From our DG

Since V Australia ceased its direct flights from Melbourne to Johannesburg, Melbourne passengers must travel via Sydney or Perth (or any number of hubs in South East Asia). My choice was via Sydney and three hours into the flight, QF63 is at 9750 metres, lunch has been served and we are about 1000 kilometres south of Adelaide.
The flight has tracked down the coast of New South Wales and over Hobart. Our route takes us in a loop over the Southern Ocean before the approach into Johannesburg. The interactive inflight entertainment has crashed and we are dependent on what the Flight Service Director decides we will watch. At least the Map is working. The only problem is, it‘s telling our destination is Hong Kong!

As we approach September, New Generations Month, it is fitting that at time of writing, I am on my way to the 59th EEMA Youth Exchange Conference at Sun City, three hours west of Johannesburg, South Africa. EEMA is one of those many Rotary acronyms we all love to hate. In this case EEMA stands for Europe, Eastern Mediterranean and Africa. That‘s why we will meet in South Africa. Two hundred and fifty dedicated Rotarians involved in the Youth Exchange Program from 28 countries have registered for the meeting.

Rotary International only has twelve official programs yet four of those are New Generations programs: Interact, Rotaract, RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Award) and Rotary Youth Exchange. Whilst these are our official Rotary New Generations programs, we also have many other programs serving our youth in District 9790: the Ian Murphy Memorial Debating competition, RYPEN at both a District and Club level, MUNA (Model United Nations Assembly) and support for the Young Rural Ambassador Award program are among other youth programs endorsed by our District.

Through these programs, we have a unique opportunity to impact upon the lives of young people in so many ways – students in schools and communities who belong to Interact Clubs, Rotaractors in one of 7,500 Clubs around the world, as a participant in a RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Award) program or as one of 8000 young people who are youth exchange students in any given year. Lifelong connections and enduring relationships are formed, many of them cross-cultural, through participation in these programs which, in turn, have a lasting impact on peace and harmony between the nations of the world and their people.

Each one of our New Generations programs should not be viewed in isolation. Rotary‘s official four youth programs cover an age range of 14 to 30, the years of adolescence and young adulthood, and each is linked with the other in so many ways. Interactors can become Rotaractors as well as being youth exchange students or be a member of a youth exchange host family. Some RYLA programs around the world automatically include youth exchange students in their program whilst we hope that all our youth alumni will become Rotarians. They are our Rotarians of the future. Let‘s integrate our youth programs into our Clubs and our lives as Rotarians. Talk to your District New Generations
Chair about Rotary‘s four youth programs and sign up with Rotary International to receive the New Generations and Youth Exchange e-newsletters. Not only will we help shape the lives of these young people, we will enrich our own lives and the life of our Rotary Clubs.

Postscript
It‘s evident from discussions with various delegates at the EEMA Conference that Australia is a popular choice for many exchange students. There are many new countries which would like to enter into exchange agreements with Australia. It would be great to be able to offer them places in Australia and, in particular, District 9790.

Throughout this Rotary year, let‘s share our passion for Rotary.

Yours in Rotary

David Anderson
District Governor 2011-2012
Rotary District 9790