The Pacific Fellowship makes grants available to promote peace and social justice. These small grants are designed to enable individuals to develop their practice of peace.

Grant recipients become Fellows who join the Pacific Fellowship, a community of like-minded peace-makers who are, in their own ways, committed to building peace and social justice, particularly in the Pacific region.

The word 'pacific' has a number of meanings. When it is written as 'Pacific', it refers to the geographical region in and surrounding the Pacific Ocean. This is a region of great physical and cultural diversity and beauty, which includes 20,000 - 30,000 islands as well as countless forested areas, mountains and plains. Unfortunately, this region is also prone to natural disasters and anthropogenic risks where the people of small island states are endangered by rising seas and other effects associated with climate change. It is an area in need of peacemaking because of underlying tensions and conflicts between and within countries; some of these conflicts could have global consequences because of the actors involved, because of the potential to escalate to nuclear war, and because the world is increasingly globalised.

The word 'pacific' also describes actions and relationships. It means peace-loving, nonviolent, peacemaking, and calming. The Pacific Fellowship uses both general meanings of 'pacific'; our focus is on the Pacific Region and we hope to promote peacemaking in this region by offering fellowships.

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We are...

Dale

I was born and raised in New Jersey, USA. In 1970, I was offered a job as an atmospheric researcher and came to Australia and have since become an Australian citizen. I live in Bun wurrung country in Australia (Melbourne). My interests include peace education and international development, but I have a particular interest in West Papua, the most protracted conflict in the Pacific, and in promoting greater freedom and justice for the people of West Papua through nonviolent action. I am a member of the Victorian Regional Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers).

Anna

Anna was born in Japan and raised in Australia. When asked where she's from, she often answers 'from the Pacific'. Her pursuit of the life well-lived has taken her to live in a number of different countries and has led to interesting adventures and challenges along the way! After a period of meditation and creative rest, she had a light-bulb moment when she realized that she wanted to 'pay forward' a generous scholarship, the modest beginnings of the Pacific Fellowship. Her vision is to help peace-builders create an eco-system of support and find a wellspring of resilience within.

Vanessa

Vanessa was born and raised in New Jersey, USA. Her joyous curiosity has led her to pursue a Master’s Degree in documentary filmmaking. Through her films she wishes to explore and understand the world we live in and how videos could be the medium of social change within ourselves and our communities.

Valentina

Valentina considers India her first home. She was raised an Anabaptist and her life journey led her to the USA where she studied theology and was ordained clergy. She precipitated her passion for nonviolence, peace and justice which included undoing oppression in her work with Mennonite Central Committee USA. She now lives in Wurundjeri country and continues her journey of undoing oppression through a postcolonial lens while being grounded in nonviolence and peace.

Tom

Thomas is a native of Australia. Although he was raised in a metropolis he has been drawn to the hinterlands of the country and has worked in remote communities engaging with the First Nations people of Australia.  He has always embraced his wanderlust which led him to countries in Europe as well as Asia. His passion for social justice drives him to seek and promote opportunities for young students to engage in matters of justice. He hopes to raise young people’s awareness while providing them opportunities to engage with the disenfranchised such as the First Nations of Australia as well as the refugee and asylum seekers in Australia. He currently resides on the land of the Woiworung speaking elders past and present.

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