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Rotary announces US$2 million Programs of Scale grant to foster peace in Colombia

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2025 Rotary International Convention also focuses on the status of polio eradication efforts

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Rotary International’s newest Programs of Scale grant will foster people’s capacity to build and sustain peace in Colombia. The US$2 million grant, the fifth that Rotary has awarded, was announced at the 2025 Rotary International Convention in Calgary, Canada.

The Pathways to Peace and Prosperity in Colombia program involves Rotary partnering with the United Nations World Food Programme on initiatives that enhance people’s ability to resolve conflicts peacefully and equip local leaders with tools for economic self-reliance.

“This program [will] strengthen conflict-resolution capacity, expand access to economic opportunities, and expand access to social service programs in conflict-affected areas,” said Mark Daniel Maloney, chair of The Rotary Foundation and a past RI president.

“The long-term goal of the program is to break the cycle of violence, poverty, and food insecurity for conflict victims to achieve sustained peace,” he added, speaking at the convention’s third general session on 24 June.

The United Nations World Food Programme will contribute US$1 million to the initiative, for a funding total of US$3 million.

“[Colombia] is a country of astonishing beauty and courage, where the road to peace has been long, painful, and unfinished,” Rotary People of Action honoree María Cristina Cifuentes told the audience. “In Colombia, we know that peace requires working with communities to co-create lasting solutions. And we also know … that Positive Peace is not the absence of war, but the presence of equity, justice, trust, and opportunity.”

The previous Rotary Programs of Scale grant recipients have worked to promote sustainable farming in India, fight cervical cancer in Egypt, reduce deaths of mothers and newborns in Nigeria, and decrease cases of malaria in Zambia.

Foundation endowment reaches $2 billion

Maloney highlighted members' commitment to the Foundation’s Endowment, which reached US$2 billion in assets by June 2025, representing a doubling of its value over the last decade. Foundation trustees joined him on stage to celebrate.

“Your gifts, commitments, and dedication matter not just today, not just this year, but for future generations of Rotary members to come,” Maloney said.

Maloney also announced during the general session that a new Rotary Peace Center will be established at Symbiosis International University in Pune, India. At the new center, peace and development professionals from across the region will deepen their understanding of peace studies, conflict transformation, and sustainable development.

“The fellows of Symbiosis will focus on peacebuilding efforts throughout Asia,” said Rotary International President Stephanie A. Urchick. “With each new peace center, we are building a network of peacebuilders who are local experts with global reach.”

Rotary Peace Centers have trained more than 1,800 Rotary Peace Fellows to build peace through careers in government, education, international organizations, and other fields.

  1. People of Action honorees Anne Kjær Bathel (left) and María Cristina Cifuentes speak during the third general session of the Rotary International Convention, on 24 June in Calgary, Canada. They discussed how they and their fellow honorees have turned their personal experiences into collective action to foster Positive Peace.

  2. Pushpi Weerakoon (center), a past Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar and Rotary Peace Fellow, accepts the 2024-25 Rotary Alumni Global Service Award from RI President Stephanie A. Urchick (left) and Rotary Foundation Trustee Chair Mark Daniel Maloney during the third general session of the Rotary International Convention, on 24 June in Calgary, Canada. The award celebrates alumni whose service and professional achievements exemplify the Rotary ideal of Service Above Self. Weerakoon is also part of the Rotary Action Group for Refugees, Forced Displacement, and Migration.

  3. Convention attendees from Colombia react to the announcement of the latest US$2 million Programs of Scale grant, which was awarded to Pathways to Peace and Prosperity in Colombia. The recipient was announced during the third general session of the Rotary International Convention, on 24 June in Calgary, Canada.

  4. Ramesh Ferris, a polio survivor, motivational speaker, and advocate for the global fight to end polio, addresses the third general session of the Rotary International Convention, on 24 June in Calgary, Canada. Ferris contracted polio as an infant in India and was adopted by a Canadian family. In 2008, he hand-cycled 7,140 kilometers (4,437 miles) across Canada to raise awareness and funds for polio eradication, and his advocacy efforts have brought recognition from leaders like the Dalai Lama and Bill Gates.

  5. Convention attendees participate in a virtual interactive horse race during the third general session of the Rotary International Convention, on 24 June in Calgary, Canada. Three horses, Cal on the blue team, Gary on the red team, and Al on the orange team, ran three laps around a virtual track while attendees cheered for their favorite.

  6. Speakers who were honored as 2024-25 People of Action: Champions of Peace discuss community-based actions that members can take to build peace in their communities. Speaking at a breakout session on 24 June at the Rotary International Convention in Calgary, Canada, they also addressed how members can strive for impact when they plan and develop projects.

  7. Convention attendees hear the latest updates on Rotary’s efforts to eradicate polio during a breakout session on 24 June at the Rotary International Convention in Calgary, Canada.

Later in the day, a breakout session addressed one of Rotary’s key initiatives: the eradication of polio. Michael McGovern, chair of the International PolioPlus Committee, led a panel of experts in a discussion of the current situation – with polio still endemic in Afghanistan and Pakistan – and the way forward.

“We need to get this done because we made the promise,” McGovern said. “We need to get this done because it matters to every last child.”

Aziz Memon, chair of the Pakistan PolioPlus Committee, discussed the difficulties of managing a vaccination program in remote areas of Pakistan where the country borders Afghanistan.

“Five and a half years back, we came to a phase where we didn’t have a single positive sample, a single case, all over the country for 15 months. We thought we were on the way to finish the job,” he said.

But Pakistan’s problems lie in the southern area where there are different warlords, Memon said. An outbreak started from a very small village.

“We thought we could contain it there,” he said. “But we learned [our] lesson.”

Johrita Solari, a past RI director who is chair of the Polio Eradication Advocacy Task Force for the United States, addressed the shift in the U.S. government’s funding priorities for polio eradication and global health. She described the intense lobbying efforts that her group has undertaken.

“In collaboration with our partners, we’ve worked to ensure robust funding in both the House and the Senate appropriations bills,” she said. “We leveraged World Polio Day and other health milestones as strategic opportunities to highlight the urgency of continued support. While we still have a ways to go on the current budget process, I am optimistic that we’ll succeed.”

Read Foundation Chair Mark Daniel Maloney’s speech

View more photos

Keep up with the convention on Rotary’s social media channels.

Find coverage from previous days of the convention.

Read the general secretary’s report to the convention.

— 25 June 2025