ROTARY LEADER

 
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Rotary Leader
Helping club and district leaders achieve success
 
January 2021
 
DISTRICT CORNER
 
Do you know a good Rotary Peace Fellow candidate?
In a glass-enclosed dojo in the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai, Sombat Tapanya teaches children the principles of peace through aikido. A psychologist who specialized in childhood trauma, he uses insights he gained as a Rotary Peace Fellow at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok in 2016. (Watch the video above.) Every year, Rotary awards up to 130 fully funded fellowships for dedicated leaders like Tapanya to study at one of our peace centers. Your district can endorse as many qualified candidates as you wish, anywhere in the world, at no cost to your district. Learn more about the application process, which begins in February, and how you can support the Peace Centers.
 
EVENTS
Presidential conferences showcase Rotaract
RI President Holger Knaack will hold three virtual presidential conferences that will showcase the leadership of Rotaract members and collaboration between Rotaract and Rotary around the world. Knaack said he chose to focus on Rotaract leaders because young people have the potential to reshape our organization: “The COVID-19 epidemic has made clear that we are living in a different world, a world dominated by young people with the foresight and drive to take advantage of rapid change.” The three events will be hosted from Brazil, 15-16 January; Nigeria, 22-24 January; and the United States, 14-16 May.
 
GRANTS
Protecting the environment
Through Rotary’s new area of focus, protecting the environment, members will work to comprehensively solve specific problems that harm the environment. This will give us bigger opportunities to build on the service we’re already doing to improve the environment in our communities. Members can apply for global grants in this area beginning next 1 July. Learn more about how Rotary helps protect the environment.
 
BRAND FIDELITY
Why you should care about Rotary branding
It might seem like a small thing, but a logo that isn’t used properly can create confusion and mistrust. We always want to use Rotary’s logos consistently and properly to maintain a global Rotary brand that members, donors, and the public can trust. Over the next year, we plan to talk much more about branding. In the first of a series of Rotary Voices blog posts on this topic, Rotary’s brand specialist, Liz Thiam, explains why clubs should use the Rotary logo correctly in their communities and how they can do that.
 
LEARNING CENTER
How to make your club vibrant
The Rotary Club of Seoul was established in 1927 as the first club in Korea. In recent years, though, its membership had been diminishing. Club leaders took steps to transform the club, including founding a satellite club for English-speaking leaders ages 19-35 and offering a convertible membership program.
How healthy is your club? The Is Your Club Healthy? course in the Learning Center will show you how to use the Rotary Club Health Check, the first step in becoming a vibrant and healthy club.
 
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Rotary and COVID-19 vaccination
Given our track record of fighting for a polio-free world, Rotary has much to offer the effort to stop COVID-19. Clubs are encouraged to use the collective knowledge of vaccine safety and efficacy we have gained through our polio eradication experience to support vaccination education and outreach in your communities. Clubs are also encouraged to engage with our current polio eradication partners WHO and UNICEF at the country level where applicable to offer Rotary’s support to COVID-19 response activities, and to partner at the local level with health departments and other agencies. Let the Rotary world know what your club or district is doing to support COVID-19 vaccine introduction efforts. Please share your efforts and projects on Rotary Showcase.