water and sanitation, maternal and child health, basic education and literacy, and economy and community development – and our commitment to building peace.” says Ian Riseley, President of Rotary International. “Environmental issues have a significant and lasting impact on every one of Rotary’s six areas of focus. By addressing challenges with the environment, we can make a difference in all of those areas.”
Conference chair John Anderson says: “For over 110 years Rotary has been serving communities here at home and around the world where there is a need for support. It is an honour for Vancouver and Canada to host the first of six Rotary Presidential Peacebuilding conferences also to be held in the Middle East, Europe, Australia as well as North America. Canada, British Columbia and Vancouver are known for their leadership not only in peacekeeping, but environmental issues, so it is fitting that the theme of this first conference is peacebuilding as it relates to environmental sustainability. In the end, through this conference, we can re-focus on another way of viewing peacebuilding through the lens of protecting our environment and reducing conflict over increasing competition for dwindling resources. It’s a huge challenge, but Rotary is up to it, as we have demonstrated in pursuing other global causes of making the world a better place.”
The 1.2 million business and professional leaders as members of 35,000 Rotary clubs around the world are engaged in meeting needs of their own local communities and the shared world community, bringing together leaders who exchange ideas and take action to create positive change on priorities such as: • promoting peace • fighting disease • providing clean water • saving mothers and children • supporting education and • growing local economies.