2016 Rotary International Convention
Posted by Vi Hughes on Jun 23, 2016
On Tuesday, we heard a report from our incoming club president, Dmitri Papanicolas, who attended the Rotary International Convention in Go Yang City, South Korea, on behalf of our club.
The convention was high tech affair, attended by over forty five thousand Rotarians from all over the world. The majority of attendees were from Asia, India, Japan and Africa this year.
The convention was held in the Kintex centre, a very large modern convention facility, about thirty minutes travelling time by direct rapid transit, north of Seoul. Security was maintained by the use of microchipped ID cards for all attendees. There was also a mobile phone app that was developed specifically for attendees that allowed them access to the schedule of events, maps of the area, entries for personal schedule planning, and communications with other attendees.
The sessions were available in many different languages, and simultaneous translation into many other languages could be heard either through your mobile phone or by the use of a small rented unit. The convention opened with the flag ceremony and was followed by addresses from International Rotary President Ravi as well as from the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka, and the UN Secretary General.
There were then many breakout sessions on all kinds of topics of interest to Rotarians, both inspirational and informational. Some of the take home messages were the need to make our giving more sustainable, and the need to ensure more local control over the use of donated funds. Some of the talks attended by Dmitri, concerned the campaign to end slavery and also the campaign to end the use of orphanages around the world. The talks and slides presented at the convention will be available soon, as webinars, on the Rotary International website for all members to view.
2016-17 President Dimitri Papanicols