The Last Day in Sydney

Although David and I attended part of the last day’s morning plenary session, we left somewhat early to spend time in the House of Friendship. The “House of Friendship” is Rotary’s trade show. There are hundreds of booths displaying projects, companies selling products, organizations disseminating information and even a wildlife display with a koala and a wallaby!

After lunch, I decided to forgo the rest of the day’s events to spend some time touring the city of Sydney. I have been in Australia for nearly a week, and have hardly left the convention venue, except in the evening when it is already too dark to see the sights. I took a train to Circular Quay (near the iconic Sydney Opera House), and then walked from there under the Sydney Harbor Bridge to Darling Harbor. Along the way I took pictures and just soaked in the ambience of this beautiful city. Although it was seventeen days before the start of their winter, the temperature hovered around seventy-two degrees Fahrenheit, with a cool sea breeze.

By the time I got to Darling Harbor, I felt I had earned a beer! So, I sat and drank a local beer and watched people stroll by. Although I detected some Rotarians in the mix, most of the people were either locals or tourists. From their appearances and their languages, I could tell just how international Sydney really is. I next walked through the restaurant and shopping district ending up at a wonderful sidewalk restaurant where I ate a kangaroo steak, paired with an Australian wine, while watching part of a light show — complete with fireworks — on the harbor. By that time, my son texted me and asked me to join him and his friends at a nearby restaurant where they were hanging out for one last time together. I was quite exhausted from my walking and was ready to get back to the hotel to pack and get ready to leave the next day. However, I walked to the restaurant and stopped in, just to see the group and say goodbye to those I knew. The above picture showed the group of around thirty who had gathered to celebrate their time together. Of course, after I left, David informed me about thirty or more additional friends showed up and they pretty well took over that restaurant for the rest of the evening.

The picture is, as they say, worth a thousand words… words I will not try to express here. What it shows is young people – most all under thirty years of age – from many countries celebrating together in their way. Of course, in various other venues around the city, I am sure older Rotarians were similarly celebrating together… in their way. Is one way better than the other? Of course not!

As I have observed various international Rotary functions in the past, they typically end, just as this convention did, with everyone joining hands and singing “Let There Be Peace On Earth.” Although the younger people at this restaurant did not join hands and sing (That, my friends, is clearly a generational thing!), they did sit together, listen to music, exchange emails, texts, pictures, Facebook and other social media information and show that peace can and will happen, if we just encourage them to pursue it in their own way.

I’ve already have a friend email me to comment on my blog posts from the convention saying, “You seem frustrated.” I must admit that I am. I do not have the “magic” to find a way to reconcile the generational differences that must be reconciled to allow Rotary to grow. Clearly, if that “magic” can be worked, Rotary will have two million members! However, what we are currently doing as Rotarians is not, for the most part, energizing Rotaractors and younger people to desire to join our clubs. That is, sadly, why there is Rotaract. Rotaract allows these young people to have Rotary their way. Of course, we consider them to be something less than Rotarians. Although Rotaractors profess to want to spend time with Rotarians, my observations have been that this time together has been more courteous than desirous. We, as an organization, do not seem to be able to offer them something that is fun and challenging. Although those intergenerational differences have existed for many generations, I now feel it has reached a critical point that is clearly impacting our organization — either positively or negatively – depending on what we do next.

Past RI President D.K. Lee’s annual theme in 2008-09 was “The Future of Rotary is in Your Hands.” A recent quote from RI President Ron Burton is “Rotaract is not the FUTURE of Rotary… it is the NOW of Rotary.” We need to reconcile those two thoughts and find a way to make our organization more attractive. I’d like to mash these thoughts into one for your consideration:

Although Rotaract is the NOW of Rotary, Rotaractors are the FUTURE Rotarians into whose hands we must deliver Rotary. We, as Rotarians, should strive to offer them a dynamic organization willing to bend and change to meet their wants and needs on their terms to advance Rotary’s mission of world understanding and peace.

Once we can impress this creed on our current Rotary Clubs and make it believable to Rotaractors and other young professionals, I believe we will see growth in our clubs. However, this cannot simply be a FUTURE goal, it must be effective NOW, throughout the world… or at least in those places where we want to see club growth.