08-IC

See the start of the 2008 RI Convention	Rotary International News -- 15 June 2008 About 18,000 people are attending the 2008 RI Convention, which meets 15-18 June in Los Angeles. At the official opening of the House of Friendship exhibition area, RI President Wilfrid J. Wilkinson welcomed all to L.A.

Learning the value of Rotary	During the Rotaract Preconvention Meeting, Megan Cotugno shares what she's learned as a Rotaractor and on her continuing journey with Rotary.

Opening plenary	Rotary International News -- 16 June 2008 Get a behind-the-scenes look at the opening plenary session of the 2008 RI Convention in Los Angeles, and share the excitement of event, including the flag ceremony and RI President Wilfrid J. Wilkinson's speech.

Star-powered book drive	Rotary International News -- 17 June 200 At the invitation of the Southern California and Southern Nevada Rotary clubs hosting the convention, many of the nearly 20,000 RI Convention registrants from more than 140 countries brought children’s books representing their home cultures and languages for Rotary’s Wide World of Books project. This international book drive, cosponsored by the Los Angeles Times Reading by 9 program, aims to set a Guinness World Record by gathering 250,000 books. These books will be donated to public school students in kindergarten to grade 3 throughout the region, where studies show too many children read below grade level. On Monday, 16 June, children visiting from a local elementary school were read to by RI President Wilfrid J. Wilkinson, Grammy-nominee Freddie Ravel, actress Yeni Alvarez (Carmella from Disney's Handy Manny), and actors from Nickelodeon's Jimmy Neutron Boy Genius Mark DeCarlo (Hugh Neutron), Debi Derryberry (Jimmy Neutron), and Carolyn Lawrence (Cindy Vortex).

Health leaders reaffirm commitment to ending polio	Rotary International News -- 18 June 2008 Citing the dramatic decrease in type-1 polio cases in India as an indication that polio can be eradicated, Dr. Margaret Chan, director-general of the World Health Organization, announced on 18 June that WHO’s top operational priority is to rid the world of polio. “This is the best opportunity to finish the job,” Chan said during a joint press conference at the 2008 RI Convention in Los Angeles. “We will be mobilizing within the organization to double our efforts on the ground.” Also answering questions from the media were WHO’s partners in the global eradication initiative: Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention; Ann Veneman, executive director of UNICEF; and Robert Scott, chair of The Rotary Foundation.

Discover ShelterBox	Rotary International News -- 19 June 2008 Watch the video and find out how ShelterBox works, what’s inside the big green boxes, and how they’re being used in Myanmar and China.