Rotary International has announced it is partnering with Bahçeşehir University in Istanbul, Turkey, on its expanded Peace Fellowships and a newly launched Peace Center.

Established in 2021 with a $15.5 million gift from the Otto and Fran Walter Foundation, the Otto and Fran Walter Rotary Peace Center at the university’s Future Campus will offer a professional development certificate program for mid-career professionals focused on issues pertinent to the Middle East and North Africa region, including land and identity disputes, climate change, food insecurity, refugee integration, and community development. The new fellowship will serve up to 40 individuals each year with academic studies, field visits, and seminars and workshops offered by the United Nations Institute for Training and Research through CIFAL Istanbul. The first cohort is slated to commence in early 2025.

“This new collaboration with Bahçeşehir University underscores Rotary’s commitment to fostering peace and developing sustainable solutions tailored to the unique challenges across our regions,” said Rotary International president Gordon McInally. “By growing our regionally focused peace and development certificate programs, we are creating a platform where devoted individuals from diverse backgrounds can unite and harness their collective expertise to build a framework of peace and understanding that has impact within and beyond their local communities.”

(Photo credit: Getty Images/xavierarnau)