UPCOMING MEETING SEPTEMBER 6, 2022
Club Assembly Day!
UPCOMING MEETING SEPTEMBER 13, 2022
Dr. Paul Evans, Professor, School of Public Policy & Global Affairs, UBC Managing a Cold War with China
What does a Cold War with China look like? How are public and government thinking in Canada shifted? What is the right balance of Coexistence, Cooperation, Competition, and Confrontation? What are the implications of the war in Ukraine?
Paul Evans is the HSBC Chair in Asian Research in the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs at UBC. His recent writings and public commentary have focused on Canada-China relations and growing strategic competition between the United States and China.
To enable our club to service youth through our many youth programs, and also to provide services to vulnerable adults, please get your Criminal Record Checks. Only 10% of our members are qualified.
District 5040 has an information site set up on our District 5040 ClubRunner site that will provide all the information needed for both members and administrators alike on criminal record checks,CLICK HERE.There is no need to log in to access this information.
* come in person to celebrate with Purdy's chocolates!!
Last Meeting August 30, 2022
Kendall Jessiman, President, chaired the meeting and gave the invocation.
Sandra Lowe, Secretary, hosted the ZOOM portion of the meeting
Peter Clarke, Sergeant at Arms, introduced guests
Miya Otake played O Canada on the harp via video
President’s Announcements:
Thank you to all of you who came to enjoy the companionship of your fellow club Rotarians, and to those who logged in virtually.
The District is looking for District Governor nominations. There will be an info session on September 15th to learn more. Qualifications include: Have served as Club President and been a member for at least seven years – we have a few of those. If interested in learning more contact Carolyn.
As mentioned a few weeks ago, reminder that on Tuesday September 20th our meeting will be a dinner meeting instead of a lunch. Similar meeting format, same location, just different time.
Secretary's announcements:
reminders of upcoming events/meetings (see above)
birthdays, member club anniversaries, wedding anniversaries (see above)
Special announcements and Members' Moments:
John Hayto – (1) his family is hosting a Ukrainian family, a couple with a 13 yr old son; they are looking for things to do on a very limited budget. If anyone is interested in showing them around please contact John. They are also looking for other places to stay, maybe homestays while you’re away. (2) The Hayto’s will have a Rotaract student arriving shortly from Germany for about 4 months. Will be introduced to everyone at an upcoming meeting.
Stu Bird – to celebrate flag day in Ukraine, August 23rd, the Rotary Clubs (incredibly still operating in spite of the difficulties) held a 2-day get together with participants from 54 countries. There is still $7.8M held in the relief fund earmarked for Ukraine. It is accessible through district grants to get it to them now.
Phil Webber – Doug Kellough, our long time member, sold his business, Salmons Storage and Moving. They have stored our club’s Ride for Hearing gear for many years and the new(ish) owners are willing to continue to do this for us at no cost. We want to get this year’s Ride wrapped up and that includes putting everything back into storage. Phil is looking for wayward signs so they can be collected and sent to Salmons for storage. If you have any Ride for Hearing paraphernalia, please let Phil know asap.
Arielle Shih was inducted to the Club. Welcome Arielle!
Mekdes Gete provided a report on the library project in Ethiopia that our International Committee supported with a significant donation. Mekdes started working on getting the funding needed for the project in 2019. April 2020 saw the project get underway. The location of the library is in the community Mekdes grew up in. When she last visited the site in July 2022, Mekdes worked in the school yard to beautify it. Many other community members saw this and joined in to help. They cleaned and painted and set up the library. It will be, not just a source of knowledge for students, but a true community gathering place benefitting many.
Of additional note Mekdes, while spending time in her hometown, was key in starting the 1st Rotaract club with the support of the local District. The group has chosen to use the new library as their meeting place.
Kudos on a job well done Medkes.
Program:
Jim Evans introduced speaker Kirk LaPointe, the Editor in Chief of BIV and Adjunct Professor, School of Journalism, Writing, and Media at UBC.
Next week he will celebrate his 41st year practicing journalism. A career that afforded him a wonderful life.
Kirk teaches ethics in journalism – 4 basic principles: independence, accountability, minimize harm, and truth seeking.
Research has shown that for over a century now most stories have had at least one error within them. Some for understandable reasons. Misinformation does exist. Journalists are technologists today. Newsrooms have fewer editors to check. Every error produced has an audience causing disappointment and lack of trust.
There’s also a responsibility for not explaining themselves properly. The idea that journalists need to be objective doesn’t hold up. There is no such thing. We are all, including journalists, subjective in our thoughts. This is often hardwired at a very early age to have a certain set of guiding principles in our lives that will colour everything we do and think.
There has been a pattern of employment for journalists. Hiring managers tend to hire within their comfort zone – the same culturally, thereby limiting the viewpoints expressed. This lack of diversity, in a lot of ways, has failed to accomplish serving the community in the best way possible. There are always a number of disaffected groups who do not see their viewpoints presented.
The informed audience is a gift. Emerged as its own editor. Journalists cannot possibly become expert in all the areas they report on. The involvement of the audience has, for the most part, been beneficial. Positive critique is a good thing and works to better the reporting.
Of course, there’s also the other side of critique that is quite dark, degrading, and frankly, despicable. For the most part it is illegal but is unenforced. Results have been that it has made it difficult for people to run for office, has shamed people beyond belief with little or no consequences. It has worked to corrode the public discourse and has played into the hands of those who wish to undermine particular institutions.
The most dangerous thing heard during the pandemic – I’ve done my own research. The pandemic has not proven to help journalism. Some of the mistrust that grew during the pandemic will stick around.
There have been so many publications that have sprouted up which look like credentialed, responsible media however they are anything but. The algorithms on social media are constructed such that there is a feedback loop. The more you read the more you see of the same type of material, thereby reinforcing skewed viewpoints.
There is a need to involve the public in discussions about journalistic methods. Everyone has the responsibility to speak up. The media are you, your community. If you choose not to support local support that is meaningful, then you’ll lose it.
Google and Facebook have commandeered nearly 80% of advertising dollars without the accompanying taxes. It has put our reliable, reputable news sources at risk of being lost. It used to be easy for these organizations to work at a profit, not any longer.
If you believe in the value of journalism, media, then support the outlets you use. Journalism is worth a lot and they charge little for their services.
Meeting adjourned with a toast to informed journalism.
able our club to service youth through our many youth programs, and also to provide services to vulnerable adults, please get your Criminal Record Checks. Only 10% of our members are qualified.
