Last month, the University of Queensland (UQ) Rotary Peace Centre hosted its Annual Seminar to showcase the Applied Field Experiences of Class 22. The Fellows’ theme for this year’s seminar was “Pathways to Peace: From Theory to Practice”. The day highlighted the impact that the Rotary Peace Centres are having on developing the next generation of peace builders.

Article by Dianna McCluskey, Graduate Centre Manager, UQ Rotary Peace Centre

The 8 Fellows have recently returned from their field experiences, which took them to a wide range of locations, including Melbourne, Canberra, Stafford, Sydney, Malaysia, Greece, Turkey, and Switzerland. Here, they gained invaluable professional experiences with a variety of organisations and they shared their insights with an audience of Rotarians, UQ staff and students and friends of the UQ Peace Centre. Overall, this showcase demonstrated how our program has helped them contribute to advancing peace in many different and effective ways.

The Fellows ran a series of presentations detailing their field experiences and the benefits it afforded them. The program of presentations was complemented by keynote speaker Professor Olivera Simić, a noted feminist and human rights activist. Throughout the day there were plenty of opportunities for more informal interactions including an immersive experience of Nowruz!

This is a snapshot of the outcomes from their field experiences:

• Ghadeer Bandak from Jordan is keen to advance in her career working in humanitarian international NGOs, primarily in the Middle East, Northern and Central Africa.

• Ane Mathieson (USA) is eager to gain the tools to prevent femicide and sexual violence in both peacetime and periods of civil unrest.

• Johanna Cruz Herrera (Columbia), who has as a strong background in working in the UN system and a steadfast commitment to advancing sustainable peace processes, aspires to continue working with international organizations, bridging research and practice to tackle the emerging challenges to peace, security, and resilience for marginalized populations worldwide.

• Wonder Mwadzichema (Zimbabwe) believes the Church as a ‘third space’ is an underutilized stakeholder in building world peace. His passion and interests include church and peacebuilding; peace education; inter-faith dialogue; mediation, peace advocacy and conflict analysis; nuclear, arms control and disarmament.

• Typanga Evans (Canada) is now planning to join the APAP-I Program with the Government of Canada in Fall 2026 to pursue a federal ministerial and policy-based position, continuing their efforts to drive meaningful change.

• Pariya Danaei’s goal after graduation is to work in humanitarian organizations, peacebuilding and conflict prevention. Pariya is from Ian.

• Leticia Mello de Oliviera’s next steps are to work with organizations that promote peace and sustainability through empowering and decolonial communication. She is from Brazil.

• Tamim Ebrahimi (Afghanistan) is planning a PhD in Peace and Conflict Studies and working in conflict resolution and mediation processes.

Additional details on the program and a recording of the event can be accessed on our website https://rotary.centre.uq.edu.au/