ISSUE 28 - MAY 2002 - Table Of Contents
In this issue you will find: • •
Calendar On the Edge Impressions from an international Rotaract gathering in the high mountains
• • • •
RGBI celebrates a successful "New Start" A very profitable collaboration Rotaract Club of Kragujevac (D-2480): CHARTER An invitation from the Baltic Sea
Calendar
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DUE TO A PROBLEM OCCURRED TO OUR SERVER, THE CALENDAR IS TEMPORARLY UNAVAILABLE. In this issue you can find the calendar published in April.
May 2002 1. - 5. ISRM International Sardinian Rotaract Meeting - ITALY mailto:quartu@rotaract.it (Club E-mail) mailto:Massimo.Melis@rotaract.org(Club President) mailto:Nicola.Usai@rotaract.org(Event Promoter)
1. - 5. International RTC Sailing trip - HUNGARY 11.
5 year charter ceremony of Rotaract Club Luxembourg LUXEMBOURG mailto:georges.hilbert@goodyear.com
16. - 3. Rotaract Overseas Project to Malawi to build a accommodation 6. block for nurses mailto:jason@stoyel.co.uk
17. - 19. Polish Rotaract Olimpic Games Annual sport event of Polish rotaractors organised since 1998. International teams very welcome!
24.
Fashion Gala in Milan - ITALY mailto:grangaladellamoda@tin.it
31. - 2. 8th W.I.P. (Weekend International de Paris) - FRANCE 6. mailto:sander.blokhuis@rotaract.org
June 2002 1. - 3. Rotaract in Great Britain and Ireland Annual conference, held at Southampton mailto:conference@rotaract.org.uk
15.
D1070 ball, Peterborough - GREAT BRITAIN mailto:sarah.thorley@rotaract.org
23. - 26. Rotary International Convention in Barcelona - SPAIN
July 2002 5. - 7. International Weekend on the occasion of RAC Marburg 30th Charter Anniversary - GERMANY mailto:Sascha.Krumme@rotaract.de
August 2002 2. - 4. International Baltic Sea Weekend - GERMANY
September 2002 6. - 8. Transilvania - E.R.I.C. meeting - Rotaract European Weekend ROMANIA mailto:romania@rotaract-eric.org
October 2002 11. - 13. NORDACT2002 - "Sow the Seeds of Love" mailto:sweden@rotaract-eric.org
18. - 20. 33th National Convention Rotaract & Interact of France FRANCE
April 2003 1.
EUCO 2003 - Rotaractors from The Netherlands will organize for all European members, the European Rotaract Conference 2003 THE NETHERLANDS
On the Edge by Matthias Boerner
Impressions from an international Rotaract gathering in the high mountains On a cool Saturday morning in March a small international group of five brave Rotaractors met their native guides to conquer the rough Middle European Mountains in the area with the awsome name of "Axamer Lizum". All right, before this story gets too pathetic I better stick to the truth. In fact it was a brilliant day for skiing when Rotaractors from different countries met in Innsbruck (Austria) for the Charter Celebrations of the Innsbruck Club, the Matthias Boerner joint Presidential Conference of the Districts 1910 and 1920 and - of course to have fun together. So, on the above mentioned bright Saturday morning in March we set off for an international skiing experience. The group was rather small but truly internationally mixed with participants from Austria, Germany, Italy and the United States. We soon noticed that our skiing skills leveled, and under the guidance of our Austrian hosts who showed us the area we managed to "fly" down the former "Womens Olympic Down Hill Slope" in a near olympic time. As the sun was shining in the absolutely blue sky (I am sure Innsbruck Rotaractors had organized the weather as well), some of the group got slowly reminded of the cocktails and the little sleep they had the night before, so we interrupted the skiing and went for a long break on the top of the hill for sun-bathing and to admire the spectacular view of the white mountains that laid in front of us. Because the Presidential Conference started in the afternoon I had to leave the mountains rather early. I have to admit that I really regretted having to go to a Rotaract Conference‌ But afterwards I was quite happy having been there because it turned out to be rather interesting. Interesting it was not only because I was the only one in the meeting wearing skiing boots, but mainly because of the unique constellation of the two districts meeting there. While one half of Austria belongs to the District 1920 the other half is part of the multi-national District 1910 together with Croatia, Hungary and Slovenia. As always, a multicultural structure like this offers plenty of opportunities but it also bears a bigger potential for conflicts. I found it alomost amusing to see that Rotaractors of these two multinational Districts were discussing similar problems with the same arguments as we have been disussing in ERIC for years! Apparently also in the Rotaract World (as in the "real" world) we are not free from the tendency of thinking about our own countries first instead of thinking about what is the best for all of us together.
However, I was impressed how well the Rotaractors from these two Districts dealt with their problems. After some disussions they came up with solutions they could all agree on. In the same way a sensible solution was found to the problem who is going to represent which country internationally in the European Rotaract Information Centre (ERIC). Normally there is one representative who represents the districts of his/her country. The Five Musketeers Here we have the situation that there are only two districts with five different countries with different characteristics and needs. The compromise found after some discussion will enable the countries a fair representation in ERIC and an efficient work. Ulf Müller from Innsbruck will be the representative for the District 1920 and the Austrian part of the District 1910 while Ivana Bedenikovic from Croatia will represent the former "Countries in Transition" Croatia, Hungary and Slovenia. Knowing both of them I am sure they will do a good job for their countries as well as for the Multi-District 1910 / 1920! Even though I couldn´t stay for the Charter Party later that night I was told by reliable sources that I had missed a great event…
Matthias Boerner ERIC President
RGBI celebrates a successful "New Start" by Jason Stoyel After the slow decline in membership experienced over the past decade Rotaractors in Great Britain and Ireland have built on the foundations laid last year and are once again growing in Great Britain & Ireland numbers. Although the growth is not dramatic it is none-the-less pleasing to say that the past few months have seen an unprecedented number of new Rotaract clubs being formed. We hope that this growth is not a flash in the pan, last minute gasp, to improve the 2001-2002 performance but a result of the hard work many people have put in over the year to raise the awareness of Rotaract in the UK. Under the determined leadership of Mike Foster (the current Rotaract in Great Britain and Ireland Chairman) Rotaract in Britain and Ireland has continued to receive fantastic publicity both within Rotary and wider-a-field. Mike has pushed for Rotaractors to join in with
community projects planned by other organisations (such as the Scouts) and this has meant that Rotaract now has a much higher local profile than ever before. A report written by Mike and the members of the RGBI Executive was presented to Rotary detailing a proposed Emergency Rescue Plan for Rotaract. This report was well received and it is hoped that 2002-2003 will see continuing involvement and co-operation between Rotaract and Rotary. As is customary at this time of year Rotaractors have been voting to elect next years Club Presidents, District Chairman and RGBI executive. Rotaract in Great Britain and Ireland is pleased to announce that the RGBI Chairman for 2002-2003 is Victoria (Vicky) Wood. Vicky has worked closely with Mike over the past year and firmly believes that "Rotaract is an opportunity….". Vicky has been a Rotaractor for over 7 years serving as a Club President and District Chairman for District 1070 before moving to District 1090 last year. The following Rotaractors have been elected to serve on the RGBI Executive: Darren Hands - Treasurer Jason Stoyel - Publicity During 2002-2003 as well as increasing membership Rotaractors from all over Britain and Ireland will be encouraged to raise money for PolioPlus - "The Final Push" in November - and to help their local Rotary clubs during April as Rotary tackles the growing occurrence of Strokes by setting up free blood pressure monitoring stations. To Contact RGBI please email - jason@stoyel.co.uk Jason Stoyel , ERIC Representative for Great Britain and Ireland
A very profitable collaboration by Valentina Dell´Acqua An international twinning and a service project run jointly by two Rotaract districts from different countries. Sounds good, but do you think it’s feasible? I can tell you YEEES, it is!!! Italy
That’s what Rotaract districts 2100, Campania and Calabria, Italy and 2241, Romania and Moldavia achieved this year. We thought that the best way to get acquainted with each other and to make real friends was to work side by side for a common service project which had to be chosen by the romanian rotaractors. They found a primary school in Varnitza, a village near Bucharest, which was in great need of a renovation, so we all commited ourselves to fundraise and to collect the goods needed. After having got the quotation for the renovation and made the arragements with the municipality, coupe de théatre!, the local administration, thanks to the effective action taken by the romanian rotaractors, decided to pay the renovation with public money and so we could use our funds to completely refurnish the school and provide it with all the equipments needed. The renovation will be completed in few months and the furniture is being purchased in these days. You can’t imagine what a satisfaction it’s been for the members of the delegation of district 2100 to visit the school while the men were at work and to meet the children, the director and the teachers in the neighbouring village’s school where they moved during the renovation. We finally recognised the place and the faces of the people we saw in the pictures of the Christmas party at the school in december, for which we sent a few little presents...
Yes, we were there because in addition to our service we also managed to exchange visits, so a group of 8 romanian rotaractors were hosted in our district in december and a group of 6 members of district 2100 were hosted in a travel all over Transilvania and Bucharest at Eastertime. Too many words are needed to express the joy and the friendship we felt, but in the end I think it’s superflous, since you all understand what Rotaract friendship and commitment are... For the success we achieved I’d like to thank my partners in this project: Bogdan Balaj, my first contact person, Aura Cadis who brilliantly took over after him, the wonderful rotaractors from Bucharest, all the romanian clubs which enthusiastically joined our project and of course the clubs from district 2100! In the end, I’m sure this is only the beginning of a very profitable collaboration...
Valentina Dell’Acqua, Vice RRD Rotaract District 2100
Rotaract Club of Kragujevac (D-2480): CHARTER by Marko Nesic Dear Friends, We announce you that the Ceremony on the occasion of delivering Charter document to the Rotaract Club of Kragujevac will be held on June 21, 2002 at the Hotel "Sumarice" in Kragujevac. The reception and the registration of the guests will be performed from 18-19 h in Festive Parlor of the Hotel. Official dinner will be served at 20:30 h in the Great Hall of the Hotel. We are asking You to send us information about your arrival and the number of your club members we should expect at our Ceremony. Yugoslavia
The deadline for registration is June 1, 2002. The Evening program will be various. If you need any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Marko Nesic, conductor Club Secretary Technical Secretary of Rotary Club of Kragujevac D-2480 Yugoslavia zabojnica@ptt.yu
An invitation from the Baltic Sea by Stefan Wolf
All years again -- again and again good !!! Caipi, fire, long hot nights... The Rotaract Club Lübeck invites you to a weekend filled with action, fun and party, again. Germany
2nd International Balticsea W eekend & 3rd Party International in Lübeck - Travemünde / North Germany - 02. - 04. August 2002. After the success last year (130 participants from 19 countries) we have already got down to work to offer you a terrific new program. Principal ingredient: alot of fun !!! direct by the sea. Classic remains the BBQ evening on the beach and the party international for the participants of the Rotary Youthcamp and the RI Inbounds! Overnight stay will be "almost" directly on the beach again ( sleeping-bag/sleeping mat / towel take place/ .... ) as well as everyone of other actions ! I don´t want to tell you all the details - have a look to the pics at our Homepage from 2000 ( http://www.rotaract-club-luebeck.de ) -- or believes us simple -- this weekend will be worth! You can book your place by email to stefan.wolf@rotaract.de - the announcement gets valid by the entrance of the payment of 45 EUR on ours account: Account holder: Stefan Wolf Account no.: 101 421 394 Bank No. 230 501 01 Bank: Sparkasse zu Lübeck Use: 2BW name Well: the countdown runs! Let´s go: -) We look forward to an insanity weekend with you -- to hot nights in Lübeck!
Stefan Wolf Vice DRR District 1940 Vice President of Rotaract Club Lübeck stefan.wolf@rotaract.de
This service was brought to you by E.R.I.C., the European Rotaract Information Center. Please visit our website at http://www.rotaract-eric.org and especially the webpage about our sponsors at http://www.rotaract-eric.org/sponsors. Service provided with the support of the European Community budget line "Support for international non-governmental youth organisations". Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by the organisation do not necessarily reflect the position of the European Commission, nor does it involve any responsibility on its part.