Humanities & Social Sciences
Rotary Peace Center holds 5th Capstone Conference 2024 : Ugandans Called to Embrace Positive Peace for National Development
The Rotary Peace Center at Makerere University on 21st February 2024, hosted the 5th Capstone conference where the 5th Cohort of peace fellows presented their social change initiative reports. New Peace scholars (cohort 7) were brought on board to understand the journey of collaboration and to share a collective commitment to the idea that peace is an ongoing process.
The fellows responded to different challenges in their local communities and through their social change initiatives, have contributed to existing peace building and development initiatives using new approaches with one common goal of a more peaceful world.
Conference goers were implored to explore opportunities to embrace and engage in meaningful dialogue and ideas and strengthen their resolve to create a more peaceful and just world.
Participants were also challenged to uphold the values of compassion,empathy and cooperation as they work towards building bridges of understanding and reconciliation in their communities and beyond.
The conference held under the theme, “Achieving peace through collaboration and community engagement”, was graced by the Vice Chancellor Makerere University as Chief guest who was represented by his Vice in charge of Academic Affairs, Assoc. Prof. Umar Kakumba.
Prof. Kakumba hailed the Peace Rotary Centre for promoting peace and development in communities.
“Today, the Rotary Peace Fellows join a network of Makererians championing change and development nationally and globally. Your journey here at Makerere has been cultured, and through the Peace Center, we pride ourselves on having impacted 72 communities in 42 countries globally”, he reported
Prof. Kakumba called on all Ugandans to embrace different cultures, aspirations and traditions of the communities to promote peace. The professor noted that peace is not the absence of war on grounds that there can still be a lack of tranquillity even when there is no war.
“As agents of change for peace and development, you need to understand the versatility that conflict resolution is not something one can master through textbooks; one must go there, engage with the community, and be prepared to get into the trenches. To understand people, you have to know their histories and grievances. Our approach at Makerere University through the Rotary Peace Center, focuses more on community involvement and development”. He asserted.
Describing youth as critical pillars of society, Prof. Kakumba advised them to play a role through economic empowerment if sustainable peace and development is to be achieved. He stressed that underdevelopment in itself, is a threat to peace.
Through peace projects, Kakumba emphasized that youth are part of the future that upholds community transformation.
“The projects implemented by Cohort 5 are a manifestation of the dynamic definition of peace. In this conference today, we will understand that peace can be achieved through basics like health, agriculture, education, climate change, and economic empowerment.
Let us continue to learn and live in a world where education and knowledge can be used in the pursuit of peace. As you stand on the threshold of a new chapter, remember that it is these individual contributions that will calculatedly and cumulatively build lasting positive Peace change in Africa and beyond”. Prof. Kakumba stated.
The Principal CHUSS represented by her Deputy Associate Prof. Eric Awich Ochen was drawn by the theme of conference, “Achieving peace through collaboration and community engagement”. He commended the peace scholars for the tremendous projects implemented in their respective countries.
“Everything that we do is important. Our generation cannot solve all the problems but we must play our role to be able to make a difference in the communities and create a better humanity”. said Prof. Awich.
Prof. Awich welcomed the Cohort 7 peace fellows and encouraged them to follow keenly.
Makerere University Model replicated across the world- Rotary International
The representative of Rotary International and Rotary Uganda and District Governor, Dr. Mike Ssebalu welcomed new scholars of cohort 7. to Uganda.
Rotary, he explained is an international organization of universal appeal which believes in doing good in the world.
“Creating peace, sustaining peace and guaranteeing peace is one of those good things that every Ugandan should be proud of. Our vision statement states that together we see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change across the globe, in our community and in ourselves”, Dr. Ssebalu said
The conference he said, attests to the fact that they have come together as Rotary, as Makerere and as individuals and peace scholars to create lasting change.
He implored peace scholars to be part of the process of creating lasting change across the globe communities and themselves.
He said, Rotary is proud to be associated with Makerere University in this great initiative noting that, they had gotten the best they would have ever got.
“Makerere has proved to be the best partner we chose to work with and Rotary International is indeed very appreciative and happy with the work you are doing to the extent that the Makerere model is being replicated in all the peace centers that have been created ever since.
A lot of lessons have been learnt in terms of commitment, initiatives, innovations and in terms of creativity and Rotary is picking those lessons and replicating across the world”. Ssebalu said.
Ssebalu thanked the university leadership at different levels of the value chain and all stakeholders stressing that Rotary appreciates and is satisfied with the performance.
To the peace scholars, Dr. Ssebalu implored them to take time to explore the tourism potential of Uganda, learn the culture and associate closely with Ugandan people adding that, Ugandans are very welcoming and should therefore feel at peace, enjoy their stay and meet their expectations.
He said, they came as individuals but should go back as a team, pledging that Rotary is available to support in all ways and that, homes of Rotarians are open for fellowship and interaction.
The Director of the Makerere University Rotary Peace Centre Assoc. Prof. Helen Nambalirwa Nkabala expressed pride in cohort 5 congratulating them on the job well done.
The Director thanked Rotary for accepting to work with Makerere University especially the Department of Religion and Peace Studies and the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.
“On the day like this, we continue to celebrate our partnership with the Rotary foundation. It is indeed an honor for us to run this joint program and, it is one of the kind that is practically showing what experiential learning should be. Through this program, we have been able to influence changes becoming more practical”, she said
Prof. Nkabala welcomed cohort 7 to the conference expressing hope that they would be able to see and learn from what their colleagues in cohort 5 have been doing. The Director, recognized and appreciated the college leadership, coordinators, academic mentors, members of the advisory board, academic community, Makerere University community plus all stakeholders for their support to the program.
“We have done art and peace building, agriculture and peace building, we have had CoNAS come in for tree planting for peace and CHS taking care of health for peace fellows and they have received executive services”, Prof. Nkabala acknowledged.
“I can only assure you that the kind of projects that we are going to look at are impactful projects, that is why, we call our fellows change agents. They have been able to create change in different communities. Today we are celebrating 15 countries and 20 social initiatives”, Prof. Nkabala reported.
Cohort 5 embraced Performing Arts as an intervention for social change
Speaking on behalf of the chair academic board committee, the deputy, Prof. Sylivia Antonia Nannyonga Tamusuza said, it is in cohort 5, where they have had a project using Performing Arts as an intervention to social change.
She described Makerere University as privileged to have this program. She thanked Rotary international as well as Rotary Uganda and all partners for allowing the university to have such a diverse program.
“This program is the only program that has such a wide representation from different countries. To date, we have 131 fellows that have gone through this program represented from various countries which shows that Makerere is a global and international university”. Prof. Tamusuza reported.
She said, the number of students applying for the program is overwhelming and they take on only 20 -21 students annually in two admissions. She congratulated all fellows that have gone through the program urging them to be good ambassadors of the university.
Prof. Tamusuza thanked the university for the opportunity accorded to be part of this program.
On the morning of Friday, February 27, when the academic procession winds its way across Makerere University’s Freedom Square for the last day of the 76th Graduation Ceremony, Whitney Najjuka will walk into history with a number beside her name: 4.46.
At Makerere, that number means First Class Honours. It means the Vice Chancellor’s List. It means she graduates as the only First-Class student in Journalism and Communication this year. But numbers, as Whitney has learned, rarely tell the full story.
Born on March 27, 2002, in Nabbingo, Kyengera Town Council, to Margaret Kusemererwa and Fred Kasirye, dreamt she would do Law, one of the disciplines, prestigious, almost inevitable next steps for a student who had excelled in secondary school. She had done everything correctly. Studied hard. Scored well. Followed the script.
But Makerere University had other plans. She missed the pre-entry mark, but found her name under Journalism and Communication, another prestigious course offered by the Journalism and Communication Department at Makerere University.
Najjuka began her academic journey at Muto Primary School in Buwama, earning 8 aggregates in the Primary Leaving Examination, a performance that positioned her strongly for secondary school.
She would later join St. Lucia Hill School, Namagoma, where she earned 20 aggregates at O-Level and 17 points in History, Luganda, and Divinity at A-Level.
Missing her dream course, Law, felt at first, like a detour. But Whitney was encouraged by Sanyu Christopher, her uncle, and she settled for a government-sponsored slot in the Bachelor of Journalism and Communication at Makerere, which she had applied for before.
She entered uncertain. But she graduates transformed.
The Pivot That Became a Purpose
Whitney speaks of her early university days with candor. She did not arrive at the Department of Journalism and Communication with a burning childhood ambition to be a journalist, but because another door had closed.
Then, Social and Behavior Change Communication happened. Applied Strategic Communication happened. She began to see media not as headlines and microphones, but as architecture, shaping how societies think, argue, and act.
The turning point came in her third year. The Female Journalist Foundation published her story on Sexual Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) and its emotional toll on survivors. What startled her was not its publication but the reaction. Comments flooded in. Debates ignited, especially about the role of men in combating GBV.
“I realized media doesn’t just report,” she says. “It frames how society views a crisis.”
Her voice, once tentative, had entered a national conversation.
The Discipline Behind 4.46
At Makerere University, a First Class CGPA is not built on brilliance alone but on ritual.
Whitney’s ritual began with showing up, on time, every time. She treated lectures as appointments with her future self. She refused to confine her learning to the syllabus. While attending workshops at the Aga Khan Graduate School of Media and Communication and obtaining external certifications, she sought and was open to mentorship through the Public Relations Association of Uganda (PRAU).
She wanted theory anchored in practice. And then there was the commute.
From Nabbingo, a hill in Wakiso District, some 18.6 km to Kampala, where the Makerere Main campus is situated, and back, nearly 20 hours a week dissolved into Kampala traffic. Two-hour journeys before 8:00 a.m. lectures. Dust. Noise. Headaches. She learned to manage energy the way others manage time. Fatigue became a tutor in resilience.
“I had to be intentional with every remaining hour,” she says. “Excuses were not an option.”
Learning to Practice Communication
If classrooms taught her analysis, presentations taught her courage. Pitching projects, defending research, and standing before peers quick to critique forced her to think on her feet. She was no longer simply studying communication; she was practicing it.
In 2024, the AGMES Fellowship at the Aga Khan Graduate School of Media and Communication pushed her further. She received funding to produce a capstone project on the mental impact of gender-based violence on survivors. She identified sources, conducted interviews, handled trauma with care, and worked with professional editors.
The Communication, she learned, is logistics and ethics as much as eloquence.
The Future She Sees
Whitney is optimistic about Uganda’s media landscape. The digital shift, she believes, has democratized influence. Young communicators are no longer confined to legacy newsrooms or offices.
Yet she sees a gap in the absence of structured research on sustainable, ethical, profitable independent media ventures in Uganda. Her ambition is not only to practice communication, but to study it. To produce data-backed frameworks that help young Ugandans transition from graduates to media entrepreneurs.
She wants to make the impact scalable.
What Remains
As the only First-Class graduate in her cohort, she is careful not to mythologize herself. “Success isn’t brilliance alone,” she says. “It’s a daily commitment when nobody is watching.”
Even before graduation, Whitney had stepped into the industry through a mentorship internship at Capital One Group (COG EA Ltd), a strategic marketing communications agency operating across East Africa.
At Capital One Group, we spoke to Paul Mwirigi Muriungi, the Managing Director and Head of Strategy, who spoke of Najjuka as a progressive and intentional young professional who approaches her work with curiosity, maturity, and responsibility.
“Her attitude is exemplary. She is teachable, receptive to feedback, and eager to grow. While technical skills can be taught, character, work ethic, and mindset determine long-term success, qualities that Whitney consistently demonstrates. Given her academic excellence and professional application, we believe she has a bright future both at Capital One Group and within the wider communications industry. She represents the kind of talent the profession needs: thoughtful, adaptable, and committed to excellence.
“We look forward to seeing her next chapter unfold,” says Mwirigi.
Najjuka’s gaze extends beyond her own trajectory. She speaks of what the Department could become. Furnished and equipped with industry-standard equipment, newsroom simulations, and deeper investment in data journalism as prayers. Her excellence is not self-congratulatory, but it is forward-looking.
“The University should support the Department to procure industry-standard equipment. Access to high-quality cameras, sound booths, and updated editing software like Adobe Creative Suite is critical to our learning environment,” she says.
Adding that, “We need a newsroom simulation, a physical or digital space where students work under real-time deadlines to produce content for the public. That would prepare us for industry and even strengthen the University’s own media platforms.”
In an era defined by metrics, algorithms, and digital traceability, data journalism is no longer a niche skill but a sine qua non of credible reporting. “There should also be more focus on data journalism and search engine optimization. These are no longer optional skills. Students would benefit immensely from stronger training in these areas.”
Dr. Aisha Nakiwala, the Head, Department of Journalism and Communication, says the faculty are very proud that she is graduating with a First Class—the only one in this year’s cohort.
“This achievement reflects not only exceptional intellectual ability but also discipline, resilience, and sustained dedication to the highest standards over four years. Graduating with first-class honors is no small feat; it requires consistent outstanding performance.
“Her accomplishment sets a powerful example for continuing students and reaffirms our department’s commitment to nurturing excellence. We are confident she will make meaningful contributions to the communication profession and society at large,” says Dr. Nakiwala.
On graduation day, applause will crest and recede. The gowns will fold back into wardrobes. The transcripts will be filed away in cabinets. But something quieter will endure; a young woman from Nabbingo who once missed her Law mark, who spent 20 hours a week on the road, who discovered that storytelling is power, and who now walks into Freedom Square not by accident, but by intention.
Life, as she has come to understand it, lives on.
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