Marlin Rotarians attend Peace Summit
Rotary International’s “Creating Environments of Peace, A Peace Summit’ was held Saturday, September 20, 2025, at Southwestern University, Georgetown, Texas, hosted by Rotary District 5870 and the Rotary Club of Georgetown, Texas. Rotarians Letitia Estep and Beth Mullins of Marlin’s Rotary Club participated at the Peace Summit.
Rotary’s Peace statement is clear. “We refuse to accept conflict as a way of life. Rotary projects provide training that fosters understanding and provides communities with the skills to resolve conflicts.’
Participants received their badges and documents at the F.W. Olin Building. From there, they continued to the Opening Session in the Lois Perkins Chapel. Once there, Rotarians and other participants remained attentive during the dynamic keynote by Steven T. Collis.
Steven T. Collins is a law professor at the University of Texas School of Law and author of “Habits of a Peacemaker: 10 Habits to Change Our Potentially Toxic Conversations into Healthy Dialogues”.
Two rounds of engaging breakout sessions illustrated The HumanUnity Project; The Fabulous, Frightening World of Generative AI; How Might It Be Used for Peacebuilding?; Escaping Genocide, Teaching Peace; Peace Gardens and Peace Fellowships- Peacebuilding Around the World, and; Putting Positive Peace Into Practice.
A buffet luncheon was not without its opportunity to learn, a dialogue session. The subject was Creating Environments for Peace, beginning with each individual at the round tables introducing themselves. In the conversations, each shared why they had decided to attend. Each also briefly described a peacebuilder much admired, and a favorite quote about peace.
Three quotes were read at the tables.
“We are socialized to see what is wrong, missing, off, to tear down the ideas of others and uplift our own. To a certain degree, our entire future may depend on learning to listen, listen without assumptions or defenses.” - Adrienne Maree Brown, “Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds”.
“In this age of creeping dehumanization, I’ve become obsessed with social skills: how to get better at treating people with consideration; how to get better at understanding the people right around us. I’ve come to believe that the quality of our lives and the health of our society depends, to a large degree, on how well we treat each other in the minute interactions of daily life.’ - David Brooks, “How to Know a Person: The Art of Seeing Others Deeply and Being Deeply Seen”.
“Etiquette books tell us to not discuss (politics and religion) in polite company, but I say go ahead. Politics and religion are both expressions of our underlying moral psychology, and an understanding of that psychology can bring people together.” - Jonathan Haidt, “The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion”.
Thereafter, each summit attendee asked himself, “What in these statements resonates with you? What do you question?”
Rotary creates environments of peace. As a humanitarian organization, peace is a cornerstone of our mission. We believe when people work to create peace in their communities, that change can have a global effect.
By carrying out service projects and supporting peace fellowships and scholarships, our members take action to address the underlying causes of conflict, including poverty, discrimination, ethnic tension, lack of access to education, and unequal distribution of resources.
Our commitment to peacebuilding today answers new challenges; how we can make the greatest possible impact and how we can achieve our vision of lasting change. We are approaching the concept of peace with greater cohesion and inclusivity, broadening the scope of what we mean by peacebuilding and finding more ways for people to get involved.
Rotary creates environments where peace can happen at home, in our community, across the land, and abroad. The Rotary Peace Fellowship is designed for leaders with work experience in peace and development. Our fellows are committed to community and international service and the pursuit of peace. Each year, The Rotary Foundation awards up to 50 fellowships for master’s degrees and up to 80 for certificate studies at premier universities. “Through its Peace Fellowship program, the center will equip a new generation of leaders with the knowledge, skills, and networks they need to address the root causes of conflict and to build sustainable peace in their communities and beyond,” It begins with oneself.