2012 12 eric newsletter 2013 01

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Newsle'er of the European Rotaract Informa6on Centre

December 2012

Rotary Global Peace Forum -‐ Peace without borders “What I really loved about this mee6ng is that it actually and deeply made me understanding the meaning of Sakuji Tanaka’s year mo'o “Peace through service”. The world needs our “New Genera6on” to learn to care about their neighbors’ na6ons, and to bring them help – whenever needed – together with peace and respect. (Veronica Bradaschia, Italy) When we were asked to write an ar6cle about the Rotary Global Peace Forum in Berlin, we did not really know where to start: Although it was just one weekend, so many amazing things happened and somehow all of us had a diﬀerent view on this weekend. Just to start with here some facts, what the Global Peace Forum was about: In line with Rotary’s 2012/2013 year theme “Peace through Service”, RI president Sakuji Tanaka invited Rotarians and members of the Rotarian family to three peace forums. The ﬁrst one took place in Berlin with more than 1000 Rotarians and around 150 Rotaractors.

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Berlin was chosen due to its vivid history; having a violent free, peaceful revolu6on that turned the wall down and changed Europe signiﬁcantly was just part of the recent history. Today Berlin is again a gate between East and West. The program consisted among others of speeches by interes6ng speakers like Rotary Interna6onal President Sakuji Tanaka or Dr. Bruce Aylward, Assistant Director-‐General Emergencies and Country Collabora6on (WHO), who gave us an insight into PolioPlus and how Rotary’s End Polio Now Program does its share for peace.

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Newsle'er of the European Rotaract Informa6on Centre

December 2012

One special focus during the whole Forum was also on the new Rotarian genera6on. As Sakuji Tanaka said: “The young people, they should just listen to us old, one third of their 6me, but we the old ones, we should listen two thirds of our 6me to what they have to say” In this way one of the three workshops was about New Genera6ons, definitely one of the highlights for Rotaractors: Laura, Michele and Herbert gave an insight into the truly European project “Rotaract Hearts to South Africa” that rose emo6ons with every par6cipant a'ending the workshop. Further this was the chance to present to around 200 to 300 Rotarians including RI President Sakuji Tanaka our own version of “peace without borders” by presen6ng the work of the European Rotaract Informa6on Centre. Doris talked about the huge variety of countries, people and projects that one can find in the E.R.I.C. Most Rotarians were really surprised by the fact that E.R.I.C. is the largest mul6district informa6on organiza6on in the world. Beside that, Rotary Youth Exchange presented themselves with around 20 exchange students from all over the world: “There would be no war in the world, if everybody goes on a youth exchange, I am friends with so many people from all over the world now” quote by one of the par6cipants. In addi6on, the marketplace was an awesome opportunity for Rotary and Rotaract Clubs from all over the world to present their projects. Beside a Rotaract table, where we handed out the two different issues of the E.R.I.C. newsle'er together with the news of Rotaract Germany, several posters of European Rotaract Clubs showed what Rotaract can do with its hands-‐on projects to make a huge posi6ve difference in other people’s life. This is also what Constanze (Past RDK chair) emphasized on when she was giving her speech on “Peace on the view of New Genera6ons”: “Commitment is what makes the difference between living together or living side by side.”

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For some of the Rotaractors another highlight, was the the chance to meet Rotaractors from all over the world. “Together we explored Berlin, visited a christmas-‐market, had dinners, danced all night long enjoying Berlin’s vibrant nightlife, developed new friendships, refreshed old ones and had ideas for new projects.

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Newsle'er of the European Rotaract Informa6on Centre

December 2012

We all made new friends, doesn’t ma'er if they were from Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Brazil or any other part of the world. Everyone realized what Rotaract is for us: Living the idea of peace through having friends all over the world.” (Oskar Brabanski, Germany) “Everything was great. Maybe, it seems stupid but what I liked most was to dance with 30 Rotaractors coming from diﬀerent countries embraced together that I didn't know just the day before. A magic thing... A true example of spontaneous friendship.” (Andrea Condo'a, Italy)

However, for our three representa6ves from Rotaract Hearts, the major highlight was probably on Sunday when they were awarded by Sakuji Tanaka with a hand-‐made Berlin Bear for having the best social project that was presented during the market place. “It was really memorable, and a crown on our work!” (Laura Verdegaal, The Netherlands) To sum it up, it was a great, memorable weekend that is hard to describe, one had to experience it by oneself. Greatest moments by Rotaractors:

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“The opportunity to talk to and bond with so many brilliant members of the Rotary family” (Tove Ragna, Norway)

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Newsle'er of the European Rotaract Informa6on Centre

December 2012

“The most memorable moment for me was at the end of our presenta6on during the workshop when the whole audience experienced applauding like deaf-‐mute people would applaud: (Michèle Samsom, The Netherlands) “What will Rotaractors do when RI President Sakuji Tanaka invites for one of the biggest RI events in Germany for more than 25 years? They follow and come to visit the first Rotary Global Peace Forum 2012/2013 in Berlin to help, learn and enjoy and even to promote Rotaract and encourage Rotarians like President Tanaka to support Rotaract (we had some s6cky moments*). At least since the “New Genera6ons Workshop” every Rotarian might know how powerful Rotaract is and what an enrichment we are. The 120 Rotaractors who joined the Forum did a great job, even the HOC is very thankful that they always could find a Rotaractor when help was needed. *s6cky moments = we prepared Rotaract Bu'ons which we glued on things like the suit of President Tanaka ;)” (Tobias Häcker, DRR 1940 and our main contact person during Global Peace Forum -‐ thanks for that, Tobias!) “The Rotary Global Peace Forum in Berlin once more showed that “Service above self” is a major part also in Rotaract: Rotaractors were not only involved in the organiza6on but could also present outstanding social projects next to those of Rotary. Another step in the right direc6on of communica6on on the same level between Old and Young.” (Herbert Pfeiffer, Austria)

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Johanna Vera Doris Laura

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Newsle'er of the European Rotaract Informa6on Centre

December 2012

We learned in Berlin… That the Peace Forum prepara6on takes several night shi;s

That the word „Peace“ is not countable

That Rotaract has been men6oned a lot…and some6mes not

That many European Rotaractors have been present

That the combina6on of RYLA and party is not good for your voice

That a picture of a group of Rotaractors together with RI General Secretary John Hewko could be taken – with some of the Rotaractors no6cing his presence just later when the picture is uploaded on Facebook....

That RI President Sakuji Tanaka didn’t seem to mind to have a “Ask me about Rotaract Club” s6cker on his suit during Gala Ball

That a big group living together needs more than one key

that 5 minutes before holding a presenta6on, your pulse rises, because you no6ce, that there are actually more people in the room than you expected

How heavy a Berlin Bear is – especially when you have to take him to the Netherlands

That a Berlin Bear can do a handstand

Who invented the RiVer Sport chocolate

That you always give standing ova6ons if someone gets rewarded a Paul-‐Harris-‐Fellow

How much feet can actually hurt

that a ﬂashmob should take longer

that 6mes on a handout should be correct ;)

that speeches some6mes can be inspiring…

that with the help of some Rotaractors you can make a whole room of Rotarians give a “silent applause”

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Newsle'er of the European Rotaract Informa6on Centre

December 2012

Dear Rotaractors, Berlin, one of the biggest city of Germany, was the scene of the Rotary “Global Peace forum” that was held from November 30th to December 2nd (www.rotary-‐peace-‐forum-‐berlin.de). Rotarians and Rotaractors from all over the world came to this historically magic city where official symbolic animal is a bear (a bear has adorned the city seal since 1280). All of them were supposed to explore the ideas and the reali6es of democracy. As the President of Rotary Interna6onal for the years 2012-‐2013 Mr Sakuji Tanaka said, the aVendees were engaged in building peace and in promo6ng the opportuni6es for all people for understanding and coopera6on. The main idea and the principle was that working together on common ac6vi6es may promote the peace when people can have the communica6ons to share problems and ideas. The existence of the inter-‐county commiVees (ICCs) may help in connec6ng Rotary club members and may help in shearing the Rotary mission through the world. I really enjoyed my 6me in visi6ng historical Berlin buildings and monuments by organized sightseeing tour of visi6ng famous Reichstag, Brandenburg gate, Berlin wall, Checkpoint Charlie, Postdam as the welcome Rotaract Brandenbureg Tor a;erwards I enjoyed my 6me in Global Peace forum through a number of fruieul presenta6ons, workshops, group discussions and evening friendships. The topics for sessions were focused on global peace as: “The role of the Rotary founda6on oas peace market”, “Rotary’s global peace centers and school of peace”, “Tes6mony of peace builders”, “Mediterranean peace ini6a6ve”, “The value of freedom and democracy for peace”, “ A future vision of peace” and “Berlin declara6on on peace”. As specific point was the remembering on Rotary's unsung polio effort which deserved the Nobel Peace Prize. published in „Wall Street Journal“. The book “My Rotary moment” experiences a number of Rotary defining moments and expressions of more than 80 former Presidents and current president of Rotary Interna6onal, Sakuji Tanaka. I feel highly appreciated receiving one sample with his signature. At the end I would like to thank to my Rotaract friends for kind hos6ng, thanks for wonderful friendship!

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Yours in Rotaract Hris6na Kocic D2483 Serbia

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Newsle'er of the European Rotaract Informa6on Centre

December 2012

Contents: Page 1 -‐ 2 -‐ 3 -‐ 4 -‐ 5 -‐ 6: News from Rotary Global Peace Forum in Berlin Page 7: CONTENTS R.E.M. candidates, Eu.Co. Rome and THe Shelterbox challenge: Page 8 -‐ 9: Poznan candidate for winter R.E.M. 2014 Page 10: Zagreb candidate for winter R.E.M. 2014 Page 11 -‐ 12: Interview with Francesco Danero, President of the Eu.Co. Rome H.O.C. Page 13: The Shelterbox challenge Country reports: Page 14 -‐ 15: Azerbaijan Page 16 -‐ 17: Belarus Page 18 -‐ 19 -‐ 20: Croa6a Page 21 -‐ 22: Cyprus Page 23 -‐ 24 -‐ 25 -‐ 26 -‐ 27: France, Andorra & Monaco Page 28 -‐ 29 -‐ 30: Germany Page 31 -‐ 32 -‐ 33 -‐ 34: Great Britain & Ireland Page 35 -‐ 36: Italy Page 37: The Netherlands Page 38 -‐ 39 -‐ 40: Portugal Page 41 -‐ 42 -‐ 43: Russia Page 44 -‐ 45 -‐ 46: San Marino Page 47: Serbia Page 48 -‐ 49: Switzerland-‐Liechtenstein Page 50 -‐ 51: Turkey

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Page 52: Upcoming events

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Newsle'er of the European Rotaract Informa6on Centre

December 2012

Rotaract Club of Poznan is a young, energe6c team that works dynamically for over 17 years. We are the only club in the whole Greater Poland state, however it's not about quan6ty but about the quality of our work. Our club operates at the highest level. In every project we put maximum dedica6on and our whole heart. Our club can boast a number of successful charity events, from the smaller, such as a collec6on of clothes and books to the needy, and a lot bigger ones, oqen taking place on a regular basis. A perfect example was last year's series of charity concerts "Spanish Noche". However we also try to develop our skills and deepen mutual 6es inside the club, because we are not just a group of people who interact, but we rather create a group of very good friends. Two years ago, the Rotaract Club of Poznan organized a na6onal conference that all par6cipants s6ll remember with a smile on their face. We are sure that the same would happen in case of REM. So far we did not have the opportunity to organize events on an interna6onal scale, so if it turns out that we can host REM in January 2014, we promise that this will be an unforge'able experience for all of you. Poznan is an ideal place for such an event! Poznan is one of the oldest and largest ci6es in Poland. It is the historical capital of Greater Poland state, where the Polish State was born more than 1000 years ago. Today, Poznan is an important center for trade, services, industry, culture, higher educa6on and science. It is also among the leading Polish ci6es in terms of its economy, it has the lowest unemployment rate in whole country. Poznan ranks ﬁqh among Polish ci6es in terms of popula6on. The city is inhabited by 552k people. In Poznan we combine passion with perseverance and crea6vity based on the highest standards. It is here where through a combina6on of entrepreneurship and skills develops a modern economy. Poznan not only knows how to deal with the global economy, but also how best to enjoy life to the world level.

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Poznan is simply a modern metropolis that combines the two poles, the energy of Eastern Europe with the style of Western Europe. The place where even the most ambi6ous projects have the best chance of success. This is conﬁrmed by major interna6onal spor6ng events, socio-‐economic, cultural and conferences, regularly organized by Poznan. 8

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Newsle'er of the European Rotaract Informa6on Centre

December 2012

In Poznan we know how to enjoy life. Poznan has the know-‐how. POZnan * the City of know-‐how! Julia Dudziak Vice-‐ President

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Rotaract Club of Poznań

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Newsle'er of the European Rotaract Informa6on Centre

December 2012

Rotaract European Mee6ng, Zagreb 2014 candidate

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A;er few interna6onal events that Croa6an Rotaract team has visited, on behalf of Rotaract Club Zagreb – Sesvete we are more than pleased to announce, to you, our candidacy for the Rotaract European Mee6ng in Zagreb in 2014. In the greatest hope that our applica6on will be fully voted during winter Rotaract European Mee6ng in Timisioara (Romania), the capital city of the Republic of Croa6a will pleasurably host this monumental event. The mee6ng would be held from 16 th 6ll 19 th of January 2014. Why Zagreb, Croa6a??? -‐ it has always been a central point which has merged Western and Eastern Europe -‐ according to the last official census of 2011 the total popula6on of Zagreb s wider metropolitan area was over one million inhabitants -‐ despite being the capital of Croa6a, District 1913, Zagreb is the largest city of the Republic, being the heart and the soul of the country -‐ it is the main cultural, economic, social and poli6cal center of the country -‐ is an acceding country of the European Union, expected to become the 28th member state of the EU on 1 July 2013 -‐ it is the city with a wild and crazy night life that will guaranteed be unforgeVable -‐ it is the town where you can marvel to a different types of world s architecture -‐ it has a large number of direct flights from all over the Europe to its middle sized airport only 10 kilometers distanced from the city centre -‐ it has eligible bus and train connec6ons from the neighboring countries -‐ it contains 7 beau6ful and amazing UNESCO des6na6on within the Croa6an border -‐it offers delicious food and several different types of local cuisine you will long for once you return home -‐ it has mul6ple temp6ng coffee bars, restaurants, museums, art galleries, nature parks with lakes... -‐ it is the city of mee6ng and friendship and is therefore ideal for the conference as REM where a posi6ve energy that spreads throughout the world of Rotaract would have been shown We will make sure all the Rotaractors will have the great 6me here!!! We hope for you to visit the Facebook Fan Page because we have made for you to see all the informa6on you need to know! hVp://www.facebook.com/ RemZagreb2014 Welcome to the city with a million hearts!!! Two new Rotaract clubs in Croa6a – Zadar and Dubrovnik Rotaract in Croa6a is proud to say that there are two new clubs in Croa6a. Rotaract club Zadar had its charter in 2000, but stopped with its ac6vi6es in 2005. A;er seven years of silence they started with their mee6ngs. Rotaract club Dubrovnik is the newest 9th club in Croa6a. They already had a greatproject “Rotaract open”, tennis tournament, including famous tennis players. With their raised money, they helped to the Muscular dystrophy Associa6on for the disabled children. They will have their charter in 2013. We wish them great new start and they have our full support ☺

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Newsle'er of the European Rotaract Informa6on Centre

December 2012

Marke&ng Team meets Francesco Danero

Francesco, as DDR in District 2080, you have big deals to front everyday: Lazio & Sardegna are linked by airlines or by sea, no other faster way to reach one of the two. How do you manage your duEes between Rotaract in Sardegna, in Rome, in Lazio, your private life & work? How would you describe your (and your District’s) relaEonship with Rotary and Rotarians? Being DRR of D2080 is quite incompa6ble with private life or work. With about 800 Rotaractors, 42 Clubs to visit, about 7 conferences at a district level, 5 conferences at a mul6-‐district level in Italy, and 3 interna6onal events (REMs and of course EUCO), plus the par6cipa6on to the most important a6vi6es at the Club level, being the DRR of one of the most ac6ve Districts in the world is almost a full 6me job. But, of course, I wouldn’t change my District with any other. Our rela6onship with Rotary and Rotarians is wonderful. All this wouldn’t be possible without their support, nonetheless we try to be as autonomous as we can, because our district Rotaract organisa6on is very structured, being made of more than 50 people, that I would like to thank for their work for Rotaract. Tell me something about the Friendship Conference you use to held in Sardegna every year in September. Is that an important part of your idenEty as a District, despite of the distance? Are there any other parEcular chances to meet during the year?

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Yes, the so called Friendship Conference is an old tradi6on in our District that we like to renew every year. As the name suggests, this conference is important for establishing and fostering friendship within Clubs and members in the District. This year the Friendship Conference has been held in Sardinia (Villasimius), which is the perfect loca6on for a… summer breakout in september!

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Newsle'er of the European Rotaract Informa6on Centre

December 2012

Is there a parEcular 'moPo' or service which inspire your District? The mo'o I’ve choosen for our District for this year is “Another Purpose in Life”, because that’s what I believe Rotaract can give to new genera6ons. Do u have any other project to make together with ERIC or some of european projects which you would like to propose in Rome, Lazio on in Sardegna? As a district community service project we will improve students facili6es of a university in the area of Rome. You ﬁnd the project on Rotary Showcase under the name of Rotaract On Campus. Any contribu6ons are more than welcome. Tell us something about the next EUCO in Rome. Everybody is very excited about it.

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We aim to make EUCO 2013 unforge'able, also because it’s the 25 anniversary of ERIC and because it’s the 45th anniversary of Rotaract. Finding the right arrangements to make the EUCO in Rome, which is certainly not a cheap city, it has truly been a kind of miracle. I’m also proud to announce that we have received conﬁrma6on, based upon the number of partecipants, from our loca6on for the Gala Dinner and Ball: we’re gonna be at the Cavalieri Hilton Rome, part of the Waldorf Astoria Collec6on, a 5 star (luxury) hotel located on the most panoramic hill of Rome. We aim to accomodate 1.500 Rotaractors for dinner, or maybe more.

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Newsle'er of the European Rotaract Informa6on Centre

December 2012

My interna9onal experience with Rotaract. THE SHELTERBOX CHALLENGE The first weekend of September, I went to Amsterdam to par6cipate in the ShelterBox Challenge. This was my first interna6onal event, and it is a very good way to meet new people and gain more knowledge about Rotaract while promo6ng a charity project. Some of my teammates had the privilege of taking a day off Friday, so they could spend a day in Amsterdam before the event, while others of us arrived late in the a;ernoon. Friday evening was a social event while teams from all over Europe had a chance to arrive and get signed up. The real event started Saturday morning and the only thing we had heard from previous event was, that each team had to carry a ShelterBox around Amsterdam. A ShelterBox is a large green box, so it is a good eye catcher but it can be really difficult to carry around in a crowded city on a Saturday. First challenge was puvng up the ShelterBox tent, and my team won this challenge. The rest of the day was individual challenges, at posts around Amsterdam, about knowledge, teamwork, crea6vity and promo6on of ShelterBox. Throughout the day we had no idea how our team was doing, but the clock was 6cking and there was a 6meframe to finish as many posts as possible and gain as many points as possible. At the end of the day we got the midway results, and my team s6ll had a chance of winning the challenge. In the evening there was again a social event and the teams had a chance to discuss the various post and how each team had been dealing with the different challenges. On Sunday all teams were figh6ng against each other, but the physical strength was put to the limit a;er a long challenging Saturday. A;er lunch, everybody had a chance to ask ques6ons to the founder of ShelterBox, and a price was given to the best three teams. It was now the 6me to go home a;er an exci6ng weekend with new friends.

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Jakob Eg Pedersen – Sct. Alban Odense Rotaract -‐ Denmark

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Newsle'er of the European Rotaract Informa6on Centre

December 2012

Rotaract in Azerbaijan Country Representa6ve: Fa6ma Agasiyeva

AZERBAIJAN With Baku Trips 2011 and 2012, holding annual trips to our country has become a good tradi6on of Rotaract Club of Baku. This year’s trip was dedicated to the anniversary of our club. We turned 10 years old. So, to celebrate this happiest occasion we decided to gather all our Rotaractor friends in Baku – sunny and warm capital of Azerbaijan. Rotaractors from all over the world – Russia, Kirghizstan, Turkey and Italy honored us by their visits. We tried hard to make sure that this year’s trip had even more diverse and interes6ng program than last year’s and we did it! Sightseeing, Old Town and museum tours, clubbing, beach 6me, delicious food and much more – we stuck to the program no maVer what and neither broiling sun nor rain could stop us. And to wrap it all a very special Gala dinner was organized -‐ we decided to change the format a liVle and given popularity of recent Eurovision ceremony held in Baku, had Eurovision contest of our own :) We would like to thank those who made it to Baku and hope to bring more Rotaractors around the world to our wonderful country again! Azerbaijan -‐ land of ﬁre, good music, ancient history, delicious cuisine and hospitable people will be wai6ng for you! Follow our news on: Our oﬃcial website: hVp://www.rotaract.az

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Facebook: hVp://www.facebook.com/pages/Rotaract-‐Club-‐of-‐Baku

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Newsle'er of the European Rotaract Informa6on Centre

December 2012

AZERBAIJAN

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Newsle'er of the European Rotaract Informa6on Centre

December 2012

Rotaract in Belarus Country Representa6ve: Ulyana Stoma

BELARUS Rotaract FIRST TRIP IN BELARUS!

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It is not an overstatement to say that Rotaract is not only service for the benefit of society or just volunteering. Each member of Rotaract can say that one of the fundamental elements of this organiza6on is communica6on: communica6on within your club and with members of Rotaract clubs in other countries, any contacts with spiritually close people, even if they are far away geographically. It is interweaving of different languages, cultures, customs and tradi6ons what makes Rotaractors around the world par6cipate in so-‐called "trips" organized by Rotaractors for other Rotaractors. April 6th was a long-‐expected date for all members of the Belarusian Rotaract clubs. On this date Rotaract mini-‐trip under the modest name ‘’WeekendTrip Minsk Cit’’ had its start. Mini trip was organized by the guys from RAC Minsk City and RAC Minsk Ratusha, who showed their serious and responsible avtude to organiza6on of such project in Belarus. That fact once again confirmed diligence and ini6a6ve of the Belarusian Rotaract clubs, despite their small number. The idea of organizing the project came from the members of RAC Minsk City when planning celebra6on of the 7th birthday of the club. Since Minsk Rotaractors used to celebrate this event somehow every year, it was decided to celebrate another birthday with friends from other clubs. Total number of arrived guests – 18 people – was an evidence of the event being long-‐awaited not only for the organizers, but for all par6cipants. The organizers decided not to deny any of those wishing to come to Minsk, and found the opportunity to host all the par6cipants. Most of the guests were representa6ves of Rotaract clubs from neighboring countries, including Ukraine, Poland, Georgia, Russia and Lithuania. Weekend Trip was opened by a fascina6ng tour around Minsk. First mee6ng point was city central square, where guests could get symbolic souvenirs and booklets with informa6on about the city. Rotaract tourists visited some significant places of the capital: old part of the city – the Trinity Suburb, lower town, storing unusual legends, and also saw the Na6onal Theatre of Opera and Ballet and one of the modern aVrac6ons of the city – the Na6onal Library. Although all the par6cipants were a bit 6red a;er the tour, Minsk Rotaractors prepared the program that was hard to refuse. In the evening all the guests went to the night club, where they got a chance to become members of Police Academy, which was the theme of the party.

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Newsle'er of the European Rotaract Informa6on Centre

December 2012

BELARUS

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Next day a tour and a walk in the countryside museum complex Dudutki were planned. Three-‐hour explora6on of ancient poVery, blacksmith and woodworking shops, intricacies of weaving and straw braiding, tas6ng of tradi6onal food and drinks, horse riding – all of these looks more like a trip to the historic Belarus than the usual tour. Overfilled with posi6ve emo6ons, par6cipants of the Trip set off to the next des6na6on – celebra6on point for RAC Minsk City birthday. The place was chosen not by chance, since ut was a country house, where, away from all, the guests and organizers of the Trip could feel solidarity and strengthen their friendship. There was a feeling that the party was not going to stop 6ll morning light: numerous gi;s and presents from different countries, interes6ng contests, auc6ons with lots of surprises from Minsk Rotaractors, and of course, dance-‐dance-‐dance un6l the sunrise... Culmina6on of the party was the signing of twinship agreement with Rotaract Club Kyiv-‐Center, which has already become congenial by spirit for the guys from RAC Minsk City, and acted as partner in some joint ac6ons and projects. How sad it wouldn’t be, the 6me of farewells always comes sooner or later. But, fortunately, Minsk Rotaractors don’t have to be sad for so long. Weekend Trip launched new line of projects for Minsk Rotaract clubs, which have plans to make the same trip next year. Let us hope that such "Belarusian" Trip will become a good tradi6on, and a growing number of Rotaract clubs from different countries will visit Minsk and will touch not much known Belarus. Well, the guys from Rotaract Minsk City and Rotaract Minsk Ratusha, no doubt, will help them with that! So as soon as we know the details about the next Weekend Trip, we will let you know.

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December 2012

Rotaract in Croa6a Country Representa6ve: Julija Turk

CROATIA

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Dear friends, I would like to say hello to everybody and say that Croa6a is more into Rotaract ac6vi6es this year and it makes me very happy! There are three main things that we are very proud of; two interna6onal projects – Croa6a Trip 2013, REM Zagreb 2014 candidature, and reac6va6on of Rotaract club Zadar and funding of Rotaract club Dubrovnik. Croa6a Trip 2013 The first Croa6an Trip will be organized by Rotaract clubs in Rotary District 1913 with the primary objec6ve of introducing eight Rotaractors all over the world to Croa6an culture through an insider-‐led Croa6an experience. They have all the support from Rotary clubs in the District 1913. The trip will be held at the end of August 2013, with the dura6on of eleven days. The program was put together very carefully to include the major number of sightseeing aVrac6ons in Croa6a and of course all the Rotaract clubs from Croa6a will be involved in organiza6on to make par6cipant’s stay as much pleasant as possible: Osijek, Zagreb, Varaždin, Rijeka, Zadar, Split, Dubrovnik. Eight interna6onal guests will experience, through visits to the land marks of the country, the Croa6an land, the people, the culture the food the drinks.... and bring home beau6ful and unique memories. This will also create the opportunity to discus Rotaract and how can they improve it even more. Get in close contact with wonderful Rotaract friends and establish friendships that will last for a life6me. And have fun ☺ Of course, all the details from the trip will be able to see on the web site; but to give you a small insight: You all will meet in Zagreb, and spend the day there. The next day you will go to Varaždin, you will see the castle of Trakošćan and the Neanderthal Museum of Krapina. The third day – the swim suit!! Because we are taking you to the Na6onal Park of Plitvička Jezera where you will see beau6ful magical lakes, waterfall and spend a nice day there. In the next two days, you will spend some 6me in Rijeka, Pula, Poreč, Rovinj, Motovun and Hum, have lunch in one of the many typical taverns, and on the way back we’ll stop in Opa6ja. The fi;h day is party 6me at the island of Pag! You will be at the a;er beach party at the one of the most famous “a;er par6es” in Europe – Zrće. The next day, you will visit Zadar, and the next morning we’ll be hivng the road again this 6me in the direc6on of Split where we’ll spend the whole day in sightseeing and relaxing. Day eight, in the a;ernoon, a;er a good night sleep we will drive in the direc6on of Dubrovnik. We’ll have a tour of the city and a night out. The next day is dedicated to the visit of the islands of Elafi6 and some 6me for relax. Day ten will be our last day, we’ll be driving back to Zagreb where you’ll catch your plane or stay one more night with us. Croa6a Trip team is looking forward to seeing YOU in Croa6a in summer 2013! ☺

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December 2012

CROATIA

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December 2012

CROATIA

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December 2012

Rotaract in Cyprus Country Representa6ve: Elena Aro6

CYPRUS SMALLER WORLD Smaller world was the inspira6on and ini6a6ve of Rotaract Club of Alexandria East. It is a Mega Twinning between 5 Rotaract Clubs. Rotaract Alexandria East, Rotaract Nicosia Aspelia, Rotaract Club of Moscow East, Rotaract Club of Las Americas and Rotaract Club of Manila Metro. This twinning has as its purpose to build fraternal 6es and interna6onal goodwill by overcoming na6onal, cultural, and linguis6c barriers. The objec6ve of this Mega Twinning between several clubs of different cultures from all around the world under the slogan “A Smaller World” is to exchange views and experiences so that rotaractors and our communi6es can be offered the benefit of interna6onal collabora6on, as they work towards the shared goals of developing leaders and fostering global. Every month the clubs take turns and celebrate one country of the agreement in the way they believe it is most suitable. A;er the celebra6on, each club has to send a “culture box” reflec6ng the culture of the club, to the country being celebrated. Addi6onally, the twin clubs prepare projects to support and celebrate an interna6onal day every month such as children’s day and animal’s day. Finally, all clubs will meet in a Mini Conference in Alexandria in May. First Country to be celebrated was Cyprus: Rotaract clubs played tradi6onal Cypriot games, danced tradi6onal dances, ate Cypriot food and visited the Cypriot embassy in their country.

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Smaller World is a great example of how Rotaract can unite diﬀerent cultures and promote interna6onality among its members!

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December 2012

CYPRUS

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December 2012

Rotaract in France, Andorra and Monaco Country Representa6ve: Hana Ramšak

FRANCE Rotaract clubs Cotonou centre, Accra, Lomé and Strasbourg for the same cause… In June 2011, a dozen of members and friends of Rotaract Club Strasbourg were reunited in order to charge collected eﬀects from February 2011 un6l mid May. Through the generous dona6ons of many individuals, the Rotaract Strasbourg was able to collect a large number of eﬀects (books, clothing, toys, shoes, bicycles, school supplies, etc.) in order to help communi6es in three countries of West Africa: Benin, Ghana and Togo. Various companies have also responded to this humanitarian ac6on and solidarity, such as Clairefontaine, Eils, Gemo and Stradim Kleber. For this project to succeed, the Rotaract Club Strasbourg organized a large charity event in May at the Hilton hotel in Strasbourg. Seventy people aVended and answered the call to support the project, while having a good 6me. That evening, under the sign of the interac6on and sharing, helped to raise over 2000 euros in dona6ons and pledges. This money supported to send a container in the month of June to the West Africa.

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Among other things, 324 packages including nearly 5000 books, 1500 pieces of school furniture and more than 4000 clothes, were charged and delivered to Lomé in Togo.

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December 2012

FRANCE

Through this collec6on, Rotaract Club Strasbourg decided to support the associa6on Illusafrica-‐TOGO Lomé, which has set up a mobile library for the ﬁght against illiteracy, as well as to help local popula6on of Benin, Ghana and Togo, countries with great poverty.

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Few weeks later, in July, Rotaractors from Strasbourg went to the capital of Togo on their own ini6a6ve and by their own means to complete the work they started a year before. The objec6ve was to receive the container and to distribute the content with local Rotaractors from Rotaract Lomé, Cotonou (Benin) and Accra (Ghana). During their stay, they visited an orphanage Cador, a beneﬁt of the project Akwaba, where they have also met the founder, Dorcas Pkondoh and her liVle protégés.

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December 2012

FRANCE The members have visited the Mobile Library, which a young adult writer Komlan Abalo Folly mounted under the aegis of the Associa6on Illustrafica Togo, a recipient of the books collected. In addi6on, they went to the mountain region of Agou, just a few hours with a bush taxi from Lomé, to meet twenty volunteers who came also from Alsace. The laVer, members of the Alsa6an Associa6on "Small Bridge to Togo" were in the area to help finish the construc6on of a college. However, the ship carrying the container arrived at the port of Lomé with a few days of delay. The Rotaractors of Strasbourg had to leave Lomé without having 6me to ensure the distribu6on. In the month of August, the Rotaract Club Lomé Doyen, one of the club project partners took the responsibility to make the necessary arrangements to bring the container from the port. Nevertheless, because of the long administra6ve procedures the container could not be out of the harbor before November. The Rotaract Club of Strasbourg, Accra and Lomé had to collect addi6onal funds to pay the customs fees and demurrage charges as they were higher than expected. On December 3rd, the Rotaract Lomé Doyen and Accra Labone were able to finally make the first distribu6on collected by officially delivering to Komlan Abalo Folly from the Mobile Library and to the founder of the orphanage CADOR, Dorcas Pkondoh, several packages.

IN THE HEART OF EUROPE …

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Rotaract club of Strasbourg, founded in 1972, with its 18 ac6ve members is a very dynamic club, with many interna6onal members and visitors as one of the biggest interna6onal universi6es in France allows many foreign students to join. I joined Rotaract Strasbourg while studying there. I did not speak French at the 6me but that was not a problem at all. Their understanding and open mindedness helped me to integrate easily and learn French in a very short period. I was amazed by the team spirit, high values and mo6va6on they expressed. From the 6me I joined the club un6l now, we worked hard but it was a work we were all looking for.

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December 2012

FRANCE All the projects we worked on connected us more deeply and that is because we never forget to involve every member in the project. Strengthening 6es makes our team very successful what we have proved also on the na6onal level by receiving two Hermès awards for the best Na6onal project and for the best communica6on. In the last year, a;er the Akwaba, we supported among others many associa6ons in projects such as Food Bank and Telethon, associa6ons as “Pe6ts Frères des pauvres” (LiVle poor brothers, a humanitarian associa6on for people-‐ primarily over 50 y.o.-‐ suﬀering from loneliness, poverty, exclusion and serious diseases), Shelterbox, children from DASS, the founda6on Restavek, etc. In June 2012 we organized a football tournament to support the NGO Eau sans fron6ères (water without borders) which the raised 2000 euro were used to ﬁnance the raising of the barrage of Gaskaye, located 35 km from Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso, in order to increase the capacity of the reservoir for the development of irrigated agriculture and also for the use of local residents.

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Besides humanitarian and social projects, Rotaract Strasbourg always help its members to develop their leadership skills by par6cipa6ng each year in one of the Na6onal RYLA and by organizing conferences and Weekends of Coordina6on. Being in the centre of the Europe gave us an idea to organize a conference "Europe of the Regions: what reality, what future?” with respeceul guests: the Mayor of Strasbourg, M. Roland Ries, M. Chauvet, the Execu6ve Secretary of the Chamber of Regions of the Congress and Ms. Lasalle, the Professor at the IEP. On the Rotaract Na6onal level we were also honored to invite all French Rotaractors to come to this beau6ful European city and spend with us an unforgeVable Weekend of Coordina6on which was for all of us a big success.

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December 2012

FRANCE The district 1680-‐ Alsace-‐ Franche Comté consists of three Rotaract clubs: Rotaract Besançon Lacoré, Rotaract Colmar and Rotaract Strasbourg. In the future we are hoping to reinvigorate the bonds with other clubs in the region as well as with Rotaract Karlsruhe which was our twin club a long 6me ago and perhaps to join our forces on the district and on the interna6onal level.

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Meeting with Rotaract Karlsruhe and Rotex Taiwan in Strasbourg, March 2012-‐11-‐30

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December 2012

Rotaract in Germany Country Representa6ve: Johanna Bischoﬀ & Vera Duisdieker

GERMANY Germany goes InternaDonal – 5 Diﬀerent Views on InternaDonality in Rotaract Germany By Johanna Bischoﬀ and Vera Duisdieker (CRs Germany)

Rotaract itself is interna6onal. And Rotaract Germany? Well, it is, too. On all E.R.I.C. events of the last years, German Rotaractors have been present. But they travelled even farther, and so the German ﬂag was shown also at the RI Conven6ons of the last years and the Interrota in Egypt, as well as in many other regional events all over the world. But this is only one aspect of interna6onal Rotaract in Germany. We tried to gather diﬀerent views on that topic to give an impression of how interna6onality is lived in the German districts.

Club: Interna&onal Rotaract Clubs

In Germany we have – apart from the interna6onal members in “normal” clubs – two especially interna6onal Rotaract Clubs: RAC Munich Interna6onal (founded in 2002, has currently 22 members from 5 countries) and RAC Frankfurt Interna6onal (in founda6on since 2012, 50% of the members having an interna6onal background). Both are English speaking clubs.

Trip: Rotaract GermanTrip 2013

Inspired by Rotaract trips around the world, we – 6 mo6vated Rotaractors from all over Germany are organizing a 12-‐day German Trip between Munich and Hamburg at the end of June 2013. The trip will provide transporta6on, shelter and food for 14 Rotaractors from non-‐German clubs for an aﬀordable price. Star6ng with a Rotaract Charter party in Mainz, we will show the par6cipants beau6ful and interes6ng ci6es like Heidelberg, Dresden, Berlin and Cologne and sights like Schloss Neuschwanstein. Between sightseeing and get-‐togethers with German Rotaractors, they will have 6me to explore what it means to live in Germany. Our aim is to promote interna6onal understanding, to make friends and to get to know other cultures and tradi6ons. Interested candidates will be able to apply in February. For more informa6on, visit our website hVp://germantrip.rotaract.de/ and follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/RotaractGermantrip.

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(GauDer Brunet, RAC Bremen, D1850)

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December 2012

GERMANY Event: Rotaract Deutschland Konferenz (DeuKo) in Eckernförde

Have you ever heard of the DEUKO? No? Then it’s deﬁnitely 6me for that. With about 850 par6cipants, the Deutschland Konferenz is the biggest Rotaract event in Germany. From April 12th to April 14th, 2013, the Rotaract Club Eckernförde welcomes guests from all over the country in the small 22.000-‐inhabitants-‐city in the North of Germany. During the plenum sessions on Saturday and Sunday, resolu6ons will be passed, pe66ons will be discussed and the new Rotaract Germany CommiVee (RDK) will be elected, as well as the “BestAct”, the award for outstanding Rotaract social projects in Germany. On the Welcome Party on Friday night, right in front of Eckernförde’s harbour you’ll meet old friends, get to know new people and enjoy a great Rotaract party. On Saturday evening, a fes6vely gala ball will start in a 1600 square meter tent right at the beach with delicious food and great music and an amazing ocean view. The prepara6ons have already started and many Rotaractors signed in to be part of the DEUKO. Of course, interna6onal guests are very welcome to enjoy this weekend with us. More informa6on is available on www.deuko.de. (Lea Blümel, RAC Eckernförde, D1890)

Project: “Cooking for Peace -‐ The Way to a Na&on‘s Heart ♥ is through its Stomach” Rotaract Clubs Bremen (Germany) and Galatasaray (Turkey) started this project as a result of their first ac6vi6es on their way to becoming Twin Clubs (see our blog hVp://thetwinclubexperiment.blogspot.de): Dinner Challenges – exchanging tradi6onal recipes, and preparing the dishes while following each other via a Skype video call. The difficulty is raised every 6me. With “Cooking for Peace” we want to share these recipes and add some other European ones, which we plan to collect with a “Call for Recipes” to E.R.I.C. member districts, hoping to receive many for gevng a big variety. Interested clubs send us a recipe from the categories “Snacks & Starters”, “Main Courses (incl. Side Dishes)”, “Desserts“ and „Drinks“, we check them and chose the best. The chosen clubs fill out a short ques6onnaire about their club, their country and their main projects and this informa6on will be inserted in the book together with their recipe – this way people cooking from the book will learn also about the other cultures. Some of the recipes will also be on our blog. The book will be published in 6me for the EuCo in Rome, where – among other places – it shall be sold. The raised money from the book sale is going to be used to support at least one project, which helps giving food to people in need, in Bremen and/or Istanbul. In January Rotaractors from Istanbul will visit Bremen, so we can actually cook together and move our project forward!

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(Johanna Bischoﬀ, RAC Bremen, D1850)

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December 2012

GERMANY Foreign Experience: Visi&ng Rotaract Accra (Ghana)

This July, I did my medical elec6ve in urology at the Korle-‐Bu university hospital of Accra. What do you do, when you’re in a foreign city for a significant period of 6me? Exactly, you look for similar-‐minded Rotaractors! I was able to get contact details of local Rotaractors from the German Country Representa6ves. Upon gevng in touch with them, I was immediately invited to the office handover of four Rotaract Clubs in Accra. To throw a Rotaract party in Germany, you need to have a lot of things planned and generally a lot of money too. In Africa it’s different. There, in order for around 100 Rotaractors to have a good party, it’s enough to have a large garden, two barbeque machines, a good DJ, five large speakers and three large crates of drinks. A;er the official 10 minute ceremony, there were 5 hours of dancing and laughter, and I was forced to conclude that white people can’t dance. That may also have been, however, because I was the only white person there. I spent most of my 6me with members of the Rotaract Club of Adentan (ROCA) in Accra. The mee6ngs always began with a prayer, songs and games. To join a mee6ng, everyone had to pay around 50 cents for an entrance 6cket. That money goes towards the club fund. At the end of the mee6ng, if you’ve joined in the Tombola, you can win a packet of biscuits. The mee6ng itself is much more formal than all the fun described above. When someone wants to say something, they have to open with the standard jargon: dear president, dear rotaracters, dear guests. Only then they are allowed to take the floor and make a point. Almost everyone member has a Rotaract flag in his car and is very proud to be a part of the Rotaract family. I had a great 6me with the Rotaract Club of Adentan, Accra, and would recommend everyone go and visit a club in a foreign country at some point!

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(Nicolas von Landenberg, RAC Germering, D1840)

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December 2012

Rotaract in Great Britain and Ireland Country Representa6ve: Michael Ziedins Vanuatu Literacy Project – Rotaract Club of Pupuke, District 9910 – December 2008

GREAT BRITAIN

Dana Voysey DRR District 1130 – 2012-‐13 “The literacy rate of Vanuatu is 71%, the worst in the paciﬁc, and during my year as District Governor I would like to something to improve this.” Our Rotaract club heard this in mid 2008 from the incoming District Governor of Rotary District 9910, of which Vanuatu is a part. As the incoming Interna6onal Oﬃcer of Pupuke Rotaract I decided that this would be our interna6onal project for the 2008-‐2009 year. Through the

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District Governor I was given the contact name for the Rotary Club of Espirtu Santo, which is named a;er the island it is based on, in the north of Vanuatu. The idea was that a group from our club would travel to Vanuatu with suitcases full of books and learning materials and ship up any addi6onal materials we had gathered to be there for our arrival. I contacted a local travel agent who had helped Rotary in the past and obtained quotes for flights and cheap hotels before presen6ng the proposal to my Rotaract club. I immediately had 4 members of our club, plus a few more friends and family (including my parents) booked onto flights for 3-‐10 December 2008. Over the next few months we worked to collect books and fundraise for the project, including selling cookies at a local market. Luckily one of the team had spare garage space as the dona6ons quickly piled up. We sorted through these to determine the most appropriate items to take and divided what we could between those flying up. Shortly before we le; we had a couple of strokes of fortune -‐ the Rotary club in Vanuatu had found a village that was willing to host us for a few days and a book company had given us 22 pallets of books. We unfortunately didn’t have 6me to ship all of the books before we le;, so the plan changed slightly to forge a beVer rela6onship with the Rotary club in Vanuatu and ensure they could distribute the books once delivered.

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The 3rd December came around quickly and we were soon in the humid heat of Port Vila, wai6ng for our second ﬂight up to Espirtu Santo. The local airline didn’t want to take the extra 10kg the travel agency had arranged for us, un6l we men6oned the name Ruben Lini – the contact at our host Rotary club turned out to be one of the heads of customs and import of Vanuatu.

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GREAT BRITAIN

December 2012

IRELAND

On arriving on Espirtu Santo we stayed in Loganville, a town with a popula6on of 10,000 and the largest on the island. A;er a day of relaxing and tas6ng the fruits of the local market we were the honoured guests of the Rotary club, gevng to the mee6ng sivng in the back tray of a u6lity truck – the common way of travel around the island. The next a;ernoon we were bouncing over a pot-‐holed dusty road for 1 ½ hours up to the town of Kole (popula6on 200) – our home for the next four days being greeted with flower leis and coconut drinks and were split out, with 1-‐2 of us living with each family. We ate with our family – tradi6onal fruits and vegetables combined with peanut buVer and white breads that had been introduced by visi6ng American soldiers during WWII. We put on a mini school holiday programme for the children with ‘Duck, Duck, Goose’ being a firm favourite game. We helped the elders write school policies and discussed the problems the village faced. On our last night a feast was held in our honour and we shared songs and laughter. Unfortunately most of our group were having stomach problems and one of the girls wasn’t gevng beVer so half the village bundled her into the village van (one of only two vehicles) and whisked her to the hospital in Loganville. On the final day visited the gorgeous ‘Shark Bay’ for a picnic with the en6re village. At the far end of the idyllic palm fringed beach was a crystal clear spring, only an hour’s walk from Kole. It emphasised the fact that although the village didn’t have a lot of money, they had a huge wealth of natural resources and fer6le land to grow all the food they needed. Interven6ons of modern technology into their life didn’t seem posi6ve – the new concrete houses sweltered in the heat, the DVD player was broken and required energy from a generator, which was difficult to find diesel for and many of the introduced food such as sweets and peanut buVer weren’t helping their rovng teeth. Leaving the village I had mixed emo6ons – it had been a massive learning experience for myself and I hoped that we had been a posi6ve outside influence to the village, but it was difficult to know what they really needed. They seemed so happy in their life and had most necessi6es readily available. The latest reports show that Vanuatu is one of the happiest countries in the world – perhaps we are the ones who need help from them.

She originally hails from New Zealand,

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Dana Voysey is current DRR (2012 - 13) for District 1130. Rotaract Club of Pupuke, District 9910.

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GREAT BRITAIN

December 2012

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December 2012

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December 2012

Rotaract in Italy Country Representa6ve: Cecilia Garrone

ITALY “ROTARACT AND UNICEF FOR WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN AFGHANISTAN” ITALIAN NATIONAL SERVICE PROJECT

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Being a rotaractor means having the great chance to share anywhere in the world with other thousands of young people similar experiences and same rotarian values. This is the reason why every year, each Interna6onal Commitee give rise to twinning projects, promote the youth exchange programs, encourage the par6cipa6on to interna6onal trips or even decide to create new ones! But this is only one side of interna6onality. There is also another aspect of our great rotarian family: we can join our forces and create new kinds of interac6ons. This is exactly what all Italian Districts did this year, suppor6ng a wonderful brand new project: “Rotaract and UNICEF for women and children in Afghanistan”. In Afghanistan 1.400 mothers die every 100.000 deliveries, because of the lack of transporta6ons, communica6ons, hospitals, obstetricians and so on. These condi6ons bring 9 out of 10 women to give birth at home, without qualified personnel. Infant mortality is also very high: 134 out of 1.000 children die in the first year of life, 199 out of a 1.000 before the age of 5 years, due to neonatal complica6ons, measles, diarrhea, acute respiratory illness, malaria and malnutri6on. These alarming numbers led Rotaract and UNICEF to intervene together in the Afghan province of Daikundi, where 477.544 people live scaVered over a mountainous area with poor roads and lack of availability of drinking water and electricity; where rates of maternal and neonatal mortality, prevalence of diarrhea, pneumonia and malnutri6on are among the highest in the whole Country. UNICEF already supports a network of 39 public medical clinics and 226 village health post allowing each to have two community health workers, a man and a woman, prepared to deal with health educa6on and capable of providing basic medicines for about 100 families. Rotaract will collaborate with UNICEF in the implementa6on of this program by enhancing its effec6veness. In par6cular, Rotaract will support: -‐ Training of 20 health workers, including doctors, nurses and obstetricians; -‐ One year wages for two trained obstetricians; -‐ Supply of essen6al medicines and equipment (as instrumenta6ons for nutri6on and growth control, stethoscopes, doses of iron and folic acid for anemia in pregnancy and early childhood, zinc tablets, stocks of an6bio6cs etc…) Rotaract may avail itself of UNICEF staff already present in the area that will provide prac6cal implementa6on of the project, to monitor and document the results. At the end of the project will be provided with a detailed accoun6ng of all purchases and will also occur through government data improvements in the medical health care in the districts touched by our service. Moreover the YOUNICEF, an ac6ve network of about 500 boys and girls volunteers for UNICEF in more than 40 Italian provinces, was made available to support Rotaract in the development of this projects all over Italy connected to the service in Afghanistan.

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Newsle'er of the European Rotaract Informa6on Centre

December 2012

ITALY

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Thanks to this coopera6on, Italian Rotaract has the opportunity to work with one of the most important associa6ons at the interna6onal level, UNICEF, and mostly to make a valuable contribu6on in an area of the world which is inaccessible for almost all chari6es, because of the high rate of aVacks s6ll ongoing in that territory. In addi6on, Italian Rotaract can improve the health system of an en6re Country whose authori6es have commiVed themselves to take responsibility for the economic maintenance of the medical staff size with our help. Therefore, the effects of our interven6on will last in 6me and benefit local communi6es.

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Newsle'er of the European Rotaract Informa6on Centre

December 2012

Rotaract in The Netherlands Country Representa6ve: Laura Verdegaal

THE NETHERLANDS Assembly: Model United Na6ons Rotaract the Netherlands organises their annual Assembly on the 2nd of February, 2013. And you are invited! This year, in line with the Rotary’s year theme Peace through Service, they present you a mini-‐Model United Na6ons (MUN). You will play the role of a diplomat and represent a na6on, a NGO or a commi'ee. Your task is to inves6gate interna6onal issues, debate, deliberate consult and come to resolu6ons concerning contemporary global issues, like the European debt crisis, environmental ma'ers, human rights and up-‐to-‐ date crisis situa6ons, in the Security Council. If you are interested in obtaining a be'er understanding of the United Na6ons, and you are not afraid to debate the point of view of a country concerning interna6onal aﬀairs, we hope to welcome you at our Assembly in the Netherlands.

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The details: When: February 2nd, 2013 Where: Breukelen More informa&on and registra&on: info@rotaract.nl

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December 2012

Rotaract in Portugal Country Representa6ve: Joana Pires

PORTUGAL Last Rotaract Portugal Trip took place between the 27th of August and the 4th of September of 2011. It was organized by both portuguese districts (1960 and 1970) and featured 13 different na6onali6es (Lebanon, Lithuania, Slovenia, Turkey, Greece, Netherlands, El Salvador, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Ukraine). The program began in Alter do Chão, a tradi6onal village in Alentejo, with the par6cipa6on of the Rotaract Club of Castelo Branco. Here we visited the Royal Stables, the river beach and the village itself. From there we followed to the Templar city of Tomar, passing first in Constância and Almourol Castle. In this last place we were transported to the island of the castle by military boats and their crew. We moved on to the north to Coimbra, the city of university students, where we did a pedestrian route through the university area and a visit to the Baroque Library, in the company of Rotaract Club of Coimbra. If un6l now the weather was being nice to us, when we reached Aveiro, rain was wai6ng for us. Because of it, the bike ride we had planed was canceled and there was only possible to take a liVle walk around the city. A;er Aveiro, it was 6me for our interna6onal lunch, where everyone concocted a dish from their country. Both the prepara6on phase and the tas6ng phase went very well. The end of this a;ernoon was spent on the beach, in Espinho, where the sun occasionally appeared and where three really crazy par6cipants had the courage to go for a swim in a crazy and full of waves sea. We followed to Porto, the european capital of culture in 2001, where, with Rotaract Club of Famalicão, we visited the city and the beau6ful view the Douro river has to offer us. We also tasted the famous and tradi6onal dish from Porto, called Francesinha. The final phase was gevng closer and, on the a;ernoon of the 1st of September, we “came down” to Lisbon. In the capital we visited some of the most emblema6c places of the city like São Jorge Castle, Graça, Rossio, Baixa, Bairro Alto, Belém and Parque das Nações and we counted with the par6cipa6on of the Rotaract Clubs of Lisboa-‐Olivais and Amadora. The last a;ernoon was passed in Sintra and then the goodbye dinner was again in Lisbon. It was a well spent night with a great dinner and a great disco night, and also a lot of memories to tell.

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This trip was made of 9 days of pure fun, cultures mixing together, knowing Portugal and big friendships, which will last for many ages.

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Newsle'er of the European Rotaract Informa6on Centre

December 2012

PORTUGAL I was one of the main organizers and I have to say I had a lot of fun and learned a lot with the planning of all and I couldn’t have asked for a beVer group. It was a really intensive week but seeing the friendships I made, the experiences I lived and the memories I have of it, it was all worth it.

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I do hope that in the future we will be able to organize another edi6on of Rotaract Portugal Trip.

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Newsle'er of the European Rotaract Informa6on Centre

December 2012

PORTUGAL

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December 2012

Rotaract in Russia Country Representa6ve: Rimma Gayfullina

RUSSIA Interna9onal projects of Russia

Prepared by: Rimma Gayfullina Juliya Golobokova Alina Nikiforova Oleg Solomakin Maxim Zaytsev

If you have never been in Siberia you will never get a chance to understand Russia. 2012-‐2013 years pretend to be “Siberian” for interna6onal community. First trip “Siberian Winter adventure” is already wai6ng guests in winter 6me. Second trip “Siberian trip” is under the process of prepara6on. Siberian winter adventure (SWA): First 6me in Rotaract history RAC "Krasnoyarsk-‐Yenisei", district 2225, together with sponsor RC, organizes Rotaract trip “Siberian Winter Adventure” (SWA) for 8 Rotaractors from diﬀerent places of the world. SWA will take place from 29 December 2012 to 7 January 2013 in city Krasnoyarsk. Lucky par6cipants from Germany, Poland, Italy, Lebanon, Denmark and Belarus will spend 10 days in the land of severe Russian winters enjoying fantas6c program. Organizes prepared absolutely fascina6ng ac6vi6es for foreign Rotaractors that include: - Visi6ng one of the biggest Hydro-‐electric sta6on in Russia; - Being a guest in park of Stolby Na6onal Reserve; - Playing tradi6onal Siberian sports games and aVending the Russian Hockey game; - Looking at the cultural side of Krasnoyarsk city (museums, galleries); - Realiza6on of charitable project in Rotaract way; - Presenta6on of countries of par6cipants; - Riding by snowmobiles; - Celebra6ng New Year and Russian Christmas.

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Follow the news and beau6ful pictures from Siberian Winter Adventure in Facebook. Hopefully this Rotaract adventure will become one more annual interna6onal trip. (PHOTO 1, 2)

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December 2012

RUSSIA Siberian trip: Rotaract clubs of district 2225 are glad to invite Rotaractors to par6cipate in the unique trip which is going to be taken during summer of 2013. Trip is going to be started in Chita city, the region where two different cultures – Russian and Buryat (Buddhism) are interlaced with each other, the land where the temperature drops 45 Celsius below 0 in winter and reach 45 above 0 in summer. Then The Great Baikal will open all its ancient secrets to par6cipants and they will be able to feel the energy and the power of this unique lake. Don’t forget about amazing experience of traveling by The Trans-‐Baikal Railway together with your Rotaract fellows, buying delicious freshwater omul -‐ fish of Lake Baikal, and tas6ng local strawberry. A;er spending some days in Irkutsk city and lake Baikal you will meet the Yenisei River which flows through the city of Krasnoyarsk, visit famous the Stolby Na6onal Reserve, again and again taste delicious Russian cuisine, learn more and more about real Russian soul and then move to the capitol of Siberia – Novosibirsk. At the end of this amazing journey we want to see you at the District Conference which will be taken in another famous Siberian city Omsk, which is served as the capital of the an6-‐Bolshevik Russian State and held the imperial gold reserves for a brief period during the Russian Civil War in 1918–1920. Rotaractors of district 2225 cherished this idea about two years and now they are ready and eager to start. Learn the way real Russia lives, meet the most hospitable people in the very center of our country and take the part of Siberian soul with you!!! Siberia: Des6na6on is known! All addi6onal informa6on will be provided very soon in social networks and by e-‐mail to country representa6ves. (PHOTO 3, 4)

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Russia-‐Ukraine exchange: Russia-‐Ukraine Rotaract exchange being a great ini6a6ve of Russia-‐Ukraine Rotary Inter-‐Country commiVee had become great interna6onal Rotaract trip in 2010 and 2011. In 2010 RACs and RCs of Moscow and St. Petersburg, district 2220, hosted guests from 6 Ukrainian ci6es. In 2011 Russian Rotaractors visited Ukraine. What this exchange program gave to Rotaractors from both countries? First of all Rotaractors were able to get acquainted with Rotaract in neighbor country, share ideas about projects. Secondly trips had wide cultural program including excursions, tas6ng tradi6onal food, visi6ng Rotarians’ companies. The most important output of Russia-‐Ukraine exchange program is of course friendship par6cipants strengthen. More and more Rotaractors from both countries con6nue to visit each other, par6cipate in local events, and arrange joint projects, entertainment events. Great result of Russia-‐Ukraine exchange program is twinning agreement signed by RAC Krasnodar (Russia) and RAC “Simferopol” (Ukraine). (PHOTO 5, 6)

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December 2012

RUSSIA

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GeYng to know new cultures by orphanages: RAC “Saint-‐Petersburg” (district 2220) is making an interna6onal project towards children from orphanages. The main idea is to make those children aware of diﬀerent foreign countries. Russian Rotaractors look for an interna6onal partner club and get a lot of informa6on about its country. Then they choose an orphanage and go there to make a presenta6on about this country (quizzes, games, performances etc.) RAC “Saint-‐Petersburg” is collabora6ng with RAC “Beirut” (Lebanon, district 2450) now. They make a performance that looks like a ﬂight to Beirut. They construct a paper plane with children and then make a quest to “get” to Beirut. They show some videos about Beirut. Algerian friend of RAC “Saint-‐Petersburg” teaches children how to write their names in Arabic in a form of a game. Then children together with Rotaractors make some small presents to send them to children in orphanage in Beirut. The main idea is that children from Beirut will do the same – see the presenta6on about Russia and make some small presents to send to Russian children. RAC “Murmansk” is ready to make our idea with Rotaract Norway. If you want to join RAC “Saint-‐Petersburg” contact them on the Facebook facebook.com/oleg.solomakhin.

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December 2012

Rotaract in San Marino Country Representa6ve: Le6zia Cardelli

SAN MARINO

Coast to Coast Trip

This summer a brand new ediDon of “more than only European” Trip has been created: the Coast to Coast Trip has been done of many hours spent driving, admiring all the marvellous landscapes and discovering old & new friends from all over the District 2070 (Emilia-‐Romagna, Tuscany & San Marino). It has been a magniﬁcent experience, lasted from thursday, 23rd August, since tuesday, 4th September. The protagonists of this amazing 10-‐days-‐trip were 8 Rotaractors from all over the world (Germany, China, UK, Mexico, Nepal, Lebanon, Hungary, Greece), plus me & Giacomo Bianchi, President of the InternaDonal Commiiee, District 2070. The main idea of the trip was to let everyone knows how we live Rotaract reality in each one of the club we visited: our District it’s one of the bigger, and all of the clubs are diﬀerent from each other for the kind of services they choose, for places & hours where they use to meet, for approach to Rotaract itself.

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The Coast to Coast Trip started from Livorno, a beauDful and full of night life city on the west coast (Tuscany), and we took advantage of its beaches & pubs to spend days and evenings. We visited the most famous cultural ciDes like Pisa, Florence, Parma and Bologna, required stops during an italian Trip, but to make it even more diﬀerent and special, we gave the trippers the chance to visit also ciDes like Carrara – with its marble quarry –, Faenza – the poiery museum it’s gorgeous –, Mugello – with its world famous circuit –, Milano Marimma – where to have posh shopping & a great night @ Pineta disco club, one of the most presDgious of the whole coast –, and, ﬁnally, we reached Rimini, Riccione & San Marino. Our saturday in Rimini was characterized by a typical programme: a big aperiDf in the ancient city center and a walk around there to visit the open air party, while in Riccione the big aquarium amazed all of us.

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Newsle'er of the European Rotaract Informa6on Centre

December 2012

SAN MARINO Our last two day were in San Marino, the most ancient Republic in the world: a party in a monastery, a visit to our Government Palace & the last night, spent laughing, singing, talking about the past days, about the magniﬁcent experience we just had. Exactly for this incredible experience I want to thank all the Presidents, the fellows Rotaractors and all the people who made it possible, hosDng us in so may ways, because they made us feel like home everywhere, despite the Dredness aper a long car travelling, a few hours of sleep, in spite of all the diﬀerent culture, which could represent an obstacle, instead they became a reason of exchanging point of view, and reason of long lasDng friendships. I would like to thank Giacomo for the support we gave each other, and for his sensibility to understand and solve each and every kind of problem. Everyone who decide to try such a enterprise like a Trip should have a person like Giacomo to co-‐coordinate. I would like to thank Marta, for being a true friend and a special Rotaractor. You saved us so many Dme! Thanks, again, to all the members of our District, who met us, who were with the trippers during the 10 days, who smiled and hugged and laugh with us for the whole duraDon of the Trip.

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Thank you for make me feel a part of something more than important, more than world wide, more than big: a second family. Thank you...and see you on the next Trip!

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Newsle'er of the European Rotaract Informa6on Centre

December 2012

SAN MARINO

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December 2012

Rotaract in Serbia Country Representa6ve: Marina Secerov

SERBIA INTERNATIONAL ROTARY SUMMER CAMP – SERBIA For the past 12 years Rotaract Club Novi Sad had a pleasure of hos6ng more then 150 Rotaractors from all over the world. This year theme of 12th Rotary Summer Camp was all about “MAP OF VOJVODINA”. It started on 19th of July 2012 lasted un6l 25th of July 2012, and it was a unique occasion to visit 4 diﬀerent ci6es in Vojvodina (Novi Sad, Zrenjanin, Sombor and Subo6ca), gevng to know a lot of new friends and experience Rotaract life our way. Summer Camp is a great chance to meet people from all over the World, a chance to learn about other cultures and hear about projects carried out by members from diﬀerent countries. If you join us next year, Rotary Summer Camp 2013 will be all about Novi Sad and its most famous music fes6val „Exit“. More info coming soon. What par6cipiants said about us:

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Joana Pires, Portugal It’s an experience that I hope to repeat one day and that I recommend to everyone. Anton Skyba, Ukraine There are too many things I loved in Serbia! People impressed me most of all, and I mean both organiza6on commiVee and selected interna6onal team for Summer Camp. Dalia Liolyte, Lithuania It was the best, funniest and most amazing summer camp that I have ever had. So warm and welcoming! Immediately you become a part of Novi Sad Rotaract family! Organiza6onal team did a huge job. I really recommend this camp to every Rotaractor!!! Dayana Abboud, Lebanon There is a lot to see, feel and learn from this trip. But the most important is to have great company. Thanks to all the members of Rotaract Clubs in Vojvodina who made it such a memorable journey. Uroš Šinigoj, Slovenia I cannot recommend you the trip enough. I don't know what they are preparing this year, but whatever they'll tell you, I would believe them). Once you visit Novi Sad, you get addicted, I can tell you.

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December 2012

Rotaract in Switzerland and Liechtenstein Country Representa6ve: Cloé Bernier

SWITZERLAND

Dear fellow Rotaractors,

LIECHTENSTEIN

We know you’ve been dreaming about it for a while… That’s why we’ve decided to make your wish come true ! In 2013, Rotaract Switzerland will be the host of 2 interna9onal events : • The Rotaract Switzerland’s Interna9onal Ski Weekend (February 8th -‐ 10th) ; • The Swiss Roundtrip (July 27th -‐ August 4th) ! Live the Swiss Winter ! Ski, snowboard, sledge, relaxing, walking, après-‐ski, fondue, par6es and more are wai6ng for you in Leysin, from 8th to 10th of February 2013 ! The registra6on for this Ski Weekend has already passed, but we might have some spots le; by the 6me this newsleVer will be released, so… Drop us a line at rotaract.skiweekend@gmail.com and depending on if we are sold out or not, we will send you the informa6on and materials you’ll need to register !

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You can also ﬁnd all these documents on our Facebook page : hVps://www.facebook.com/pages/Rotaract-‐Switzerlands-‐Interna6onal-‐Ski-‐Weekend-‐2013/454360924601134

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Newsle'er of the European Rotaract Informa6on Centre

SWITZERLAND

December 2012

LIECHTENSTEIN

During the Swiss Roundtrip 2013, us from Rotaract Switzerland will welcome 6 Rotaractors from different countries to make them discover the numerous faces of our beau6ful country ! On foot and by train, through ci6es and countryside, up mountains and on lakeside, hearing Swiss German and French all around you… Are you feeling it already ? The trip will take place from Saturday July 27th to Sunday August 4th 2013. We chose these dates for 3 reasons : 1° Since it’s a holiday period, you can combine vaca6on and Rotaract ; 2° There is usually no other Rotaract trip planned at that 6me ; 3° You’ll celebrate our Na6onal Day (August 1st) with us ! 11 clubs are currently seeking for the greatest ideas to make you experience the best of their region ! We’ve heard of a boat trip, a barbecue, fireworks on the lake, the visit of a castle, a hike on the most famous mountain of Switzerland, a night in a wonderful hotel to recover from it, cheese fondue, local wines, par6es, … But shhht ! Nothing’s official and set yet ;-‐) What we can tell for sure is that there is a common high mo6va6on among all the organizers to do their best for you ! More informa6on about a detailed program and the registra6on process will follow. We are working on it ! We are already looking forward to welcoming you here… Swiss Style ! More info about the route, the organizers and more : hVp://roundtrip.rotaract.ch Contact the central organizing commiVee : swissroundtrip2013@gmail.com ***

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I’ve been asked many 6mes “When are you going to organize something in your country ?” Now that it’s done, I hope to have the pleasure to welcome some of you in Switzerland !

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December 2012

Rotaract in Turkey Country Representa6ve: Rana Kesken

TURKEY Dear Friends, Who can resist to the idea that living Rotary and Rotaract Interna6onally is the most important and fun asset as a Rotaractor ??? As we live Rotaract Interna6onally we get to know new cultures, meet new people and get closer to the idea of being ci6zens of the world. In Turkey; where people from various civiliza6ons, religions and cultures meet and live in peace, our Districts plan and organize many Interna6onal events in order to promote ourselves and the way we live.

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To men6on a few Interna6onal events that we organize in Turkey as 3 Turkish Districts; ﬁrst of all District 2420 organizes –in a yearly-‐ basis “Route Istanbul”. With Route Istanbul; Rotaractors of District 2420 promises their guests the opportunity for a splendid 4-‐day-‐getaway in the beau6ful atmosphere of Istanbul; cradle of 3 diﬀerent religions and many civiliza6ons in it. The program includes many tours inside and around the peninsula and Rotaractors from all around the world gets to see the Grand Bazaar, Hagia Sophia, Topkapı Palace, Blue Mosque, Basilica Cistern, The Prince’s Islands, historical museums, even belly dance workshops for aVendants. With all its beauty and charm; Istanbul doesn’t promise only a splendid gateway for Rotaractors it also gives them an opportunity to make a Community service project together.

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Newsle'er of the European Rotaract Informa6on Centre

December 2012

TURKEY To men6on another projects from our beau6ful Districts in Turkey; District 2440 for example the home of 9 ci6es from western Turkey is also hos6ng many Interna6onal events. For example in term 2010-‐ 2011 Rotaract Clubs of Gundogdu and Cigli were hosts of “Interna6onal Forum of Global Leadership” that was a program joint with District 2420 Rotaract Club of Esenkoy. The program included in sum of 25 Rotaractors from 3 diﬀerent con6nents. The dura6on of the forum took 4 days and they spent 3 days in various seminars on Leadership, Cultures and Diversity. The aVendants mostly spent 6me in Izmir, the pearl of Aegean and the Ancient ruins an Polis (ancient ci6es) of the Mediterranean and Aegean Civiliza6ons. This term on April 2013 Rotaract Club of Bornova – District 2440 is planning to organize; Aegean Trip. Rotaract Club of Bornova plans to embrace Rotaractors from all over the world to our beau6ful District and beau6ful Aegean seaside ci6es and seVles. So heads up everyone If you want to experience the Aegean and the Mediterranean in District 2440 on April!!! ;)

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District 2430; the biggest District which covers many ci6es of Turkey is also a professional Interna6onal event and project organizator. District 2430 has it’S own Interna6onal monthly bulle6n; Rota-‐ Life. In Rota-‐ Life the editor of the bulle6n men6ons about the worldwide interna6onal projects, events and no6ces. Not to men6on that last year Rotaract Club of Antakya took place in the last 25 projects in the evalua6on for Best European Service Project award..

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Newsle'er of the European Rotaract Informa6on Centre

December 2012

Upcoming events:

R.E.M. Timisoara 17-‐20/01/2013 Rotary Global Peace Forum Honolulu 25-‐27/01/2013 Rotary Global Peace Forum Hiroshima 17-‐18/05/2013 Eu.Co. Rome 29/05-‐02/06/2013 Lisbon Rotary Conven6on 21-‐23/06/2013

Contact:

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Francesco Meloni marke6ng@rotaracteurope.org