Kira Carrillo Corser receives Peacemaker award

Journalist and artist Kira Carrillo Corser has been awarded as the Rotary Club of Encinitas’ 2017 Peacemaker recipient.

Each year, the Rotary recognizes community members who have made a “significant difference in promoting tolerance, understanding, conflict resolution and peace, either locally or globally,” according to a news release from the Rotary on March 2.

“Peacemaking seeks to bring better understanding and encourages cooperative and collaborative activities,” said Encinitas Rotary President Greg Day in a statement. “This award recognizes individuals who facilitate, motivate and inspire others to work together for common goals, removing strife or negative divisions in the process. Kira Carrillo Corser, artist and journalist, was a natural choice for the 2017 award.”

The Rotary decided to recognize Corser for her work that has focused on promotion of peace and justice, not only at the local, but also the national level. The 30-year journalist has covered diverse populations and issues of importance through documentary films, books, artwork and teaching, according to the Rotary.

Further, Corser was acknowledged for her “Posts for Peace and Justice” program, which she founded in 2014 with Lisa Parsons. The program’s goal is to “promote nonviolence and peaceful solutions that bring together inter-generational and divergent communities through in-depth discussion and creation of ‘Peace Posts’ that serve as public symbols of commitment to peace,” according to the news release.

The eight-foot-tall vinyl posts are collaborative efforts by professional artists and program participants.

The posts will be shown at various Southern California locations — including the Celebrity Center in Hollywood, Los Angeles police stations, the L.A. Underground and Pasadena homeless shelters — beginning March 15.

Corner said she was honored to receive the award and be recognized for the posts.

“To promote peace, Posts are used to teach at community gatherings, to build bridges between communities such as the Police and communities of color, to lessen fear between immigrants and established communities, to educate in schools concerning issues of bullying and racism, to help stop university campus rape and, of course, to promote world peace and environmental conservation,” she said in a statement.

For more information about the Rotary Club of Encinitas, visit encinitasrotary.com. To learn more about Corser’s work, visit www.kiracorser.com and www.postsforpeaceandjustice.org