At our last Rotary meeting, we were privileged to have two excellent young speakers, Laura Coburn and Hyuga Nishimura, who spoke about their Rotary Foundation sponsored studies and practice in the area of PEACE. Club Foundation Director Joanne Shentu met the two young peace professionals at the Paul Harris breakfast and invited them to speak at our Rotary meeting.
|
LAURA COBURN.
Laura is a very articulate young person, explained that she is an international professional with experience managing projects across organisations including World Vision, Migration, Youth and Children Platforms and MSI Reproductive Choices. She is passionate about maternal and health care and understanding the linkages between health, humanitarian assistance and peace building. With an academic background in international studies and public policy, Laura is eager to continue her studies as a Rotary Peace Fellow at Uppsala University, Sweden, later this year, undertaking a Master’s of Peace and Conflict Studies with a focus on research and applied practice. Needless to say, our audience was impressed with Laura, her presentation and her passion and enthusiasm for her work in the areas of peace and conflict resolution.HYUGA NISHIMURA
Hyuga is a Japanese PhD student studying at the Institute for Health and Sport, Victoria University as a Global Grant Scholar, funded by The Rotary Foundation, sponsored by the Tsukuba City Rotary Club, Japan, and hosted by the Rotary Club of Williamstown, Melbourne. Hyuga told us he is a passionate practitioner and researcher in Sport for Development and PEACE (SDP) and he aims to contribute academic knowledge to practical applications in sports policy and sports-based social development programs. Hyuga’s background includes working as an Athletics coach and Physical Education Teacher at a secondary school in Rwanda and internship experiences in UNHCR Japan to assist in several sport-related projects to support refugees. His current research focuses on investigating the role of sports in facilitating migrant settlement and integration in host countries. Hyuga is a passionate runner in 400m and is currently in training with Atheltics Essendon.