So the Rei Foundation scholarships
are scholarships for doctoral study
so that students can come here
from anywhere in the world to come
and get a very high-quality degree
here at the University of Otago.
They've come from every continent,
every identity,
and it's very impressive to see
people growing up in conflict zones
determined to make a difference.
The Rei scholarships
have had a tremendous impact
on our centre, which is the first
academic university centre
that's devoted to teaching,
research, and practice
in conflict resolution
and creating a more peaceful world.
So, my research is looking at
creating or developing
a peace education curriculum
and model specifically for Fiji.
Because of my experience
with the military and the army,
I want to focus on soldiers,
and specifically how they
define enemies and threats.
For my PhD, I wanted to research
the motivations of people who work
for peace in Northern Ireland
and I hope that that would have
relevance for other societies.
I am studying the sense of
belonging of Muslim youth,
immigrants or refugees to
the larger society of New Zealand.
I'm doing research on the role
of teachers in delivering
peace education activities
in schools so that they can apply
what they have learnt
into their classroom.
The most incredible thing that
Rei Foundation scholarship
is doing with me
is giving me a voice in the
international academic communities.
Getting a PhD and then getting
an opportunity to become
an academic lecturer
has been life-changing for me,
and none of that
would have been possible without
the Rei Foundation scholarship.
The biggest political challenge
that we have is how do we create
systems whereby we can celebrate
and accept difference
and this is where the PhD programme
comes in, because peace education
helps us think about and prepares us
for dealing with conflict
and difference, figuring out ways
in which we can make peace-building
far more effective in today's world.