Memories from the Calgary Rotary Convention
17,000+ people in five days and guess what, I've met the most number of Rotarians I will never have in my lifetime!
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I’m writing today with a bit of a good hang-over from the hustle and bustle of the Calgary Convention of Rotarians and partners during the last week of June.
I have the privilege of partnering with a dynamic duo, Susan Hartley and her husband, Chris under the banner of the Prince Edward Island Rotary Clubs at the House of Friendship. We had great fun in-between talking to delegates, marketing our books, going to break-out sessions and main plenaries, and just enjoying the rush of crowds during breaks and the quiet times of the day.
I organized the Rotary Peace Fellows Reunion with my peers, Susan and Pushpi which was a strategic stock-staking, celebrating gains, and the confronting challenges faced in this political climate especially in the United States. We discussed many issues which were cross-cutting both our personal and professional lives as peacebuilders and in more ways than one, we felt the need to strengthen our support for one another under the banner work of the Alumni Association. The next conference which will be in Taipei will be the test as to how we were effective in our advocacy for more integrated relationship of Rotary Peace Fellows Alumni Association within the Rotary International compared with other comparable industry programs such as the Eisenhower Fellowship, etc. Pushpi Weerakon, the Awardee of the Rotary Service Excellence Award noted this in her speech at the Main Plenary. I was touched by what she said about other Peace Fellows who were not given the opportunity to use their talents and knowledge for the benefit of the Rotarians working on peace and development.
I’ve met many Rotarians in various stripes and inclinations. Some hovered over just to chat about their last trip/upcoming trip in PEI, took a picture of the lobster and the wig of Anne Gables (Anne with an “E”), and took some chocolates as an energy booster. There were historians who loved to discuss the history of many things and institutions, the mother-daughter tandem, the exchange students looking for more pins and to exchange their flags, my fellow Kababayans, Filipino Rotarians who came all the way from the Philippines, lots of selfies and QR codes, and by the end of it, the QR codes lost its novelty.
I have almost given up on Rotary having been a Rotary Peace Fellow for ten years and not being able to serve as a peacebuilder, development leadership expert, strategic facilitator, and author. But this conference showed me what it is about the Rotary that survived the past 100 years and will be surviving in the next centennial and more. There are clear challenges but the global connection and compassion for the underserved is what binds them together. I felt hope and pride of being a part of it as a program alumnae and I know that if we are consistently and tirelessly working for greater collaboration and integration, the bureaucratic impediments and the shortsighted mindset will peel away as leaders make it work, regardless of who gets the credit in the end. As a personal commitment, I’m more positive in what I see as the strategic directions for the future. We’ll see how our initial communications result in more alliances that put Rotary Peace Fellows on every Rotary Club and their service actions’ radar screens.
As my friend Svenn would say, Peace, love and possibilities,
Maiden
On Don’t Underestimate Your Impact
“If your inputs do not move the needle on a micro or macro scale, it’s time to go back to your primary mission…in short be wildly excellent, that no one can ignore your work.”
-Page 84, Principle 8, Provocateurs not Philanthropists: Turning Good Intentions into Global Impact