“扶輪的未來”開放論壇“Future of Rotary” Open Forum

Paul C.K. Lee, PDG, D.3300

Grand Hotel, 12F. Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C.

2005年5月7日星期六Saturday, 7 May 2005  / 1430-1530

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主席Presider : 田中作次Sakuji Tanaka, RI Director 國際扶輪理事 

主講人Keynote Speaker : 千玄室Genshitsu Sen, RI Past Director國際扶輪前理事  

引言人Panelist (5 min. each) :

  1. Toshio Itabashi, RI Past Director

  2. Kwang-Tae Kim, RI Director-Elect

  3. Noraseth Pathmanand, RI Director-Elect

  4. Paul C.K. Lee, PDG, D.3300

  5. Chen-Yu Wang, Rotary World Peace Fellow, D.3510, Taiwan

  6. Scott Stephen Thomas, Ambassadorial Scholar, D.5840, USA 

Presider Director Sakuji Tanaka, Rotary International leaders and my Rotary friends

 As we celebrate 100 years of Rotary’s existence, we often discuss on what will happen to Rotary in the next century or what are the challenges of Rotary in the years ahead or what will be the Future of Rotary. The first question we may want to ask is “Is Rotary still relevant in the future?” 

Rotary had played a very significant role both in alleviating the sufferings of the people and promoting better world understanding and peace in our first century of service. Rotary had been relevant then. Rotary is relevant now and I strongly believe that Rotary will still be relevant in the future. 

Even in the early years, Rotary had been relevant and beneficial. Our own founder Paul Percy Harris acknowledged the relevance and importance of Rotary as he once said “Hundreds of small cities and towns, all but dead so far as civic consciousness was concerned, took on new life after they organised Rotary Clubs. Professional organisers were not necessary. Every Club had the impulse to pass on the idea which it found so beneficial in its city”.  

Back at our district 3300, Malaysia, in one of our Centennial Celebrations this year, we honoured our former Prime Minister the Honourable Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad for his visionary leadership. When the honourable Tun Dr Mahathir was asked about what he thinks of Rotary, his answer was “Community needs Rotary”. What a profound statement. What an encouragement to Malaysian Rotarians. A statement short, simple and apt. A statement that sums up the thoughts and appreciation of a national leader about Rotary. That Rotary is relevant. That Rotary has a vital role to play now and in the future. That Rotary is still needed by the community.  

Through our World Community Service and Matching Grants programmes, Rotary clubs are able to garner more financial resources to alleviate these sufferings in their communities. The noble objective of providing financial assistance to bring relief to the sufferings of the less fortunate by Rotary clubs in another country and often in another continent show “Rotary Cares”. That Rotary clubs are prepared to work together for the common good of their communities demonstrates that “Rotary Brings Hope”. That Rotarians and Rotary Clubs continue to persevere and toil to implement humanitarian projects for the benefit of their people showed that “We Believe in Rotary” and that “Real Happiness is Helping Others” as we “Take Time to Serve”  

Our humanitarian programmes crossed national boundaries. Our beneficial assistance reached people of all races and political alienation. We have made our world a global village. We therefore must continue this good work of humanitarian service through our WCS and Matching Grant programmes and continue to build bridges of friendship and peace through our Rotary Volunteers, Group Study Exchanges, Youth Exchanges, Ambassadorial and Peace Scholarship programmes.    

I would like to propose two issues for your consideration as we deliberate on “The Future of Rotary” 

The first is what I call “Rotary’s Future Manpower”. It could be Rotary’s future members or Rotary’s future supporters of our programmes. I refer this to the numerous youth program of Rotary. Programs we carried out so successfully for this one hundred years.  

Our youth programmes like Rotaract, Interact, RYLA, Youth Exchange, Group Study Exchange and Ambassadorial Scholarship Programs are providing fertile training grounds for our future leaders. Rotary must place more emphasis on these youth programmes if we hope to achieve a better world, a better tomorrow. As the great Brazilian footballer Pele once said and I quote “If we want to have a better future, we must be prepared to invest in the future. The future of our world is the children of our world” unquote. My Rotary friends, our Rotaract, Interact, RYLA, Youth Exchange, Group Study Exchange and Ambassadorial Scholarship Programs are at our doorstep in our common endeavour to create better leaders. Let us invest in them.  

The second is our image or our identity.  

We are all proud of the great humanitarian services of Rotary. We are all proud of our Polio Eradication Gift to the world. We are proud to be known as Rotarians. We are proud to wear our Rotary lapel pin. The question is how many of our 1.2 million Rotarians wear the Rotary lapel pin every day. I dare say that it is not even one percent.  

How then can our Rotary Image be enhanced and promoted when we ourselves are not bothered about it? It is said that if we Rotarians do not care, then who cares? If we Rotarians do not wear the lapel pin, then who will wear it? The challenge is how are we to inculcate that change in mind-set? 

Rotary needs an identity if the Future of Rotary is to achieve greater participation, more support and larger membership. I place our Rotary Image as our greatest challenge in this new century. We need to look deeper within and re-evaluate our own actions to check our own hindrances that retard our Rotary Image. We need unity. We need solidarity. We need a common identity. 

May I humbly submit two areas that Rotary needs to look into to enhance our identity. 

One such common identity is the dire need for Rotary to have a common Rotary blazer or Rotary jacket. We just cannot go on having different colour jackets every Rotary year. We need to achieve a status when the community sees a group of people wearing a standard colour jacket, they know that Rotary and Rotarians are at work.  

Our second identity for solidarity is to have a Rotary song. Every nation has a national anthem where the citizens sing with pride and reverence. Many social and public organisations also have their own song or anthem. Rotary boasting of our 100 years of existence is still without an anthem. We need to have a Rotary anthem that will not only inspire our members but also create oneness and unity. 

Let me close by stating that whatever will be for the Future of Rotary rests with us Rotarians. 

I leave these with you and wish you a pleasant deliberation.