District Establishes New Peacebuilding Ambassador

Posted by Steven Youngblood on May 03, 2019

When District Governor Elect Marc Horner asked me to be District 6040’s Peacebuilding Ambassador, I imagined that, as an ambassador, I would hobnob with glitterati, attend swanky receptions and high-brow cultural events, rub elbows with the rich and famous, and advise powerful government officials.

It wasn’t until I was stuck behind a stinky semi on my way to Jeff City for the state conference that cold reality struck.

My name is Steven Youngblood, and I am breaking in the new job of district peacebuilding ambassador. While my new job isn’t exactly glamorous, the opportunity to work with my fellow Rotarians on peacebuilding projects is nonetheless exciting.

As peacebuilding ambassador, my duties will include:

1. Educate Rotarians and Rotary Clubs about the concepts of peace and peacebuilding through presentations (in person, via Skype) and through online resource materials;
2. Work with Rotarians and Rotary Clubs to develop viable projects that promote positive peace, conflict prevention, conflict resolution, and post conflict reconciliation both locally and globally;
3. Work with Rotarians and Rotary Clubs to locate peacebuilding grant opportunities, and serve as a resource person during the project development and grant application process.

As my first official education duty, let me quickly fill you in on a rich peacebuilding opportunity: the Rotary World Peace Conference 2020. The conference will be held in Ontario, California January 17-18, 2020. The two-day conference will have six general sessions, 13 tracks of breakout sessions for a total of 104 breakout sessions, two special dinners, a House of Friendship, and a concert. 150 expert speakers will be discussing peacebuilding issues and solutions. I am honored to be one of these speakers. You can learn more about the World Peace Conference at https://peaceconference2020.org/ .

After you’ve checked out the peace conference, I ask that you begin a conversation in your club about peacebuilding. Are there peacebuilding opportunities in your community or worldwide that you feel need to be seized? If so, let’s discuss your ideas, and work on formulating a plan or project. If your plans require grant funding, I can help with that, too. (I’m writing a Global Grant now, in part to become more familiar with the process) Finally, feel free to invite me to your club to speak about peacebuilding. This may be in person or via Skype.

If you’d like to learn more about me, my short bio is pasted at the end of this article.

Despite the dearth of champagne and lobster puffs, I genuinely look forward to working with each of you to advance Rotary’s peacebuilding mission.

Steven Youngblood Bio
District 6040 Peacebuilding Ambassador Steven Youngblood is the founding director of the Center for Global Peace Journalism at Park University in Parkville, Missouri USA, where he is a communications professor. He has organized and taught peace journalism seminars and workshops in 25 countries. Youngblood is a two-time J. William Fulbright Scholar (Moldova 2001, Azerbaijan 2007). He also was named U.S. State Department Senior Subject Specialist in Ethiopia in 2018. Youngblood is the author of “Peace Journalism: Principles and Practices” and “Professor Komagum.” He edits “The Peace Journalist” magazine, and writes and produces the “Peace Journalism Insights” blog. He has been recognized for his contributions to world peace by the U.S. State Department, Rotary Club-Parkville, and the UN Association of Kansas City.

You can learn more about the Center for Global Peace Journalism at www.park.edu/peacecenter .