Dennis Wong is a longtime Westport Sunrise Rotary Club member.
From the Great Duck Race to the Uncorked Wine Tasting, he’s there — with 2 helping hands, and a broad smile.
But Dennis’ real passion is peace. Six years ago he co-founded the Rotarian Action Group for Peace. The network empowers and supports Rotary clubs and individuals, offering structure, guidance and resource to further peace efforts around the globe.
He’s not in it for glory — just harmony. Yet this month The Rotarian — the organization’s official magazine, with a circulation of over 500,000 — profiled Dennis and co-founder Al Jubitz.
The Rotarian magazine’s photo of Dennis Wong was taken at the UN. (Photo courtesy of The Rotarian)
In the story, Dennis describes his vision of “conflict transformation.” It focuses on “understanding and ameliorating the underlying causes that spark conflict.” That’ s different than the traditional “conflict resolution,” which simply aims to end disputes.
It’s also something that aligns well with Rotary’s principles, Dennis says. He believes that his group has made Rotarians around the world more aware of — and ready to work for — peace, as a definable goal.
The group’s board members come from the Bangladesh, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Egypt, Israel, Lebanon, Pakistan, the US and Wales.
They work on issues ranging from gender equality and human trafficking to the Middle East and the elimination of nuclear weapons.
To read the entire interview, click here.
