A global peace gathering

Attending the Rotary International Convention in Calgary is a way to support peace. When you walk the House of Friendship, meeting fellow members and learning about clubs’ concerns, you add to international understanding. Members spread peace when they write their hopes on paper cranes that they suspend from the peace tree in the Peace Park exhibit. Rotary has promoted peace since its early days: At the fifth convention in Houston in 1914 a month before World War I, members voted to back an international peace movement.

In Singapore in May, RI marked 25 years since it announced the Rotary Peace Centers programme. “To believe in peace is to have hope, and to do so, one must be both stubborn and optimistic and be eager to persist and make a difference,” Rotary Peace Fellow María Antonia Pérez said.

Conventions inspire action with prominent speakers that have included United Nations peace messenger and conservationist Jane Goodall in 2009. Archbishop Desmond Tutu, awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for opposing apartheid, spoke that year at a preconvention peace symposium.

While Rotary has its convention as a peacebuilding symbol, Calgary has its Peace Bridge of red metal where thousands of Canadians and visitors walk, bike, and stop for selfies each day. Its name memorialises fallen military members’ sacrifices.

Inside the convention, the Peace Park by the Rotary Action Group for Peace has provided an oasis of contemplation. Plus, in Singapore it had a top snapshot spot among a garden of peace poles and paper flowers. Choose Calgary, June 21–25, to contribute to a more peaceful world.

Learn more and register at convention.rotary.org