Week of Jan 27- Rotary Awareness Month: New Generations Programs

[Kristin K]

Every year, thousands of talented and dedicated young people, ages 12 - 30, have an incredible opportunity to experience the benefits of service through a New Generations program.  Rotary supports programs such as Rotaract and Interact, where young adults serve communities at home and abroad.  Through the Rotary Youth Exchange, young adults are able to live abroad and explore new cultures.  And as participants in Rotary Youth Leadership programs, they learn skills that will help them succeed as future leaders in their schools and communities.

New Generations refers to the youngest generation in the family of Rotary. As described above, there are four main youth and young adult program supported by Rotary: Interact, Rotaract, Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA), and Rotary Youth Exchange. Past RI President Luis Vicente Giay coined the term New Generations when he shared his belief that the future of Rotary relied on involving young people in the organization’s programs and activities. At the 1996 RI Convention in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, he said:

     “Our vision for the future, now more than ever, is the difference between success and failure. The New Generations are our investment in the future. 

     Let us begin to build that future today.”

New Generations Service became Rotary’s fifth Avenue of Service in 2010. It is defined in article 5 of the Standard Rotary Club Constitution:

     "New Generations Service recognizes the positive change implemented by youth and young adults through leadership development activities, involvement 

     in community and international service projects, and exchange programs that enrich and foster world peace and cultural understanding."

The New Generations Avenue of Service acknowledges the great work that Rotarians do with youth and young adults.  It also encourages us, as Rotarians to do more.  It inspires us by saying that every Rotarian has a responsibility to support the personal and professional success of young people while recognizing the diversity of their needs.  Rotary clubs should be committed to involving youth and young adults in their vocational, community, and international service projects, and to providing programs and resources that support them.  Working with youth and young adults in our communities is a great link to the future of our country, and may make such a positive impact, that we could be fostering relationships with fellow Rotarians.  

What are some of your experiences through Rotary, which have supported one of the New Generations programs?  If your club has not been active with Rotaract, Interact, RYLA, or Rotary Youth Exchange, what are some ideas you may have to connect with the youth of your community?  Perhaps there are some community activities where local youth could be invited to help (many schools have service clubs that would love to partner for a project).

If you are interested in learning more, cut and paste the following link to find out how you and your Rotary club can benefit from being involved with young adults through Rotary: http://www.rotary.org/en/StudentsAndYouth/YouthPrograms/Pages/ridefault.aspx 

Resources:

Information provided by the Rotary International websited, accessed from http://www.rotary.org/RIdocuments/en_pdf/735en.pdf and http://www.rotary.org/en/StudentsAndYouth/YouthPrograms/Pages/ridefault.aspx on January 27, 2013.