A Legacy of Peace: How a Maine Rotarian Helped Launch Rotary’s Newest Peace Center
Funding the Newest Peace Center in Turkey. The funding for the Rotary Peace Center at Bahçeşehir University was a donation from the Otto & Fran Walter Foundation. Otto Walter was an immigrant to the U.S. from Germany in the Jewish diaspora prior to WW2. He was a philanthropist during his lifetime, and he left instructions in his will that upon the death of his wife Fran, their entire assets be sold and the proceeds, then $18 million, be transferred into a family foundation under the control of Frank Helman. Frank and his wife Marty were both members of the Boothbay Harbor Rotary club. Frank has now passed but Marty remains a member. Frank was given carte blanche to spend the funds as he felt was appropriate. Otto was interested in the arts, history and peace, especially between his native Germany and the U.S. When The Rotary Foundation decided to expand the Peace Centers and establish one in the Middle East, this seemed like a fitting memorial to Otto and Fran. Marty said at the time: “The Walter Foundation can imagine no better way to remember Otto and Fran and their legacy than through a Rotary Peace Center in the Middle East — a part of the world that has been torn by conflict.” Therefore, the decision was made that the remaining $15+ million balance in the Walter Foundation be donated to The Rotary Foundation for the Bahçeşehir University Peace Center. At that time it was the largest donation to The Rotary Foundation other than the Gates Foundation donation for PolioPlus. It also provided a model for future donations. The Rotary Foundation is now actively looking for a donor with naming rights for the new Peace Center in India.
Impact of Peace Center/Fellows. When asked about how the Peace Fellows trained at Bahçeşehir University could contribute to peace in the Middle East, Marty pointed out that peace cannot be measured; it is not equal to a ceasefire. Despite the fact that we as Rotarians are accustomed to supporting projects with measurable outcomes, many Rotarians have trusted The Rotary Foundation to simply “do good in the world” and have designated their donations for peace. In fact, 1/8 of The Rotary Foundation’s $2+ billion endowment fund is earmarked for peace. In our district, the endowment amount earmarked for peace is twice that high! The Peace Fellows are not diplomats. Instead, they strive for “Positive Peace,” which is defined as the attitudes, institutions and structures that create and sustain peaceful societies. As RI President-Elect Olayinka Babalola expressed it, Rotary Peace Fellows “explore the underpinnings of peace.” Those underpinnings can be found in our Areas of Focus: adequate food, safe water, a stable economic system, a healthy environment, etc.
Evolution of the Peace Centers. On the Peace Centers’ 15th anniversary in 2018, the Trustees evaluated the program and made some changes in the format as well as setting goals for future expansion. The first such new Peace Center was inaugurated at Makerere University in Uganda in 2021. When asked about the impact of the Peace Center at Makerere, President-Elect Babalola said that “Makarere marks the first time in history that an institution in Africa has been set up to train African peacemakers to come up with African solutions to African problems.”
Now that a Peace Center has been established in the Middle East, the next Peace Center will be at Symbiosis International University in Pune, India, with a Peace Center in Latin America slated to be established by 2030.