3. Joseph DeVoir

Sponsor Club: St. Joseph-Benton Harbor, Michigan, USA, District 6360

Joseph DeVoir is a former Ambassadorial Scholar from the Midwestern United States. His sponsor club is in St Joseph Michigan where his grandparents reside. While attending the University of Bath as an Ambassadorial Scholar, Joseph earned a Masters in International Policy Analysis.

Prior to attending the University of Queensland, Joseph has spent most of his time focused upon the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Having lived in the Palestinian city of Ramallah for a number of years, Joseph has had the opportunity to work for a number of different local and international organizations in fields ranging from policy research to political satire. Joseph has published four books on the conflict and international development policy with the Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute and the Health, Development and Information Policy Institute. He has also contributed regular material to a number of local and international news organizations.

During the Peace Fellowship’s Applied field Experience component, he chose to return to Palestine and work for the United Nations International Labour Organization in East Jerusalem. Whilst there, Joseph had the opportunity to learn about international and local labour policy, liaise with decision makers and stakeholders in the public and private sectors and unions. Joseph’s return to Ramallah was motivated by more than his long relationship with the region, he is also writing his thesis about peace building and development under occupation.

Like much of his previous work, his thesis will be illustrated in an effort to introduce more complex academic ideas to the broader public by making them more simplified and accessible. His presentation at the seminar will focus on these themes and how they relate to the work of Rotary International. Following the completion of the Peace Fellowship, Joseph plans to return to the occupied Palestinian territories to continue working in the field of advocacy. There is a new Rotary Club there where he has been an honorary member for the last six months. Following the completion of the Fellowship, he will be able to finally attend a Rotary meeting as a full member, rather than as a guest. Something he has been waiting to do for 6 years.