The Future of Rotary with Jennifer Jones

HARNESSING THE SYNERGY OF ROTARY FRIENDSHIP AND ALLIANCE IS...

The Future of Rotary.

Hats off to President Nominee Jennifer Jones. She "arrived" 15 minutes earlier than the scheduled airtime and sat through till the vote of thanks.

Despite her multiple meetings to address each day, we were honored that she stayed full time and engaged with more than 390 zoomers from all over the world.

In her natural and direct, yet charismatic presence she kicked-off her keynote address by stating that the future of Rotary is right in front of everyone: the synergy of 13 clubs from 11 districts and 11 countries harnessing technological lead to share unique experiences of the respective clubs with the rest of the world, during such time when the world needs it most!

Jennifer reiterated that the theme - Rotary Opens Opportunities, has never been more relevant for clubs and districts to remove boundaries, and to connect, and to put that stamp on our global passport as we traverse the world through zooms and calls to do good in the world.

Jennifer congratulated Synergy for this initiative and said that she hopes even when the world recovers from the pandemic, Synergy needs to remain.

SYNERGY | 11 January 2021

Presented by REPORT BY: RTN YASMIN YUSOF RC MELAWATI RID3300 MALAYSIA

Hosted by

Rotary and the world need this synergy for global peace and understanding and open dialogues for learning and experience.

She said, we may be apart physically, but our heart is connected in the most profound way. "The paycheck for Rotarians is our hearts. Our hearts want to do good in the world. " Two areas that she emphasised on during her address were membership and the well-being of the members.

Jennifer said that research has shown that people join and stay in Rotary for friendship and service.

"We want to make a difference in the world. Our vision statement tells us we are people of action who wish to create lasting change across the globe, in our community and in ourselves. The change in ourselves perhaps is the most important aspect in the vision statement. We increase our leadership capacity and personal growth within ourselves.

That is the gift that we can offer to others - to join us in friendship and fellowship and subsequently in service."

"We could have never envisioned that our ability to adapt would become our North Star during what is inarguably the most profound time in recent history. When the world stepped down, we stepped up."

Jennifer continued that it is important to check the well-being of the members in our organisation, as many are losing money, jobs and security, and some even lives.

"It is incumbent on us to touch base with our own to check on our mental health. Isolation has been prevalent and Rotarians are not excluded. There may be those who have been directly or indirectly impacted by Covid-19. The virus does not discriminate on who it infected. I offer my heartfelt condolences to those who have experienced the ordeal or loss because of the pandemic."

Fielding one of the questions, Jennifer said she is a proponent of young thinkers.

PDG Shyamashree Sen then moderated the question and answer session. Zoomers joined in the dialogue by engaging directly and also via the chat box. The dialogue was invigorating covering various topics from global warming to vaccines.

"Whether they are in their 30s, 40s or 70s, to always have a young mindset that keeps us fresh and different."

BANGLADESH RC DHAKA MAVERICKS

PAKISTAN RC KARACHI

BHUTAN RC THIMPU

SYNERGY | 11 January 2021

INDIA RC COCHIN HARBOUR RC KALAMASSERY RC UDUMALPET CENTRAL

INDONESIA RC SEMARANG KUNTHI

MALAYSIA RC MELAWATI

SRI LANKA RC AMPARA

Attended by more than 390 zoomers from all over the world Rotary dignitaries who joined in included 3 Past Directors, 6 Governors, 14 DGEs, 10 DGNs and 35 PDGs across the globe FB Live has reached 3423 people, and shared more than 100 shares and reshares

"It was a wonderful meeting. It was great of you to have conceived such meetings, Well done! I logged in and followed almost until it ended" PDG Tissa Bandaranayake, Colombo

ABOUT SYNERGY

Partner Clubs

AFGHANISTAN RC JALALABAD

Event Statistics

NEPAL RC DHULIKHEL

THE PHILIPPINES RC BAGUIO SUMMER CAPITAL

SINGAPORE RC SINGAPORE

Synergy is a Rotary friendship alliance of 13 Rotary Clubs from 11 Districts representing 11 countries in South and Southeast Asia.

Synergy aims to: 1. foster strong friendship among clubs across nations 2. organise joint meetings on a scale that a single club or country cannot do 3. progress later to international exchange programs and global Grants 4. harness the power of the internationality of Rotary

Important Takeaways

"After hearing her speech last evening, I feel that the future of Rotary is in very safe hands"

Harnessing borderless synergy in Rotary friendship and alliance is the future of Rotary The Environment will be formally launched on 1 July 2021 as a new area of focus Another new area of focus will be Diversity, Equity and Inclusion - a clarion call to ensure we attract a diverse perspective regardless of geography, gender or age.

Rotaract movement is gaining momentum as we keep the Rotary organisation vibrant and bright they are a major part of Rotary Behind-the-scene team

"We are leaders. Participation in Rotary makes better leaders, and the tools we learn by leading in the local club setting are applicable to other areas of our lives and businesses. Rotarians are leaders by mindset, not by title. We can share insights with the younger leaders and we can learn from them."

Earlier, District Governor Jose M Chacko, RID 3201 India delivered his opening remarks followed by a video presentation on the culture, cuisine and activities in Kochi and Kerala. District Governor Elect 2022-23 Pubudu De Zoysa, RID 3220 Sri Lanka did an amazing introduction of the speaker Jennifer Jones.

In the closing remarks delivered by Past District Governor Dr Urs Herzog, RID 1980 Switzerland, he announced the establishment of Synergy in Europe on 10 January 2021. He said that in just one day more than 186 members have indicated interest to join and the number is rising. He echoed Jennifer's opening line that Synergy is indeed the future of Rotary since it opens up many opportunities for sharing and collaborations.

He shared an interesting personal experience that during the lockdown, his neighbours who were also Rotarians actually cared and checked on him and his wife. Mental health is important especially during isolation and lockdown.

The event was concluded with an invitation to the next meeting on 14th February 2021 by the host club President Rtn Tolitz Villanueva, RC Baguio Summer Capital, RID 3790 The Philippines that will feature our RI President Elect Shekhar Mehta.

Synergy is humbled by the outpouring of congratulatory messages from around the world on the concept and presentation of this edition hosted

by RC Cochin Harbour and led by President Capt Sharad Menon. The event was anchored by Asst Governor Dr GN Ramesh as the emcee.

This has only strengthened our resolve and commitment to continue to deliver quality and engaging programs to Rotarians, Rotaractors and friends of Rotary.

Presenting President Elect Shekhar Mehta on 14 February 2021

SYNERGY | 11 January 2021

PDG Darius Marshall, India