The Rotary International theme for the month of May is Youth Service. Within our club we have been very active supporting youth onto programmes which develop their leadership skills and knowledge (nationally and internationally) and support personal development and confidence building.
The most recent is the sponsorship of two candidates to attend the Innovative Young Minds programme during the July school holidays. Julia Kemmitt from Queen Margaret College and Meguni Hirose from Wellington Girls College are both outstanding candidates. We will look forward to hearing about their experiences.
The IYM programme is a week-long residential programme, based in Silverstream. It’s designed to inspire young women into the science, technology, innovation and engineering sector – where young women are under-represented. Rotary Hutt City run this programme, with the Hutt City Council as Principal Sponsors.
Our youth are our future and I was reminded of this as I watched out of my office window on Friday at the large number of
students marching down Lambton Quay as part of a global strike demanding action on climate change. They care about the future and are wanting to be heard. I’m pleased that we can provide youth with influential skills for the future through sponsorship onto Rotary’s unique youth-based programmes.
District 9940 Conference in Whanganui 17-19 May 2019
In the absence of our Speaker – we enjoyed a brief Conference Report from David Shackleton. In summary, the District Conference was held in Whanganui over the weekend of 17-19 May. Two people from RCPN were recognized at the Conference: Frances Borrack – received the Mr Congeniality Award and Bill Day was recognized for his initiative and his ability to persuade incoming District Governor John Mohi and others that the District should be supporting the Children’s Hospital. A great effort.
The Conference title was Light My Fire and there were over 200 attendees. David broke his talk up into 3 sections as follows:
1. What the Conference meant to him.
While David was initially skeptical about attending, he felt it broadened his knowledge of Rotary – so it was worthwhile. A few specifics to note:
Rotary has 1.2 million members worldwide but contrary to many other voluntary organisations, Rotary has grown by over 11,000 members over the last year – much of this growth in Asia;
It is in good health financially but they also now plan to measure our ‘effectiveness’ using an additional measure of social interactions – how many hours we put into service;
Polio eradication is still a focus. It’s worth being reminded that in 2013 there were 416 cases of polio globally. Now there are only 33 – all in Afghanistan and Pakistan. A significant barrier to total eradication is the Taliban. They have killed over 100 Aid workers trying to help the polio elimination efforts. But over 3 decades:
2.5 billion children have been immunized in 122 countries. Rotary has contributed 1.8billion and for every dollar we raise, Bill and Melinda Gates contribute $2.
24th October is World Polio Day – note in your diaries – more details to come.
Youth Exchange representation was great with Exchange Students from many countries giving polished presentations.
2. Speakers
The keynote was unable to attend, as he couldn’t get his visa, so his replacement was a Maori speaker – the only female to be badged and get into the Mongrel Mob. She has subsequently been working with the gangs to try to change their behaviour away from violence to attempting to achieve peaceful outcomes from potentially dangerous situations.
Two victims of polio spoke, reminding delegates what an impact this disease has on the lives of those who contract it.
Other speakers spoke about prison reform and the impact of the Whanganui River to the Whanganui community.
Evan Burrell from the Rotary Club of Turramurra in NSW spoke about the importance of making Rotary fun and what we need to do to on social media – to lighten us up and make us more fun and relevant.
David and the Team enjoyed plenty of social interaction with other Rotarians and the entertainment provided.
Next years District Conference is in Lower Hutt on 1-3 May 2020.
Brenda Lazelle
Club Reporter
A Board Notice
The Board decided at a recent meeting to update the charges for visitors, guests and Rotaractors attending breakfast meetings.
(i) Youth (under 18): no charge
School students and parents /caregivers accompanying them
(ii) Rotaractors: $15 /club meeting
(iii) Potential members: first meeting no charge; full charge for subsequent meetings. Members welcome to subsidise further attendance at their discretion
(iv) Benefactors: e.g for cheque presentations, etc -no charge up to 2 guests
The very talented Daisy Van Wel performing at the Underground Markets last weekend.
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Funnies!!
The person who invented the knock-knock joke should get a no-bell prize.
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Diary now.......
On 1 August a Thursday, the Mayor of Wellington Justin Lester is hosting a Civic Reception for club members to celebrate our 30th anniversary. This will be an evening event. Details to follow.
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Visitors and prospective members always welcome. We meet on Wednesdays for breakfast at 7am at the Wellington Club, Level 5, 88 The Terrace, Wellington
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