Rotary International President Wilf Wilkinson has announced that on April 25th – 27th, 2008 Rotarians from around the world will gather on the border between the United States and Canada at a Rotary World Peace Summit with the mandate of increasing awareness about Rotary International’s role in fostering world peace and creating action steps to further its continued development.

One of Rotary’s greatest goals is our platform of world peace through understanding. The event will gather thousands of Rotarians and community members to discuss how Rotary’s contributions are manifested each day through Rotary’s International Network, our International Project Emphasis (clean water, health and hunger, and literacy opportunities for every human being) and our Peace and Conflict Resolution program.

The 1.2-million men and women who are members of Rotary believe that providing these basic human needs is the essential platform for creating stability, a necessity in fostering the “Absence of War”.

Conference attendees will hear from internationally renowned keynote and panel speakers, as well as attend a Peace Concert on the Saturday night.

The Summit is designed to attract attention from regional and international media, and to assist Rotary in enhancing its reputation as a world leader in the furtherance of world peace and conflict resolution.

The location for the Peace Summit is strategic in that it physically and metaphorically connects people and ideals. The Ambassador Bridge spanning from Windsor, Ontario to Detroit, Michigan symbolically connects these two great nations and clearly punctuates the fact that Rotary exists without borders in more than 200 countries around the world.

Strategically located on the Detroit River, the Windsor-Detroit area is within 500 miles of 100 million American and Canadian residents. Known as the world busiest international trade corridor, this area also boasts a rich multicultural history and is a primary destination for many new immigrants.

The planning committee is pleased to announce that we are very fortunate to have two exceptional Past Rotary International Directors as Event Co-Chairs - PRID John Eberhard and PRID Mike McCullough. They are providing exceptional leadership!

Equally exciting news - Canada's UN Ambassador (2004-2006) Allan Rock has agreed to be our Honorary Chair. He has already opened many exciting doors in terms of the "world class" speakers for the event.

This three day event, will showcase all that we do as Rotarians to foster world peace through understanding. Highlights will include open-air opening ceremonies on the Detroit River over looking Canada and the United States.

Friday afternoon will feature our Peace and Conflict Resolution Scholars and a session on becoming a Rotary International Peace City/Community.

Saturday will include a panel discussion in the morning with world renowned speakers and the afternoon will feature Rotary stories. The evening will culminate with a Peace Concert that will be open to the public as well!

Sunday wraps up with a Faith Service and Closing ceremonies.

There will be many exciting receptions and additional sessions - along with a World Food Pavilion.

As you can see, it is truly going to be a legacy event for Rotary and for President Wilf Wilkinson!
A very exciting part of the event website will be called the "Rotary Peace Challenge" and will encourage Rotarians and Clubs to submit entries about what they are doing to foster world peace and understanding. These submissions will be placed in an online logbook that will be accessible to all visitors.

We hope you will consider promoting this in your Districts. We have the opportunity to really make this a Public Relations dream for Rotary - not to mention what better way to attract new members!