Thank you to all Club members for giving me the opportunity to be your president and lead our club in 2023/2024. I encourage all members to collaborate with land based clubs by seeking an invitation to your local Rotary Club meeting. Discover what they do and see if you can help out…... On Monday 10th July 2023 I attended Gosford North Rotary and presented on E-Clubs. I have chatted with their president about a joint BBQ fundraiser.
Your board will be seeking feedback from YOU through our membership satisfaction survey and club assembly, in early December. This is your opportunity to have a say about any aspect of YOUR club. However do not feel these are the only times. Your board wants to know and asks YOU to talk about issues that matter to you. It maybe on Whats hot! And Whats not! Our club is made up of experienced and newer members all of who can contribute in different ways and can add value to and within OUR club and to yourselves as Rotarians.
We are seeking champions to:- coordinate 2 Raffles that can raise significant t funds for our club; coordinate club project – Peace poles in primary schools; organise 5th Sunday Activities.
Please contact President Toeknee if you can help.
Our club is made up of experienced and newer members all of who can contribute in different ways and can add value to and within OUR club and to yourselves as Rotarians.
I am giving a BIG SHOUT OUT to YOUR board for the work they have already done behind the scenes, thus far, Thank you!
There is no better way of promoting Rotary than member recommendations and word of mouth. We each joined and continue to be members for many reasons that are common. However, everyone has a uniquely personal story as well. Why did you join Rotary? Why do you remain a member of Rotary? What do you know about Rotary International? How many people have you invited to come to our Rotary meetings.
Community Service Director Lucien Keegel is doing something about it. He is representing our club with the combined Rotary Clubs of the Blue Mountains in a membeship Drive. At our first meeting this month, we will induct new member Mary Sattin. Introduced by Steven Gagau, Mary comes from the Solomon Islands, was educated in the Solomon Islands and the University of South Pacific, Fiji. Mary is a Lay Assistant in the Anglican Church and has a special interest in protecting children from abuse. In her spare time, Mary enjoys gardening and bush walking. Welcome to our club Mary.
Our Speaker this week is our District Governor, Christine Owen. We meet on Zoom at 7:30 pm Eastern Australian Time. To join us for the meeting click on the Zoom Link Below.
If you have trouble connecting, Copy and Paste the link into your browser. Alternatively open your Zoom Client, and put in the meeting ID and password.
Climate impacts of Plastic Consumption in Australia
The Environmental Crisis seems to be getting a lot of airplay at the moment – which is a good thing as people are becoming more aware of what is happening and more importantly what we can do to help reduce the impacts of climate change.
Every day in the newspapers there are articles of environmental interests to be read, such as “Helping Clients Embrace Sustainability, “Net zero, it will change your life, “Helping the Planet One Bag at a time”, Super-natural plastic alternative bags”; and so on. I recently attended a webinar presented by Australian Marine Conservation and World Wildlife Fund on Climate impacts of Plastic Consumption in Australia.
In this webinar many alarming facts on the production, use and end-of-life processes of plastic consumption were presented by Kyle O’Farrel, Blue Environmental Research Officer and Kate Nobel from WWF.
*There are over 500 types of plastic in use today but only 7 are common – PET, HDPE, PVC, PP, LDPE and PS or if you prefer; Polyethylene Terephthalate, High Density Polyethylene, Polyvinyl Chloride, Polypropylene, Low Density Polystyrene, even the names sound a bit ominous!
*Australia produces 3 million tonnes of plastic per annum, of which less than 12% is recycled, up to 130,000 tonnes will end up in the oceans as plastic pollution each year.
*End-of-life processes for plastic include mechanical recycling, chemical recycling or conversion, dumping in waste sites, littering.
*Plastic does not breakdown so every piece of plastic ever produced is still with us today, much of it as microplastics. *The emissions from Australian plastic consumption per year is equal to that of 5.7 million cars on the road. * Wealthier countries use more plastic per year than poorer nations – Australia is one of the top 3 consumers. The solutions to plastic energy use and pollution include: *Reduce use. *Transfer from fossil fuel based plastics to plant based. *Use renewable energy in production and recycling. *Reuse, repair and maximise recycling. *Support global regulation in plastic reduction. Realistically plastic consumption will double in the next ten years so more needs to be done in reduction.
A bright note is that currently a strong groundswell of support by governments, business, communities and individuals to reduce plastic consumption is in full swing. Let’s help keep this momentum going. As a Rotary Club we can become a supporter of the End Plastic Soup Campaign initiated in 2018 by the Rotary Clubs of Amsterdam and now a worldwide environment project for Rotarians. I will talk about this at the next meeting.
Don’t forget to watch, the War on Waste, Craig Reucassel ABC each Tuesday evening or stream it from iView.
The Rotary Youth Exchange Program provides a great opportunity for teenagers to travel overseas and live and study in a different country. It provides an opportunity of a life time for young people to build friendships, immerse themselves in a different culture and different education system, and helps to foster tolerance and acceptance of ways of life that may be very different from their own. Normally the young person spends 3 months with each family while being hosted by a local Rotary Club. For continuity of their education, it is usual for them to remain at the one school for the entire year. Hence, because we are a world wide club with members situated all over the globe and Australia, if is difficult for our club to host a student. However, we can participate by hosting a student for a short time. Maybe a long weekend or part of the school holidays. Are there any interesting events happening in your area that an exchange student may enjoy? Do you live near a beach? Maybe you could provide a short stay visit for a student who is hosted in the country. If you have teenage children, all the better, they can entertain the student. Even if you are a single parent or grand parent, you are able to host a student. If you feel you could host a student for a short stay, please contact our Youth Director, Kian Safaei who will put you in contact with the right people.
Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) is an intensive leadership experience organized by Rotary clubs and districts where participants develop their skills as a leader while having fun and making new connections. During the 4 day program, participants build communication and problem-solving skills; discover strategies for becoming a dynamic leader in the community; learn from community leaders, inspirational speakers, and peer mentors and helps to turn potential to turn motivation into action. Each year this club sponsors a student to attend RYLA.
We are looking for nominations from club members of potential candidates for the January 2024 RYLA program. Overseas students are eligible to attend RYLA, but the nominator must be prepared to fund their travel and accommodation before and after the camp. The students who gain the most from RYLA have usually left school and are over 18 years old and up to about 25, and must be available in January 2024 to attend.
If you would like to nominate at candidate for the 2024 RYLA program, please contact our Youth Director Kian Safaei.
National Skills Week 2023 is coming- just around the corner. 21-27 August 2023!
Now in its 13th year National Skills Week is dedicated to raising the status of practical and vocational learning. National Skills Week was founded on four key areas of focus, notably to dispel the negative perceptions that surround vocational education and training (VET), highlight its diversity, the career pathways, and the success stories that emanate from VET, plus bring focus to emerging skills needs, and industry trends The theme for 2023 is what are you looking for? The focus is on matching what people are looking for in a career and their life to skills training through Vocational Education. Also inviting employers and industry to join in the conversation with what they are looking for their team and the role that VET has in this space.
Some suggestions from the District 9685 Vocational Chair for 2023-24 Ruth Vumbaca; as to what clubs might like to do during National Skills week are:
Organise vocational visit to primary school
Mentor a young TAFE student
Organise morning tea and have a discussion about how you can support VET students
Help with garden cleanup or a local council clean up
Liaise with local nurseries and see if they will help with plants.
TAFE visits
If possible support TAFE with annual prizes for some students
Check out if your local TAFE has a restaurant that you can book a night there (students serve you)
How can you support the VET students at your local high school? January is Rotary's Vocational Service Month. Think about nominees for a Vocational Service Award: a person who has achieved a high level of excellence in their vocation and through such vocation has rendered outstanding service to the community. Do we have any members who qualify?
Celebrate International Day of the World's Indigenous People by joining HandUp Congo, Rotary and Friends of the Congo for a Virtual MeetUp. Guided by experts, we will explore The Mighty Congo River and the Green Heart of Africa, with discussion on:
prior attempts to ‘tame’ it
impacts on forest and river communities
life along the Congo River’s bustling superhighway
the global focus on fighting the Congo carbon time bomb
WHEN: Wednesday 16 August @ 7pm SYD AEST/ @10am London and Kinshasa GMT+1 (Refer to World Time Buddy for the date and time in your area).
REGISTER NOW: Visit our EventBrite Event Page to make a donation of your chosen value (min $AU1) and receive your Virtual MeetUp Zoom link. All ticket donations received go directly to flood relief and environmental initiatives in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
You will hear from...
Dr Joanne Yao, Senior Lecturer at Queen Mary University of London (QMUL), and author of 'The Ideal River', which examines the construction of the 'ideal river' in the European geographical imagination and the establishment of the first international organisations
Samuel Yagase, a grassroots leader mobilising rural communities for justice and dignity in the Congo Basin in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Ruthy DeHolton, Civil Engineer specialising in renewable energy, water and sanitation, Teacher at the American School of Kinshasa (TASOK), and child of Congo based missionaries
Kevin Hobgood-Brown, Managing Director of Clay International Partners, member of HandUp Congo's advisory team, and the third generation of his family to be connected with Congo
Can't make the date?
You can still make a difference with a tax-deductible donation via our Rotary project donation page - Building a Healthy Congo, designate 'Congo River'.
The Rotary Leadership Institute is a training course offered to Rotarians to develop their skills in leadership and management within Clubs to improve performance, knowledge and enjoyment in leading or helping to lead Clubs in the District.
The next course, currently open for registrations is 11-13th August. This will be the 76th course that has been run in our District.
Date for 2023/24 are:
Course #76 11/12/13 August 2023 Course #77 27/28/29 October 2023 Course #78 23/24/25 Feb 2024 Course #79 17/18/19 May 2024
The course consists of three parts over one weekend, all delivered by Zoom. Course materials will be sent to registered participants directly.
The RLI Convenor for 2023-2026 is Amanda Barnes.
Please click this link to register for our August Course now.
Since the Zone 8 Regionalisation Pilot received financial support from the Rotary International Board in April 2023, a large amount of work has been happening behind the scenes.
Club presidents and secretaries, and people who opted to receive additional information about the Regionalisation Pilot, have been receiving regular monthly updates.
Following feedback that information on the pilot has been hard to find, we have restructured the Creating Tomorrow Regionalisation Pilot website, adding several new pages under the “What are we doing?” tab at the top of the homepage. There are now web pages dedicated to information on the Regional Council and its structure, community groups and leaders, what the Specialist Network will do, and other key aspects of the pilot. These pages will be updated regularly.
In the coming months we will be sharing:
● Position descriptions for Regional Council and Specialist Network roles ● How the Regional Council will be elected and the timeframe for elections ● Guidance on community groupings so clubs can start conversations with members You will be receiving updates over the next months, which I encourage you to share and discuss with your fellow club members. If you have any questions send them via rotaryregionalpilot@gmail.com. We also encourage you to look at the regionalisation website and, if you are not already, become part of the reference group by subscribing here.
Ingrid Waugh, Deputy Chair, Zone 8 Regionalisation Pilot Steering Group
Our Speaker this week is our District Governor, Christine Owen. We meet on Zoom at 7:30 pm Eastern Australian Time. To join us for the meeting click on the Zoom Link Below.
The Rotary Youth Exchange Program provides a great opportunity for teenagers to travel overseas and live and study in a different country. It provides an opportunity of a life time for young people to build friendships, immerse themselves in a different culture and different education system, and helps to foster tolerance and acceptance of ways of life that may be very different from their own. Normally the young person spends 3 months with each family while being hosted by a local Rotary Club. For continuity of their education, it is usual for them to remain at the one school for the entire year. Hence, because we are a world wide club with members situated all over the globe and Australia, if is difficult for our club to host a student. However, we can participate by hosting a student for a short time. Maybe a long weekend or part of the school holidays. Are there any interesting events happening in your area that an exchange student may enjoy? Do you live near a beach? Maybe you could provide a short stay visit for a student who is hosted in the country. If you have teenage children, all the better, they can entertain the student. Even if you are a single parent or grand parent, you are able to host a student. 
Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) is an intensive leadership experience organized by Rotary clubs and districts where participants develop their skills as a leader while having fun and making new connections. During the 4 day program, participants build communication and problem-solving skills; discover strategies for becoming a dynamic leader in the community; learn from community leaders, inspirational speakers, and peer mentors and helps to turn potential to turn motivation into action.
The Rotary Leadership Institute is a training course offered to Rotarians to develop their skills in leadership and management within Clubs to improve performance, knowledge and enjoyment in leading or helping to lead Clubs in the District. 
