I Want to Go To the University of Peace

I have an on-again, off-again dream of completing a Masters degree in something non-career-related somewhere else on the planet. This morning I read about the University of Peace, established by the United Nations, 20 km southwest of Costa Rica’s capitol city.

In 1948 Costa Rica was the first country in the modern world to abolish its army. In that tradition, efforts to establish the University for Peace began at the United Nations under the leadership of the President of Costa Rica, Rodrigo Carazo. On 5 December 1980, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted resolution 35/55 which sets out in its annex the International Agreement for the Establishment of the University for Peace. The Charter of the University forms part of that agreement.

Maurice Strong, a Canadian, is the Chairman of the Council of the University for Peace, so maybe I’d have an in. I’ve been to Costa Rica twice, and loved it both times. This sounds like an excellent way to spend a year, talking peace in the Costa Rica rain forest.