OrientationA brief Introduction to Rotaract

By: Rtr. Saurabh Acharya and Rtr. Serene Rajkarnikar

Background

• The first Rotary Club was formed by Paul P. Harris in downtown Chicago, at Harris' friend Sylvester Schiele's office in the Unity Building on Dearborn Street on February 23, 1905.

• The main purpose is to provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help build goodwill and peace in the community and the world.

• There are 34,282 clubs and over 1.2 million members worldwide.

• Rotaract originally began as a Rotary International youth programme in 1968

What is Rotaract?

• “Rotary”+ (“International”+“Action”) = “Rotaract”.

• Rotaract is a service club for young men and women ages 18 to 30.

• Rotaract clubs are either community or university based.

• They’re sponsored by a local Rotary club, which makes the two true "partners in service" and key members of the family of Rotary.

• There are more than 8,400 Rotaract Clubs in about 170 countries and geographical areas.

More About Rotaract

• The first Rotaract club - “The Rotaract Club of University of Charlotte North Carolina” (USA) was chartered on 14 March 1968.

• Rotary International has laid down a Standard Rotaract Club Constitution, Standard Rotaract Club By-laws and Rotaract Statement of Policy to ensure that Rotaract Clubs and Districts have clear and consistent guidelines.

Aims and Objectives

• Develop professional and leadership skills.• Emphasize respect for the right of others, and

to promote ethical standards and the dignity of all useful occupations.

• Provide opportunities `for young people to address the needs and concerns of the community and our world.

• Provide opportunities for working in co-operation with sponsoring Rotart Clubs.

• Motivate young people for eventual membership in Rotary.

Structure of Rotary / Rotaract

• Rotary is structured in club, district and international levels.

• The clubs are chartered by the global organisation Rotary International (RI).

• A Club is the basic unit of Rotary activity, and each club determines its own membership.

• A District is an administrative level which encompasses a group of clubs.

• A Zone is a group of around 15 Rotary Districts

Structure of a Rotaract Club

• Board of directors consist of the following elected officers :– President– Immediate Past President– Vice President– Secretary– Treasurer– Additional Officers deemed necessary by the club.

In our case, these are :-• Director of Club Service• Director of Community Service • Director of Professional Development• Director of International Service

Roles and Responsibilities

• President:• To lead the Club, and defend and represent the views

of the Club and the Board.• To ensure the Club’s activities and projects are

successfully promoted and completed.

• Vice President:• To take over duties that the President needs to

delegate.• To stand in for the President whenever they are

absent.

• Secretary:• To maintain all Club records and Correspondence.• To be the Club’s source of communication.

• Treasurer:• To hold ALL financial records.• To conduct ALL financial transactions.

• Directors– Club Service– Community Service– Professional development– International Service

Club Service Director

• Roles– To promote socialising, making friends and having

a good time (Fellowship).– To look after members, potential members,

visitors, guests and attendance.– To manage marketing and PR for the Club

including T-shirts, Bulletin, website, etc.• Example of event ideas:– Club Birthday Party, Quizzes , Bowling, Dining out

at inexpensive local restaurants etc.

Community Service Director

• Roles– To enhance knowledge and understanding of

community needs, problems and opportunities.– To formulate and develop activities for serving the

Community.• Example of event ideas:– Fundraiser events such as dance parties, momo

competition, charity shows.– Community service events such as Blood

Donations, Donations to charitable foundations, Road and Traffic service such as reflectors on dividers

Professional Development Director

• Roles– To provide personal development opportunities

for members.– To provide training to develop the skills of

members.– To provide information about a wide cross-section

of businesses and professions.– To stimulate awareness and acceptance of high

ethical standards in business and professional life.• Example of event ideas:– Talk programs on personal development, guest

speakers from local businesses or professions.– Plan programs that give Rotaractors the

opportunity to achieve self development, eg. Job or hobby talks, participation in specific leadership training activities.

International Service Director

• Roles– To enhance knowledge and understanding of

worldwide needs, problems and opportunities, as well as cultural differences.

– To develop activities to promote International understanding and goodwill.

• Example of event ideas:– Joint projects with international clubs.– Talks by friends who have worked or come from

overseas.– Cultural themes for meetings.– Organize event on International Days e.g. World

Aids Day, World Literacy Day, International Youth Day etc.

Meeting Types

• Regular Meeting– Shall not be less than twice a month at a time and

place suited to the convenience of the members• Board Meeting– Board members must be present in these

meetings

Reporting

• Reporting entails careful documentation of all the work done by the club.

• Quarterly periodic reports.–Within September 10 – June-July-August.–Within December 10 – September-October-

November–Within March 10 – December-January-February–Within June 10 – March-April-May

Rotary and Rotaract in Nepal

• First Rotary Club Rotary Club of Kathmandu, chartered on 28 June,

1959.

• First Rotaract Club of Nepal Rotaract Club of Birgunj was chartered in the year

1993.

• There are around 78 Rotary Clubs and 52 Rotaract Clubs currently chartered in Nepal.

• The current District Rotaract Representative (DRR) of the fiscal year 2011-12 is Rtr. David Shakya.

Rotaract Club of Kathmandu West

• Chartered date: 10 September 2007.• Sponsored by Rotary Club of Kathmandu

West.• Chartered members ~ 22.• Chartered President Rtr. Nihal Shrestha.• Chartered Secretary Rtr. Sunny Rajkarnikar.• First Meeting – Mali Oil Stores, Kalimati.

Good to Know AbbreviationsThe Club The District General

P PresidentVP Vice PresidentS SecretaryT TreasurerPP Past PresidentD DirectorID International DirectorSD Club Service DirectorCD Community Director

DRR District Rotaract RepresentativeDRRE DRR ElectPDRR Past DRRIPDRR Immediate Past DRRDG District GovernorDGN DG NomineePDG Past DGIPRDG Immediate PDG

RTN RotarianRTR RotaractorRC Rotary ClubRAC Rotaract ClubHM Honorary MemberPHF Paul Harris Fellow

Useful Links

• http://www.rotary.org• http://www.rotaract.org• http://www.rotaractnepal.org• http://www.nepalrotary.org• http://www.rotary.org/RIdocuments/en_pdf/

661en.pdf (Standard Rotaract Club Constitution and By Laws)

• http://www.rotary.org/RIdocuments/en_pdf/562en.pdf (Rotaract Handbook)

Questions?