Bul Mabil selected as a Rotary Peace Fellow

Jackson resident and Sudanese "Lost Boy" Bul Mabil has been selected as a 2014 Rotary Peace Fellow by the Rotary Foundation. Mr. Mabil was nominated by the Rotary Club of North Jackson, endorsed by local  Rotary District 6820. He will begin post graduate studies in peace and conflict resolution in August 2014 at the University of Bradford in the United Kingdom. He is one of 50 fellows selected from a worldwide competition.

Mr. Mabil came to the United States in December 2000 at the age of 17. Since arriving, he he received an undergraduate degree in Political Science from Millsaps College and  a Masters Degree from Belhaven University. He and his wife, Apadok, have two children, aged 4 years and 1 year.

The more than 780 Rotary Peace Fellow alumni are now working in high-level positions at prestigious organizations such as the United Nations, the European Parliament, Interpol, USAid, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development,and the Organization of American States.  While war, famine, poverty and disease remain serious challenges worldwide, the Rotary Peace Centers program gives Peace Fellows the knowledge and tools to address them.

"Rotary believes, as I believe, that it is possible to have a world without war,” said Nobel Peace Prize laureate Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu. “By educating future peace-builders and working to ease the conditions that breed violence and conflict, Rotary is demonstrating to the rest of the world that peace is attainable."

Ten years ago, Rotary decided to take a direct approach to world understanding by providing future leaders with the tools they need to “wage peace” on the global stage. Since 2002, Rotary clubs, each year sponsor up to 50 scholars who embark on one to two years of study to earn master’s-level degrees in peace and conflict resolution at Rotary Peace Centers at leading universities in England, Japan, Australia, Sweden, and the United States.

·         Uppsala University, Sweden

·         University of Bradford, UK

·         University of Queensland, Australia

·         International Christian University, Japan

·         Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA

Established in 2004, the Rotary Peace Center at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand offers a three-month professional development certificate in peace and conflict studies each year for up to 50 mid-level professionals from related fields, such as public health, education, international law, economic development, journalism, and social justice. Rotary is a global humanitarian organization with more than 1.2 million members in 34,000 Rotary clubs in over 200 countries and geographical areas. Rotary members are men and women who are business, professional and community leaders with a shared commitment to make the world a better place through humanitarian service.