Almost 100 leaders in the Asia Pacific region gathered for the two-day Asia Pacific Rotaract Leaders Summit conducted virtually from July 24 to 25, 2021. The officers of the Asia Pacific Rotaract Multi-District Information Organization (MDIO) organized the summit.
Present and future District Rotaract Representatives (DRRs), District Rotaract Chairs (DRCs), Rotary district leaders working with Rotaract, national Rotaract representatives, and leaders of national MDIOs attended the summit. They represented 16 countries and territories in the region namely, Australia, Cambodia, China, Guam, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Macao, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand.
Rotaract MDIOs and the Asia Pacific Rotaract MDIO
Asia Pacific Rotaract MDIO Chair Louie De Real gave leaders fundamental understanding of the role of Rotaract MDIOs as per the Rotary Code of Policies and how the Asia Pacific Rotaract MDIO fulfills this role through its programs and services to member districts. He also explained the organizational structure and activities and initiatives to look forward to for Rotary Year 2021-2022.
Rotary Regional Structures
Rotary Coordinator Senior Specialist working on the Regional Leader Support team of Rotary International, Nora Beamish-Lannon, oriented the leaders about the Rotary zones structure, the five regional leaders, and how Rotaractors can collaborate with these leaders in supporting the growth and development of Rotaract in the region.
Rotary Online Tools and Resources
Supervisor of the Club and District Support Team of the Rotary International South Pacific and Philippines Office, Andrew Best, re-introduced leaders to the various Rotary online tools and resources for club and district administration. These include My Rotary, The Rotary Magazine, Brand Center, Learning Center, Get Ready: District Rotaract Committee eLearning course, and Raise for Rotary fundraising platform.
Rotary Communications and Public Relations
Regional Public Image Coordinator of Rotary International Zones 10B and C, Past District Governor (PDG) Andre Suharto refreshed the leaders about the Rotary Voice and Visual Identity Guidelines focusing on the rules in using the Rotaract logo. He emphasized that inconsistency in brand usage will confuse the audience whom we are communicating with. He also gave tips and best practices in online and social media Rotary communications highlighting the need to use the platform and content strategies that will achieve the objectives for the target audience.
The Rotary Foundation
Senior Coordinator for Fund Development of The Rotary Foundation at the Rotary International South Pacific and Philippines Office, Mark Anderson, gave a comprehensive talk about the Rotary Foundation, Seven Causes of Rotary, Global and District Grants, End Polio Now Program, and ways for Rotaract to donate and support.
Elevate Rotaract
Rotary International Director for Regions 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12, Surgeon Chi-Tien Liu, graced the summit and highlighted the elevated role of Rotaract in the organization. He also refreshed the leaders about the Elevate Rotaract policy changes.
Panel Discussion with the Rotary International Rotaract Committee
Leaders also had panel discussion with the members of the Rotary International Rotaract Committee, the group that advises the Rotary International Board on Rotaract and develops more programs for Rotaract. Committee co-chairs PDG Ravi Vadlamani and Phoenix Maclaren as well as member Sneha Shakya joined the discussion. Leaders got the chance to raise their concerns on Elevate Rotaract and ask questions about the future plan of the committee.
Interactive Synthesis
To reinforce and assess their learning, summit participants had Interactive Synthesis powered by Kahoot every after the end of the learning sessions.
Getting to Know You Engagement Activities
Even though the summit was done virtually, participants had multiple chances to get to know their fellow leaders and their origin countries/territories through the virtual engagement activities prepared by the Asia Pacific Rotaract MDIO officers.
“I obtained a lot of information about Asia Pacific Rotaract MDIO and Rotary International. I was very much inspired by the impressive learning sessions,” says Haruki Ukyo, District Rotaract Representative Elect of RI District 2580 which covers portions of Metropolitan Tokyo and Okinawa Prefecture in Japan.
Rotary International District 3850 (covers Western Visayas and Mindanao in the Philippines) District Youth Service Chair Richard Jeric Chua expressed that the newly established Asia Pacific Rotaract MDIO started right through the first Asia Pacific Rotaract Leaders Summit with the relevant topics delivered by the most competent speakers in the Rotary world. “Collaboration with various districts, regional leaders, and support from Rotary International, as showcased by the summit, will make the Rotaract service even more meaningful for district and regional leaders, especially in reaching out to every Rotaractor in the region,” adds Chua.
Watch the recap video of the Asia Pacific Rotaract Leaders Summit at https://bit.ly/AsiaPacificRotaractLS2021Video.
