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During this Rotary year, we are celebrating Rotary’s 100th anniversary. And we shall continue to do so through June, when the final chapter of the history book of Rotary’s first 100 years draws to a close. Then, you and I together shall start writing the first chapter of the new history book of Rotary’s second 100 years. We are the leaders who shall set the goals for the future of Rotary. Our thinking and work will have a decisive impact on the future of this organization. The new Rotary century is a historical moment, and we are set to lead it!
There is a new wind blowing in Rotary, and it is called continuity! Gone are the days when our organization went north one year, to the west the next, followed by east and, then, maybe north again. Our main direction must be the same for many years to come.
Past RI President Jonathan Majiyagbe had four emphases that he asked Rotarians to make an extra effort with. One of these was literacy and education. In the spirit of continuity, President Glenn has continued this emphasis. After having had the honor of serving as the first general coordinator for the Literacy and Education Task Force during the year of Past President Jonathan, I understandably have chosen to continue this emphasis as I see literacy as one of the basic needs that must be met for a person to live a decent life.
Rotary clubs have so far developed an impressive array of projects designed to help people learn to read, write, and count. Rotarians have equipped schools, educated teachers, and given children the clothing to attend classes. And in communities around the world, Rotarians have taken the time to visit schools, reading to children and listening to them read in turn. Rotarians’ considerable experience and commitment are still needed in addressing this problem, which limits so many people in their efforts to care for themselves and their families. So let us together continue our efforts to reach a literate world for everyone.
My wife, Monica, and I have often discussed what basic needs must be met for a person to live an acceptable life. Whilst I have claimed that literacy and education is the most basic, Monica has always had a very clear opinion that water is even more essential. So, with President Glenn’s emphasis on water management, it is probably likewise understandable that I have chosen to ask you to continue working for water management.
The United Nations calls the global water crisis “a threat to economic development, to poverty reduction, to the environment, and to peace and security.” About 40 percent of the world’s population — 2.6 billion people — lack basic sanitation, and more than one billion people don’t have clean, safe drinking water.
Rotarians have already addressed this issue in many parts of the world. Thanks to scores of Rotary club water projects, hundreds of thousands of people now have convenient access to clean, safe water. Many health benefits are associated with clean water and adequate sanitation. Furthermore, water management issues also affect the food supply. Therefore, I have added the concerns of alleviating hunger and improving the health and well-being of all who are deprived of these essential resources to the Water Management Task Force.
Continuity is definitely a key word for Rotary’s future, but there is another one that is just as important: cooperation, or togetherness if you like. The issues of literacy, clean water, hunger, and health are all of such a magnitude that we Rotarians can never reach our goals in these areas all by ourselves. If that were possible, these problems would have been solved long ago. Therefore, in our ambition to work for a better world, let’s seek cooperation with other entities working with the same issues — and there are plenty of them.
The Board of Directors has taken the wise decision not to begin any new global project until our PolioPlus program has been concluded, and we will continue to work toward the global certification of the interruption of the transmission of the wild poliovirus. This, however, does not mean that we cannot cooperate with others. A small example within the area of literacy is the Save the Children Foundation, a network of more than 30 countries around the world. This organization is planning to build and equip 300 schools in developing countries. A school in this respect could mean four poles and a straw roof. Although we cannot use Rotary Foundation grants to erect buildings, we can equip schools.
I would like to be modern. I would like to recycle, and I also want to promote continuity. Therefore, I have chosen the best motto ever created for Rotary International, Service Above Self. We also need a logo. I am recycling again, and I have chosen the best logo ever created for Rotary International — and again it was not seen on the screen — our trademark, the Rotary wheel.
Membership will still be an issue for Rotary; that is a part of our continuity. Rotary is sometimes like a big party: Without guests, there is no party. Without Rotarians, there is no Rotary. Membership will be a part of the Presidential Citation, a citation that is easy to understand and reachable for everyone, and that is important. In the membership portion of the citation, I am asking each club to work for a net increase in membership of one or more Rotarians. When this is achieved, we will have a total increase of more than 31,000 Rotarians. If we do this every year for the next 10 years, we will reach our membership goal of 1.5 million Rotarians.
Let 2005-06 be the year when we address our women members correctly. We often state that our organization is composed of 1.2 million Rotarians, out of which 144,000 are women. Why do we do this?
The proper way to talk about us is that we are composed of 1.2 million Rotarians full stop! The world population consists of 52 percent females and, consequently, 48 percent males. Rotary does not reflect this yet, but we will get there, even if it takes another 100 years. I, however, am not prepared to wait that long. Although there may be very little that I can do, I can do something. I can see to it that we get more women serving on our committees and task forces — and I shall.
I am sending a message to the women in Rotary as well as those who are not yet Rotarians: There is a leading role for you in our organization. Furthermore, as a businessman, I see this action as a short-term investment for a long-term profit.
You can do more than I can, though. You can find those women leaders who are not yet Rotarians and invite them to join us. You can encourage Rotarians in your districts to elect our women members as club presidents. You can also encourage Rotarians to elect those women who are past club presidents as district governors like yourselves and also see to it that a woman past district governor becomes an RI Board member. Once that has happened, the door is wide open for our first woman RI president! What a day that will be in the history of Rotary.
Like many others, I have a dream. My dream is that every 17-year-old could become an exchange student. If the world could achieve this, there would be no more wars! Again, we cannot reach such a goal by ourselves, but there are many other organizations that work with youth towards the same goal. Let us expand our Rotary Youth Exchange program so that our piece in this huge puzzle becomes as large as possible. We have today about 8,000 youth exchanges, but we are 31,000-plus Rotary clubs. I urge you during 2005-06 to inspire each club in your district to engage itself in our Youth Exchange program.
I am a lucky person in many ways, one of which being that the 2006 RI Convention will take place in my own back yard, in beautiful Malmö/wonderful Copenhagen, 11-14 June 2006. To be presented with “my own” convention in my own area is a privilege. The Malmö/Copenhagen convention is a first in many ways — the first in the new century, the first ever in the Nordic part of Europe, and the first ever in two countries. The preconvention meetings for Rotaract, RYLA, and Youth Exchange will all take place in
Sweden, whilst the RI Convention itself will take place in Denmark. A convenient bridge joins the two countries, and hotels will be available in both.
My Rotary friends, the district governors in 2005-06, as we enter the new century of Rotary, let us together
continue to show the world the great leadership of Rotary International through Service Above Self!
Thank you! |
