The prevailing COVID-19 situation in many countries in the Asia Pacific region did not stop Rotaractors to culminate the Rotary Year 2021-2022 as they gathered in the concluded 18th Asia Pacific Regional Rotaract Conference (APRRC), a virtual event, held last May 21, 2022. The conference was hosted by Rotary International District 3820 Philippines, a member district of the Asia Pacific Rotaract Multi-District Information Organization (MDIO). About 1,000 Rotaractors from Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Macao, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand joined the conference.
Opening Ceremony
The main conference began with the opening speeches of the following:
- Richard S. Punongbayan – Conference Chair, 18th APRRC
- Angelita “Angie” Sunio – Host District Governor, Rotary International District 3820
- Louie Boy De Real – Chairperson, Asia Pacific Rotaract MDIO
- Shekhar Mehta – President, Rotary International
- Hon. Rodrigo Duterte – President, Republic of the Philippines
- Hon. Leni Robredo – Vice President, Republic of the Philippines
Missing Peace – Why is it important to engage youth in the peace building process?
The conference featured a plenary talk by Rotary Peace Fellows Alumnus Spencer Leung. He founded GO Organics Peace International, a not-for-profit organization in
Hong Kong, promoting peace education and sustainable, regenerative agriculture across Asia.
Countries’ Rotaract Reports
The 18th APRRC also revived the annual presentation of Asia Pacific covered countries of their accomplishments in growing and elevating Rotaract experience in their respective areas. The presentations were through an audio-visual presentation prepared by the national MDIOs (i.e. Philippines and Taiwan) and designated national representatives in cooperation with the member district Rotaract representatives.
Rotary International-Facilitated Elevate Rotaract Discussion
The 18th APRRC also got the support of Rotary International’s Club and District Support Team to offer, for the first time in APRRC, breakout sessions in Asian languages namely Chinese, Thai, Japanese, and Korean, on top of the English session, focusing on Elevate Rotaract policy changes, including the ones recently approved by Rotary International in the latter part of Rotary Year 2021-2022.
Cultural Workshops
The 18th APRRC showcased the uniqueness of Philippine culture through online workshops on Philippine folk dance, traditional love songs, Filipino dishes and art. The cultural workshops were co-organized with the Rotaract clubs of Batangas Metro Pioneers and Sacred Heart College.
Professional Development Workshops
The 18th APRRC featured learning topics on public speaking, influencing others, content creation, and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). Participants had the chance to select the learning session they attended. The professional development workshops were co-organized with the Rotaract clubs of Batangas Metro Pioneers, Batangas Premiere, Cavinti and Nuvali.
Asia Pacific Rotaract Got Talent
The 18th APRRC also included an entertainment element through the Asia Pacific Rotaract Got Talent where member districts prepared Kpop-inspired music videos of the Kpop groups assigned to them.
The winners of the Got Talent are as follows:
Champion: GOT7 by RI District 3870 Philippines
1st Runner Up: STAYC by RI District 3690 South Korea
2nd Runner Up: TWICE by RI District 2580 Japan
Mr. and Ms. APRRC
The 18th APRRC also revived the annual regional pageant maximizing the use of videos to showcase the beauty, intelligence, and heart of the candidates and the national costumes in the region. A live question and answer portion, aimed at eliciting the thoughts of candidates on Rotary and Rotaract topics, was also conducted during the conference.
The winners of the Mr. APRRC as follows:
The winners of the Ms. APRRC as follows:
Service Project
The 18th APRRC also asked participants to support the cause of establishing a radio based communication station in Lucena City, Quezon Province, Philippines to aid in disaster response especially that the city’s main rivers, Iyam River and Dumaca River, usually overflows and endangers the safety of residents through flooding, whenever there would be heavy rains/typhoons. By having a radio-based communication station, the local government and the residents can easily alert and communicate with each other in times of impending disasters.
The 18th APRRC participants were given the opportunity to donate for the purchase of equipment needed for the radio-based communication station through online bank/paypal transfers.
Live Interaction with RI President Nominee Gordon McInally
The 18th APRRC participants also had the privilege to have a live interaction with RI President Nominee Gordon McInally.
Closing Ceremony
The 18th APRRC Closing Ceremony featured the speeches of the following:
- Jennifer Jones, President Elect, Rotary International
- DGE Gina Sy and PDG Everett Olivan, Steering Committee Chair & Vice Chair, 18th APRRC
- Christian de Borja, District Rotaract Representative, Host District 3820
Valedictory Address by Asia Pacific Rotaract MDIO Chair
PDRR Louie De Real, the Asia Pacific Rotaract MDIO Chair, expressed his gratitude to all the Rotaractors and Rotarians who supported the programs of the Asia Pacific Rotaract MDIO and bestowed awards.
He also took the opportunity to introduce the next chairs of the Asia Pacific Rotaract MDIO elected during the May 9 annual leaders meeting namely, PDRR Rytha Lew from RI District 3310 as Chair Elect and PDRR Alan Yip from RI District 3450 as Chair Nominee.
Upcoming Regional Conferences
The 18th APRRC participants were also teased to join the 19th APRRC to be held in-person at Seoul, South Korea on November 2-5, 2023 and hosted by RI District 3650 as well as the 20th APRRC to be held in-person at Singapore, days before the 2024 RI Convention, on June 1-4, 2024 with RI District 3310 as the host.
