Melissa Parke By the Honorable Melissa Parke, former Rotary Youth Exchange student, former Australian Minister for International Development, and Executive Director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) I grew up on an apple farm outside a small town called Donnybrook in the southwest of Western Australia. When the Donnybrook Rotary Club advertised…
By Patricia Freudenberg, 2024-25 president, Rotary Club of Global Impact Our club has instituted several innovative changes that are enhancing our club’s experience. We have managed to create a more inclusive and engaging environment. And we are committed to continuing this tradition by embracing adaptive challenges. We hope you will too. Here are a few…
Rotary Positive Peace Activators Lawrence Horton and Chris Offer during a three-day training program in Evanston, Illinois, USA, in August. Photo by Monika Lozinska/Rotary International By Chris Offer, past district governor and member of the Rotary Club of Ladner, Delta, British Columbia, Canada I was fortunate in August to be part of a group of…
Jonghyeong Park, right, with other scholars at the Geneva Graduate Institute in 2021. By Jonghyeong Park, 2021-23 Rotary Scholar In 2021, I was awarded a Rotary Scholarship to pursue a master’s in development studies at the Geneva Graduate Institute. This generous assistance allowed me to pursue becoming a global leader in humanitarian work. I first…
Members of the Rotary Club of DeLand, Florida, welcome Belarus student Kira Zaitsava (center with hat) to the United States. (From left) Lliki Moyer, Harlow Hyde, Keira Espada and Ilene Vegazo. Hyde formerly belonged to the Rotary Club of Lincoln, where he knew Randy Bretz. By Randy Bretz, Rotary Club of Lincoln, Nebraska, USA What…
Roberto Carvalho By Roberto Carvalho, 2023-25 assistant Rotary coordinator for Zone 20C (Portugal and Spain) The 2020-21 Rotary year was not an easy one, either in Europe or around the world, in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. I had the honor of serving that year as governor of District 1960 and as a member…
Several former members of the Rotary Club of Chandigarh Midtown are welcomed back during a special event in their honor. By Nitin Kapur, 2024-25 president of the Rotary Club of Chandigarh Midtown, India One of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had as club president was our recent Alumni Meet. It was all about reconnecting with…
Rotary Youth Exchange alumni network at the 2023 Rotary International convention in Melbourne, Australia. By Jimmy Musiime, past president of the Rotary Club of Kabale, Uganda In 2015, I was honored to receive the Royce and Jean Abbey Scholarship Award, a vocational scholarship that allowed me to stay with Australian farmers for three months studying…
Massimo Ballotta By Massimo Ballotta, Rotary coordinator for Zone 14 and member of the Rotary Club of Feltre, Italy People used to see my Rotary pin and ask me, “What is Rotary?” To be honest, I didn’t always have a quick answer. This is a problem, because surveys tell us that we only have a…
Lis Mullin Bernhardt is a past Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar and program officer for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). By Lis Mullin Bernhardt, Freshwater Unit, Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, United Nations Environment Programme In January, a professional dream came true for me. After more than five years of working toward the moment, two global organizations I…