I had the good fortune to briefly visit my Dad last weekend. He is on his way to his 95th birthday...
You can probably see that I am his son. One of my sisters (Ger) and her husband (Bert) live close by and visit my Dad regularly. My other sister (Han) and her husband (Lex) live a bit further away but also come by often. I had only 22 hours in Holland, but it is always nice to be "home"...
I made the visit to Holland on my way back from a short visit to Uppsala in Sweden, where I was on an evaluation mission for the Rotary International Foundation. Uppsala is city full of history...
The University of Uppsala has a history going back more than 500 years. At their 400th birthday the Swedish government donated a special events building to the university which is in itself now older than most of the colleges and universities in a country like Canada...
Two of my hosts, Magnus and Liana showed me around. They both work in the Rotary Peace Center at the University. The Rotary International Foundation finances six of such centers around the world (USA, England, Sweden, Japan, Thailand and Australia). I am asked to evaluate a few of these PC operations by meeting with the staff and with the by the Rotary Foundation sponsored "fellows" (10 each year for a two year Master program at each of the six centers).
One of the famous Swedes who received a Nobel Peace Prize in 1961 has started the interest of the Swedes to research peace and conflict resolution around the world.
The PC staff and fellows are supported by local Rotary Clubs. During my short stay I had the pleasure to attend one of the Rotary Club's weekly meeting. The guest speaker was a local business person who grew up in Syria and came to Sweden as teenager. He presented in fluent Swedish and he also spoke good French (from living in Beirut for many years); no English.....
On the right hand Rotarian Suzanne who was another superb host for me in Uppsala. She retired after a successful career as opera singer and now dedicates all her time to Rotary activities.
Back in Toronto, I have decided to join a breakfast Rotary Club in Markham. Good bunch!
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