Rotarians, key to Elevate Rotaract Written by: IPDRR Solomon S. Hermoso Pilipinas Rotaract MDIO Secretary General Rotaract Club of Balintawak
he Pilipinas Rotaract Multi-District Information Organization (MDIO), the Rotary International District 3780 through its Rotary Academy series, and the Rotary Club of West Central organized the Elevate Rotaract Summit for Rotarians in the Philippines last November 25, 2020 via Zoom. The summit deepened the understanding of Rotarians of Elevate Rotaract policy changes which began with the 2019 Council on Legislation that made Rotaract clubs a membership type of Rotary International (RI). Following this landmark legislation were subsequent policy changes approved by the RI and Rotary Foundation Board as recommended by an Elevate Rotaract Task Force. Melchor “Chock� Encabo, a member of the 2019 Elevate Rotaract Task Force and a current member of the RI Rotaract Committee, was the main resource speaker during the summit. He summarized the key policy changes to the following five (5) points. ELEVATE CHANGES
ROTARACT
KEY
POLICY
Expansion of Rotaract Club Sponsorship Options Effective July 1, 2020, Rotaract Clubs can now be sponsored through any of the following options: a) one or more Rotary Club/s (previous policy); b) one or more Rotaract Club/s; c) combination of two or more Rotary and Rotaract Clubs; d) without any sponsor. This is to give Rotaract clubs greater flexibility as to the kind of sponsor relationship that best meets their needs. The expansion of sponsorship options applies to both new and existing Rotaract Clubs. Removal of Upper Age Limit for Rotaractors Effective July 1, 2020, Rotaract Clubs will now be open to all young adults ages 18 years old and over. A Rotaract Club may, but is not required to, set an age limit in its bylaws. In the previous policy, Rotaractors are forced to leave Rotaract at the age of 31 to encourage them to join a Rotary club. However, most end up just leaving the family of Rotary as they still do not feel ready to join a Rotary club. Hence, the removal of the upper age limit intends to give Rotaractors the flexibility to decide for themselves when they are ready to leave Rotaract hopefully, for Rotary.
Panelist Nishita and Speaker Chock during the panel discussion moderated by CP Aya
Greater Involvement of Rotaract in The Rotary Foundation (TRF) The Rotaract Club Bylaws was revised to include the Foundation Committee as a standing committee of a Rotaract Club effective July 1, 2020. This committee shall provide training opportunities to Rotaract Club members about TRF and tap them to raise funds for TRF through various fundraising activities. The Trustees of TRF also agreed to allow Rotaract Clubs to be either the international or host sponsor of a global grant, beginning July 1, 2022, provided that the Rotaract Club has previously partnered with a Rotary Club on a global grant. They have also maintained that Rotaractors can still be eligible recipients of global grant scholarships and Rotary Peace Fellowships funded by TRF. The Trustees recognized that many Rotaract clubs are already doing innovative, sustainable service projects that are aligned with Rotary's areas of focus on scale similar to that of global grant -
projects, without any funding assistance from TRF. The Trustees believe that allowing Rotaract clubs to sponsor global grants will give them the opportunity to do even more good in the world. Participating in Foundation programs will also encourage Rotaract clubs to fundraise for the World Fund, which will result in even more resources for their clubs and others around the world. Appointment of Rotaractors in Rotary District Committees District Governors are strongly encouraged to appoint good standing Rotaractors in every district Rotary committee. This is a call for closer partnership between Rotarians and Rotaractors in shaping the future of the organization especially at the local level. Rotary International also recognizes the valuable inputs of Rotaractors in especially in developing unique membership experiences and service projects.
MDIO Chair Louie asking Filipino Rotarians to help localize the success of Elevate Rotaract
The QC RACSTAR | 6
