Leaders of Rotary International and Symbiosis International University gathered in Pune, India, to inaugurate a new Rotary Peace Center at the university. Supported through The Rotary Foundation, the center will provide experienced peacebuilders from across Asia with one-year professional development certificate fellowships to study subjects such as conflict transformation, sustainable development, and social change.

“With India’s rich diversity and complex social landscape, the peace center will offer unique opportunities for cultivating leaders who can navigate conflict with empathy and innovation,” says Bharat S. Pandya, a trustee of The Rotary Foundation and member of the Rotary Club of Borivli, Maharashtra, India. “This center will nurture a new generation of leaders in Asia who are dedicated to strengthening dialogue, understanding, and sustainable peace.”

The new center will host up to 40 Rotary Peace Fellows per year to earn a postgraduate diploma in peace and development studies. The program is designed for midcareer professionals with experience working in peace and development fields, including within governments, non-governmental and community organizations, educational institutions, media outlets, and international agencies.

Symbiosis International University’s motto, Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, or The World Is One Family, reflects a commitment to internationalism and cultural understanding that dates to its founding. Established in 1971 as a cultural exchange center for students from other countries (particularly Africa) who were experiencing discrimination, Symbiosis today has more than 55,000 students from at least 85 nations.
With the opening of the new peace center, Rotary’s eighth, The Rotary Foundation will be able to award up to 170 fully funded peace fellowships each year. More than 1,800 fellows have completed Rotary Peace Center programs around the world since 2002, going on to leadership roles in government agencies, NGOs, educational institutions, and international organizations. The first applications to attend the Symbiosis peace center are being accepted through 15 May 2026, and it will welcome its first group of fellows in early 2027.

By training leaders in the strategies and practices of peacebuilding, Rotary Peace Centers have a wide-ranging impact on the world that will be felt for years to come, says Rotary International President Francesco Arezzo.

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