1. A Members’ Perspective of Rotary Convention at Sydney 2014
General Overview
If you would like to be inspired and motivated by
the work and achievements of Rotary
International and its members across the globe,
then I would suggest that a Rotary International
Convention is a good place to start. All Rotarians
should add this to their bucket list to try at least
once.
I found three main aspects to the convention:
• The House of Friendship is a great place to
stay nourished, meet Rotarians from around
the world and also look at the exhibitions of
various Rotary groups that showcase the
ongoing work and opportunities in Rotary.
Allow an extra day for this, because once the
Convention is in full swing there is not always
enough time available.
• The plenary sessions which were very
professionally run were the best showcase of
the work and achievements of Rotary. Also to
be inspired and motivated by past and future
leaders of our organisation. Whilst at the
same time identifying the threats and risks
faced by Rotary. Membership, membership,
membership!
• The breakout sessions provide great
opportunities to learn about the world of
Rotary. This year had the most breakout
sessions ever offered at convention. This
could be broken into two main streams – the
humanitarian service including best practices
for achieving greatest impact and
membership (what makes Rotary tick, what
makes it fun, how to make it work for us (PR,
social media club ad project planning), the
threats presented by membership stagnation
or decline and the opportunities that are
available to improve (young people, young
professionals, Rotary Alumni, ladies, family
members, etc.).

2. Almost famous; making the cover of the
International Edition of Rotary Down Under! A
great social media tool.
Entertainment
The program included some great entertainment
in the opening and closing plenary sessions and in
the house of friendship (all day every day). An
excellent inclusion was Human Nature for an hour
of the opening session, that’s almost a full concert
of their Motown sound direct from Las Vegas.
Unfortunately I missed Marina Prior and most of
the Ten Tenors at the closing session. The first
two numbers were good. Note; don’t plan to
leave too early, maybe an extra day is worth it.
Plenary Sessions
Opening Plenary Session
The opening address by Prime Minister Tony
Abbot, with his father a Rotarian of many decades
service in the audience, was a very knowledgeable
account of Rotary. His inclusion of the big
announcement pledging an additional $100
million from Australia for the fight to end polio
was a tribute to the continuing work of Rotarians
to advocate the importance of finishing this
important job. He also said, "Please do not
applaud the Australian government for what it
does; applaud yourselves for what you do."
The Rotary Parade of Flags was presented as an
extended flag ceremony was shown progressively
through the session. The surf lifesaving team
carrying the flags in a rowing boat from Manly
Beach through the Tasman Sea and Sydney
Harbour and up the Parramatta River to Olympic
Park before culminating in presenting the flags of
Rotary and the 154 Rotary nations. The analogy of
the lifesaving team to the team work of Rotary
members working together for our collective
achievements was an interesting and valuable
perspective.
RI President Ron Burton gave the opening keynote
address. He applauded the Rotary members for
their work to eradicate polio in India, which
reminded him that if Rotary members can do that,
"they can do anything."

3. However he also focussed on the future,
especially membership. His membership message
included, “I doubt that it is any secret to this
audience that our membership worldwide has
been stagnant for a dozen years, hovering around
1.2 million members.” Instead of reasoning why,
maybe we should start with looking at our own
clubs and asking ourselves, honestly, would I join
this club today? If your answer is no then ask
yourself why. And then, what am I going to do
about it? Because if we enjoy Rotary and want to
see it not just survive, but thrive, then we must
address this issue head on.
As President he has invested a great deal of his
time over the last two years in youth programs to
ensure Rotary prospers well into the future. He
spoke passionately about Rotary's inability to get
a fair return on its monetary investments into
Youth Exchange, RYLA, Rotaract, and Interact.
Saying, "I would submit to you that we fail to
adequately capitalize on our investment [to those
programs]," he added. "It's our own fault. We
need to start treating our New Generations as
family and welcome them all into Rotary before
we lose them."
"The bottom line is that Rotary's future – its very
survival – is up to us," he said. "We can either get
up out of our chairs and really make something
happen, or we can just sit there and become an
endangered species and eventually die off."
Rotary Foundation Trustee Chair D K Lee's
Keynote address, spoke of the goals previously
set, our progress and successes and of the future.
Some of what he said included, “our goal is to
eliminate polio everywhere by 2018. This plan is in
place, but this plan is expensive. It is a $5.5 billion
plan. To make this plan work, we need to do what
Rotarians do so well - raise money. Our partners
have agreed to help us; the Gates Foundation will
match our investment two to one for the next five
years. If we spend $35 million, they give $70
million more. As a businessman, I see this as a
good financial investment. As a Rotarian, I see this
as a good investment in humanity.”
He also spoke about the endowment fund. “If the
Annual Fund is for today, the Endowment Fund is
for tomorrow. At my family home in Korea, we
have an ancient juniper tree. This tree is almost
600 years old. I used to climb it when I was a boy.
Now my grandchildren play on this same tree. I
hope this tree is still standing another 600 years
from now.
“I have given you a lot of facts and numbers, but
in the end, we support our Foundation because
we support Doing Good in the World. That is the
simple reason our Foundation exists.”
He closed with something to think about: “We
make a living by what we get. We make a life by
what we give.”
Human Nature closed the session with their
Motown

4. Plenary Session 2
This session was titled Leadership and gave some
insights into that aspect of projects and making a
difference.
Jack Sim Founder of the World Toilet Organisation
opened the session. He gave a humorous delivery
on a very serious topic.
There are more cell phones in the world than
toilets, Sim told the crowd at the opening plenary.
Roughly 4 billion people don't always have access
to clean water and sanitation, but by taking
advantage of social entrepreneurship, we can
"help them help themselves," Sim said. His
organization trains people to build and sell toilets.
Tommy Spaulding, is author of the book, “It’s Not
Just Who You Know.” A former Rotary
Ambassadorial Scholar and a world-renowned
speaker who focuses on leadership, he spoke on
“Changing the World One Relationship at a Time”.
This provided a sometimes emotional expose of
the life changing impacts on his life by Rotary and
the relationships with Rotarians.
He spoke about growing up with dyslexia and how
Rotary helped him discover his leadership
abilities. The former RYLA participant and Rotary
Scholar said Rotary members around the world
have "changed my heart for service." The Rotarian
who drove him to RYLA inspired and motivated
him, as did a host family in Queensland where
completed his ambassadorial scholarship.
Diabetes Expert Martin Silink described his quest
to achieve a United Nations resolution on
diabetes. He reminded Rotary members of the
importance of perseverance in the face of
adversity. Despite hearing the word "no" early
and often, Silink finally got leaders at the UN to
listen. They declared 14 November World
Diabetes Day.
He told of how Sylvan "Barney" Barnet, who was
Rotary's representative to the UN for 25 years,
was influential in bringing Silink's dream to
fruition. He opened doors to make things happen
despite the ebb and flow of political intrigue.
Australian Cricket Star Brett Lee gave some insight
into his Mewsic India Foundation. Lee’s
inspiration came from the fact that music allowed
him to re-energise from the pressure of being a
professional athlete. Now with the assistance of
grants from some Rotary clubs the Foundation
brings music therapy to more than 1200 children
in India and has a goal of more than 100 centres
and to expand to Australia. He said, "If I can
achieve my dream, hopefully the children can
achieve their dreams."
Rotary General Secretary, John Hewko, spoke of
the beauty of Rotary being that we can each
choose how and where we serve. He thought all
there have experienced a project which resonated
for them. For him a project that hit home was a
team of optometrists, opticians and Rotarians
doing vision checks and issuing donated glasses in
a Rotary Foundation grant project in the
Philippines. Hewko had himself been living with
low vision until the year before.

5. Applauding our membership for its success,
Hewko went on to highlight the challenges and
what might have been. He said, “Rotary is doing
so much - but it could be doing so much more. We
have so many successes to celebrate, and we also
face significant challenges, which we need to
address head on.”
He quoted a Paul Harris item written almost 80
years ago: "This is a changing world; we must be
prepared to change with it. The story of Rotary
will have to be written again and again." Then
went on, “And I want to urge all of you today to
follow his advice. The traditional way of doing
things may very well result in a strong and
dynamic Rotary and may work in your club or
district. But if it doesn't, then perhaps it's time to
be doing things differently.”
He had a very clear message on membership.
“Rotary's strength is in its members. When our
membership is growing - both in size and strength
- our clubs are more vibrant, we have more to
show the world, and we have more resources
with which to help Rotary flourish. All of Rotary
spirals in a positive direction. Look at what we
have achieved over the past decade with 1.2
million members in 34,000 clubs. Now think what
we could do with 40, 50, 60 thousand clubs —
with 2 or 3 million top-quality members.”
“But the truth is that we aren't growing in many
parts of the world, and our global membership
number has been flat for the last dozen years.
And our average member is older than ever
before.”
“It's time to try something different. Because, to
put it bluntly, Rotary's long-term survival depends
on our willingness to let in some fresh air.”
Plenary Session 3
Nigerian business leader and philanthropist Sir
Emeka Offor announced a $1 million gift to The
Rotary Foundation for polio eradication efforts at
the Rotary Convention in Sydney.
Paralympian, award-winning television
broadcaster, motivational speaker, and polio
survivor Ade Adepitan shared his story. This is
story of courage and overcoming adversity, but
also a story of what might have been if he had
stayed in his native Nigeria, where support for
disabled persons is limited. His story also fuels
motivation for why Rotary must be successful to
End Polio.
He was born in Nigeria and infected with polio at
18 months. Was moved to Britain where his father
was working. Humorous stories of his school life
covered what made him strong enough to reach
his goals as a paralympian basketball player. His
speech ended with a documentary video of his
return to Nigeria showing the contrast with what
might have been; the state of people afflicted by
polio and the End Polio “Walk” in Abuja.
Ade provided the motivation for why End Polio is
important, and then Dr. Bruce Aylward of the

6. World Health Organization provided the “State of
the Nation” address on the fight. We are closer
than ever, but the final steps will be the hardest.
The Global Service to Humanity Award 2013-14
was awarded to Maya Ajmera who has helped
more than nine million children living on the
edges of society regain their rights and pursue
their dreams; from the streets to the classroom.
Maya then told us some of her story.
Ajmera received a fellowship in 1989 to study at
St. Xavier’s College in India, sponsored by the
Rotary Club of China Lake in California. While
traveling in India, Ajmera witnessed a life-
changing event on a train platform in
Bhubaneswar. Amid the chaos of the station, a
group of children sat in a circle while a teacher led
them in simple learning exercises. She later
learned that the children lived, played and begged
on the train platforms. Wanting to provide them
with a pathway out of poverty, two teachers
offered the children free education, clothing and
food. The small school operated on only $400 per
year, serving 40 students who would otherwise
have no opportunity to learn.
Inspired by this powerful model, Ajmera founded
the Global Fund for Children in 1993 GFC based on
the belief that small amounts of money, when
given to innovative, community-based
organizations, could make a lasting impact on the
lives of the world’s most vulnerable children.
Since then, GFC has awarded more than $32
million in grants to over 600 organizations in 80
countries, improving the lives of millions of
children – from educating AIDS orphans in Uganda
to conducting so-called curbside classrooms for
waste pickers in Cambodia.
Ajmera said “I am so honoured to receive this
award. For me, Rotary was an incredible
inspiration. I received the Rotary Fellowship right
after college and it changed my life. It gave me
the opportunity to spend a year in South Asia and
provided the spark to start The Global Fund for
Children. Without the scholarship there wouldn't
be a Global Fund for Children. The scholarship fed
my soul."
Other speakers include Maya Ajmera, recipient of
the 2013-14 Global Alumni Service to Humanity
Award, and
Mwila Chigaga, a former Rotary Peace Fellow is
now senior regional gender specialist for the
African region of the United Nations International
Labour Organization.
This Rotary Peace Fellow’s success story is
possible thanks to the dedication of Rotarians.
She has returned to Africa to apply the peace
building skills she learned during her Rotary Peace
Fellowship. Thanks to the support of Rotary and
Rotarians, Chigaga is able to help create policy
that positively impacts Africa and global affairs.
She also made the statement, “Rotarians have
means to harness power of free markets to
address issue of gender inequality”.
Plenary Session 4
This plenary session presented a focus on the
future, featuring young speakers who thrived
under Rotary's New Generations and educational
programs. This presented examples of the rich
harvest of fruit from some of our past youth
projects. The clear message was that New
Generations and engaging young minds will keep
Rotary alive.
Ramkumar Raju, Rotaract representative for
District 3230 in India, played a key role in planning
the Presidential New Generations Conference in

7. Chennai in October, which attracted nearly 3,000
attendees and set a Guinness World Record for
the world's largest high-five.
"The impact of this project was so huge that there
are more than 2,000 new Rotaract members in
our district," said Raju. "We wanted to show the
world that we are agents of change. I believe we
accomplished that."
Ronald S. Kawaddwa told attendees that his work
as New Generations chair for District 9211 in
Uganda has made him optimistic about what
young people can achieve.
A 33-year-old member of the Rotary Club of
Kasangati, Kawaddwa said Rotary's future
depends on empowering our young members.
"If we are to realize Rotary's road to
transformation, [the] new generation's
development and empowerment are key," he
said. "We cannot achieve sustainable
development without addressing our youth and
the issues that affect them."
Rotary Scholar Kelsi Lopatecki Cox is a prime
example of what can happen when you nurture
young people. During her speech to the
convention audience, she championed innovative
technology and education as a way to address
poverty and under-development in rural
communities. She is program coordinator for the
Digital Learning Room, a project that brings
technology to schools in the South Pacific.
https://www.rotary.org/myrotary/en/rotary%E2%
80%99s-future-takes-center-stage-last-day-
sydney-convention
"The challenges faced by our world are great, and
they won't go away overnight," said Cox. "By
supporting education, by embracing technology,
by daring to think outside of the box, we can
address poverty and inequality. But we can't do it
alone; when we join together, we are stronger.
Together, we can create a world of opportunity."
Kelsi shared the journey of developing a tablet
based digital learning room at Buca Levu including
some of the technology hurdles such as
developing a solar powered multi-device charging
station. The students are excited and feel it is
making a big difference in their lives.
http://digitallearningroom.org/
Closing Plenary Session
The convention comes to a close with an
acceptance speech from the president-nominee
and the president-elect sharing his vision for the
coming year.
K.R. "Ravi" Ravindran, a member of the Rotary
Club of Colombo, Western Province, Sri Lanka,
was elected the 2015-16 RI President, telling the
audience he accepts "this life-time opportunity
with great humility."
Incoming RI President Gary Huang shared his
vision for the coming year. He spoke about his
now well-known “Light up Rotary” theme
supported by the Confucius saying; “It is better to

8. light a single candle than to sit and curse the
darkness”. However it is his goal of growing
Rotary's membership to 1.3 million in the coming
year that presents the greatest challenge. He
spoke of a number of examples of promoting
membership and club growth. And the challenge
is now with members worldwide, what we will do
differently to achieve something that has not
been possible over the past decade.
The attendees were treated to a preview of the
2015 Rotary Convention in São Paulo, Brazil. The
Host Organization Committee shared a taste of
Brazilian culture, including a traditional dance
routine and a video invitation from Mayor
Fernando Haddad.
President Ron Burton closed by reminding
members why they joined Rotary.
"Being a Rotarian isn't about our own
achievements, it isn't about our own careers, it
really isn't about us at all. It's about the people we
help," said Burton. "At the end of the day, the
only thing that matters in Rotary is how much
better the world becomes because Rotary is in it."
It appears that President Ron Burton will leave
office with the wood pile much higher as he
leaves office.
Thanks to both the International and host
organizing committees for the outstanding
convention.
Breakout sessions
Next edition!
Olympic flame lit again recognising Rotary
volunteers contribution to Sydney Olympics.
House of Friendship Pictorial