June 19, 2019

Wailea, Maui

Special Rotary International Issue

Mark Harbison

Here are some details of the talk Mark gave to our club on June 19, 2019 on his return from this year's Rotary International Convention from June 1st thru 5th in Hamburg, Germany.

The first day of the Rotary Peace Symposium at the Rotary Convention in Hamburg.

Since 2015, there have been four pre-convention events that compete for Rotarians’ attendance:

The Rotaract Preconvention
The Youth Exchange Preconvention
The World Peace Summit (Symposium) (Rotarian Action Group for Peace)
The World Water Summit (Water and Sanitation Rotarian Action Group WASRAG) (usually held outside the main convention center.

Unfortunately, you can only choose one, so I have been going to the Rotary Action Group (RAG) for Peace two-day event.

As you can see, there is usually a celebrity keynote—this year Denis Mukwege, (top right) who spoke in very elegant French (translation machines are available). He is a Congolese gynecologist who specializes in treating women who were victims of rape in the Second Congo War and continuing conflict. He and Nadia Mura won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2018 for their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war. See his Wikipedia biography.

This was followed on the first day by presentations by Rotary dignitaries with statements on Rotary and Rotary Foundation Policy on Peace. Current President Barry Rassin (top middle) has not had a huge impact on the Rotary Peace agenda, especially compared to Ian Riseley, who held four Presidential Peace Conferences on how the Areas of Focus could impact Peace. I attended the Peace Conference in Vancouver, which focused on Environmental Sustainability. Rotary International President-Elect (RIPE) Mark Maloney, who spoke on Day 2, also intends to hold four Presidential Peace Conferences, focusing of Rotary’s relations with the UN.

The final presentation of Day One was by Steve Killelea (bottom middle & right), the founder of The Institute for Economics & Peace on the Global Peace Index. The IEF has been working with the Grants managers for the Peace and Conflict Prevention/Resolution to develop protocols for Global Grant projects. I will be talking a lot about the Global Peace Index during this year, and thee Peace and Conflict Prevention/Resolution Area of Focus.

Evening of the first day. The annual board meeting of theRotarian Action Group for Blindness Prevention, at the Barefood Deli in downtown Hamburg.

This was a pretty low-key meeting. Our President, Past District Governor (PDG) Shehzad Ahmed from Pakistan and our Founding Chair Emeritus, Past Rotary International President Frank Devlyn, were not there. However, Harriet and PDG Walter Schloer were there, along with PDG Gowri Raja from Sri Lanka and Dieter Brodehl, from Germany.

As you will see, we will have a real business meeting later (with Kulasegaran “Kula” Sabaratnam from Malaysia) and much earlier in the day), but this was a social and strategizing meeting, but this is pretty typical of “first night” get togethers of RAG members. (Not pictured here is a social I attended later (at 10 P.M.) with another Rotary Strategic Partner, Mediators Without Borders at another downtown restaurant.

Harriet is our Secretary, but is also the Chair of the Rotarian Fellowship for Convention Goers, which usually pays for our joint booth in the House of Friendship. Walt and Harriet also take it upon themselves to ship our booth and all its paraphernalia to whichever city we are meeting. We had a huge double booth in Toronto, but due to shipping costs and local convention center costs, we shared a single booth in Hamburg.

Morning of the Second Day—World Peace Summit Breakout Session

This breakout session on Rotary and the UN was organized by Peter Kyle, who will be a Rotary International Director in 2020-22, but is currently the Chair of Rotary Foundation Strategic Partnerships. Peter was responsible for bringing in the International Eye Foundation (IEF) and Mediators Beyond Borders into the Strategic Partnership framework.

The breakout session itself was probably the most important of the Convention. The slide on the upper right reviews the history of Rotary’s relationship with the United Nations. Crucially, at the 1940 convention in Havana, Rotary Leaders began discussing respect for “Human Rights” as a major theme and pledged support for the development of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This involvement led up to the UN Charter, in which a delegation of 49 Rotarians supported passage of the Charter.

But the real focus of the breakout was to show how the Rotary Six Areas of Focus are aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Globals (SDGs). The slide on the lower left is a schematic showing how the Rotary Foundation’s Areas of Focus relate the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Here is a graphic of the United Nations Sustainable Development Globals:

As you can see, there are 17 SDGs and only 6 Areas of Focus. But here’s an example showing how the Rotary Areas of Focus can contribute all of the SDG's (Sustainable Development Globals):

The Rotary Area of Focus Basic Education and Literacy relates to the UN SDG 4 Qualify Education, but also SDG 5, Gender Equality and SDG 10 Reduce Inequalities. SDG 17 (this is a catchall) Partnering for the Goals—but look how many NGOs and non-profits are working with the UN toward this Goal. I would add SDG 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth.

This is just one example. The breakout presentation went through all six of the Rotary Areas of Focus showing how this interaction and alignment with the SDG's works.

I will be talking a lot about Rotary and the UN this year whenever we talk about District Grant, Global Grants, and the Rotary Foundation. But I chose Basic Education and Literacy because it is the number one priority of Maui residents as found in a survey by the Maui nonprofit Focus Maui Nui, and for all the right reasons.

The Rotary District 2650 (Nara, Kyoto, Fushimi)

Our Sister District relationship with District 2650 began in 2006-07 – championed primarily by me and Nakakubo Keiji of the Rotary Club of Heijokyo in Nara (he is on the far left in the top photo on the far right). Since 2007, we have added 10 Sister Club relationships with District 2650 Clubs, the most recent being Lahaina Sunset and Yamato Mahoroba in Nara.

Our Sister Club, the Rotary Club of Kashihara, is also in Nara. The best photo of them is in the top center, with Nakakubo-san on the far right, and me flanked by two past Presidents of the Club.

During this dinner party, I was finally able to make a serious connection with their District Grants Chair, Ikuyo Yanagisawa. Together, we are working on a Global Grant for Mark Barry’s Volunteer Training Team project in Uganda, which will train young pediatric surgery post-degree doctors in advanced techniques.

It takes years to establish relationships of trust with Japanese partners, and we are finally getting there.

The Opening Plenary and the Hawaii Booth at the House of Friendship

Things were a little different at the Hamburg Convention because of the huge promotion we were running in the special Hawaii 2020 Booth promoting the Honolulu Convention next year. There were a lot more of us from Hawaii District 5000 and we spent a lot more time together. A big group of us stayed at the Radisson Blu Hotel near the Convention Center and we invaded the Plenary Sessions in a group, sporting our red and blue Honolulu 2020 Rotary shirts.

We have some serious Hawaiian/Pacific Islands cultural gurus in our midst, Past District Governor Nalani Flynn, Ray Paler (from Kauai), District Governor Nominee Sandy Matsui, and many others were “on stage” with hula, ukulele, song to entertain people on their way to and from the Registration Booth for next year in Honolulu.

The Second Plenary

Many of you have been to big conventions, but imagine 8,000 Rotarians in a giant convention center. The top center photo gives you a sense of the postmodern, hi-tech lighting and equipment mobilized to bring this off. The other photos gives you a sense of how this works. Notice Rotary Foundation Trustee Chair Brenda Cressey on screen, and notice the screen further forward—that is still not her. She is a tiny figure on the stage behind that screen. Some of our first time Rotary Convention attendees from Hawaii were shocked—but if you have ever been to a rock concert with a major star?

Speaking of major stars, the photo on the right is a live interview with Michel Zaffran, Director of Polio eradication at WHO.

While I believe the main value of the international Rotary Conventions is the networking that takes place in the House of Friendship (more on that later), for first time attendees, it can be exposure to the global reach of Rotary. These major figures, the Secretary General of the United Nations, the Director of WHO, the Nobel Peace Prize winners, GAVI (Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance), Mediators Beyond Borders, Shelter Box, are all there.

The Official Rotarian Action Group for Blindness Prevention Board Meeting

Early on Day 2, I met with Walter Schloer and our members of the RAG. As you can see, we were one of many RAGs holding early morning breakout sessions for our members. This meeting was actually focused on a huge Rotaract screening project in Malaysia, led by our Board member, Kulasegaran “Kula” Sabaratnam, and his team.

Unfortunately, my main collaborator PDG Manjit Sawhney from the Rotary Club of Delhi South Metropolitan had to cancel his trip at the last minute, and also PDG Shehzad Ahmed from Pakistan was unable to attend (I am particularly worried about Shehzad for next year in Honolulu, and wondering how my Muslim friends from South and Southeast Asia and Africa will fare in the current visa environment).

Rotarian Action Groups and Rotary Fellowships are at the heart of the International Conventions. Members attend conventions to run booths in the House of Friendship and promote current and future projects. The larger RAGs (such as the RAG for Peace and the Water & Sanitation Rotarian Action Group (WASRAG) hold preconventions that have their own breakout sessions. You DO NOT have to go to an international convention or a Rotary VIP to join a Rotarian Action Group. The larger ones have active websites, FaceBook and Twitter sites, and ongoing newsletters.

Rotarian Action Groups by Area of Focus

(Click a topic to see its RAG website)

Promoting peace

Domestic Violence Prevention

Fighting disease

Family Health/AIDS Prevention

Health Education and Wellness

Polio Survivors and Associates

Providing clean water and sanitation
Water and Sanitation

Saving mothers and children
Clubfoot
Population and Development
Preconception Care

Supporting education
Literacy

Growing local economies
Microfinance and Community Development
Disaster Assistance

RAGs that work in more than one area of focus
Endangered Species
Environmental Sustainability
Food Plant Solutions

Civilian Peace Keeping—a Rotarian Action Group for Peace breakout session

While the House of Friendship was open and after the morning plenary sessions, the RAGs held larger breakout sessions on specific topics. This one was organized by my friend Ann Frisch on the subject of Unarmed Civilian Protection.

How would this work? The Unarmed Civilian mediators are not amateurs. They are trained to work in conflict situations—they main aim in putting themselves in these situations is to protect civilians, especially the most vulnerable, and to put combatants on notice that they are in the international spotlight.

I have been very skeptical of this approach in the past, and I still think that, in general, combat situations should be left to military personnel and spotlighting conflict situations should be left to journalists,

In this breakout session, Ann and the other advocates of the movement argued that they have a proven track record, and that they can go into situations where UN peacekeepers or journalist cannot go. I was willing to be convinced.

Rotary Fellowships and back to the Hawaii 2020 booth

Top Row left to right: The Rotary BREW Fellowship (beer), the Rotary Whiskey Fellowship, and the Rotary Wine Appreciation Fellowship.

There are Rotary Fellowships for everything from Rotary Global History to Surfing and LGTB to Rotary Global History. The three pictured here were the closest booths to my own at the RAG for Blindness Prevention and the Hawaii 2020 booth.

The Wine Appreciation Fellowship is a great example. We have Wine Appreciation events throughout the year in Hawaii (mostly in Honolulu) and at the District Conference. The international organization has a newsletter, and members plan months in advance for the Wine Fellowship Dinners that take place during the international conventions, which sell out long before the convention itself. My most memorable Wine Fellowship Dinners (although there have been many) were in New Orleans, where we had dinner in a wax museum in the Bourbon Street district, and in Portugal, where we drank local wines and dined at a hotel located in a 19th Century Caste on the coast south of Lisbon.

Click here for more on Rotary Fellowships

The two photos are the bottom row were in the Hawaii 2020 booth, where I ran into two old friends, Melody and Paul St. John. Melody is the Executive Director (and heart and soul) of SCANEX, the Multi-District Youth Exchange group that District 5000 belongs to. SCANEX is an acronym for Southern California, Arizona, Nevada Exchange, but it includes Hawaii and other Districts. Melody and Paul are just finishing up the annual train trip, which takes the Rotary Year graduating class of Exchange Students in the US from the West Coast to the East Coast for the experience of their lives seeing the United States. Turns out, they volunteered to help out at our booth, and good sports that they are, even endured the polyester Hawaii 2020 shirts.

The International E-Club Party

The Rotary E-Club 9920 Francophone, founded by my pal Jean Louis Nguyen Chi, has probably assembled the largest E-Club fan base in the Rotary World, and as you can see, the leadership of District 5000 is part of the crowd. One of the causes for celebration this year was that Jean Louis received a top Rotary Foundation Award: The Citation for Meritorious Service.One reason The Rotary E-Club Francophone has one of the large fan bases in Rotary is that Jean Louis has run a booth in the House of Friendship for years, promoting the E-Club concept.

The Women In Rotary Event

This is probably the best choice I made during the Hamburg Convention. Opting out of a Wine Fellowship dinner for $145, I decided to join our District Governor and a few other District 5000 friends and attend the Women in Rotary Event at the Emporio Tower in Hamburg. Not only was it a memorable evening with Hawaii friends, but it was also a chance to mingle with some of the VIP women in Rotary. The lovely lady in the bottom center photo is Reem Ghunaim, Excecutive Director of the RAG for Peace. In the lower right is Jennifer Jones, who will probably be the first woman President of Rotary International.