Dear Everyone,
On Wednesday, it was 100 years since the Rotary Club of Melbourne first met in Australia at the Scotts Hotel.
From “The Age, Saturday 23rd April 1921:
The “rotary” movement has invaded Melbourne. On Thursday, the first luncheon of the newly formed Rotary Club was held, and was attended by a large gathering of members. The function was marked by the fun and good humour which supporters of the movement cultivate – for Rotary has a special creed of its own. Mr HB Lee who holds the office of “sergeant at arms” was presented with a boomerang by Sir John Monash as a mark of office.”
By way of celebrating the centenary, the RC of Melbourne hosted “The future of PEACE LEADERSHIP” Symposium on Wednesday and Thursday, another example of “Rotary Opens Opportunities”. Russell Marnock, Lorna and I attended the online symposium, and I will give a summary of some of what I learned, as the content was wide-ranging and detailed.
The first plenary lecture was given by Assoc. Prof. Tilman Ruff AO, Rotarian and Founding Chair of the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), on the question, “Leaders of the World – How Can We Eliminate Nuclear Weapons Before They Are Used Again?”
Tilman argued that governments must be compelled to act to eliminate these weapons, as our Earth is 4,600 million years old, yet it could be ended in one afternoon. Nuclear weapons are too indiscriminate to be militarily useful; they are not weapons in any ordinary sense but global suicide bombs. The WHO says that it is the greatest immediate threat to the health and welfare of humankind, and the Doomsday Clock at 100 seconds to midnight, is the closest it has ever been.
91% of the weapons are in Russia and the USA’s hands.
What tools do we have to stop the juggernaut?
The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), or the Nuclear Weapon Ban Treaty, was adopted on 7th. July 2017 and came into force this year on 22nd January 2021. It is the first legally binding international agreement to comprehensively prohibit nuclear weapons with the ultimate goal being their
complete eradication.
Peace work is in Rotary’s DNA, while the Red Cross and the Red Crescent also played a role in the substance of the Ban Treaty.
Cambodian-Australian Dr. Emma Leslie AM, the Executive Director, Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies and based in Cambodia, spoke next and was most compelling. Having observed 5 significant developments across the world in the last decade, Emma believes the kind of leadership we require is characterised by:
- Courageousness
- Connection
- Collaboration
- Creativity
- Unwillingness to compromise and
- Conflict transformation
In the Q&A that followed, Tilman pointed out that Rotary has the extraordinary capacity to focus energy and commitment, which Polio eradication bears out. Through engagement, persistence and its flexibility, Rotary has made global shared priorities a reality and can play a role in doing so again. In the Q&A after Thursday’s Plenary on “Peace building in Somalia and Afghanistan; the hard end of the spectrum”, speaker Natascha Hryckow noted Rotary’s global presence and ability to link across boundaries. Rotary has the innate ability to not see only through the nation-state lens.
Following the Plenary on both days, there were concurrent workshops to attend:
- Indigenous Reconciliation - Lorna and Russell
- Family Violence – maybe we can view this session later on video
- Economics and Peace - me
- Humanity and Humanitarian Aid – Russell
- Business and Human Rights – me
- What You Can Do For Peace - Lorna
In “Economics and Peace”, one of the speakers was Tony Stewart who leads UNICEF’s Australian team. Their aim is sustainable peace building through economic development. UNICEF has made incredibly big strides in children’s health, nutrition and education but is held back by lack of peace. The last decade has been a deadly one with 45 violations daily on children. The lack of nutrition and education in children becomes a systemic problem later in life. Give Every Child a Future is the result of the partnership between Rotary and UNICEF and it’s a Rotary Centenary Project, funded by multiple Global Grants over multiple years. This project delivering vaccines that are routine in Australia and New Zealand, enables Rotary to make such a difference to island nations close to us.
In “Business and Human Rights”, Australia’s Modern Slavery Act 2018 was discussed, and the ban on goods using forced or child labour arose. Consumer purchasing power has a massive influence and we can all be conscientious purchasers. Also, the undermining of human rights often leads to conflict. Phoebe Wynn-Pope, Head of Business and Human Rights at a law firm, said Rotarians should be taking a huge amount of interest not just in modern slavery but in all of the human rights. Human rights are universal, and if respected, the world will become a more peaceful place.
The symposium ended with a panel discussion on “How do we reverse the Doomsday Clock?” and RIPP Ian Riseley, Gareth Evans, Steve Killelea and Emma Leslie were the panelists. It was a very interesting discussion which ended on an optimistic note.
If you have the time to attend these forums that Rotary puts on from time to time, I highly recommend them, as they certainly broaden your horizons and are very insightful and stimulating.
Thank you’s this week to:
- Catherine and Emma and the T2T Market C’tee for all their work for the 1st of May Market.
- who has added their names to the roster Emma has sent out for the May Market. We can’t do it without you.
- Alan Beckwith for assisting at ESC’s Breakfast Club last Tuesday when Tina was called away to family responsibilities.
- Shalini for the long hours she is putting in organising the June Deb Ball.
- Shalini and her helpers for supervising the first Deb Ball dance lesson on Thursday night.
- Ros for ensuring the wording on our Certificate of Appreciation is appropriate and to Kris for producing the attractive Certificate in the first place.
- Tina and Catherine who will attend the presentation of Certificates of Appreciation to Woolworths Emerald with me on Monday.
- Ian A. for his technical expertise again on Tuesday night and for taking notes for Sparkle at the meeting in Kris’s absence.
- DGE Dr. Daryl Moran for magnanimously donating $120 from the sales of “Empire’s Noble Son” to our Fundraising Account.
**This Tuesday night on the 27th of April it is Club Assembly again. Yay!
Dress Code: Casual, denim, double denim or whatever!
Also, bring your bread tags if you have been saving them please for us to give to a market stallholder on Saturday.
**Next week: on the 4th of May, our guest speaker is Barry Ryder businessman, marathon runner, prison fellowship worker and drug rehabilitation worker.
Thank you to Gayle for the recommendation.
**The following week: on the 11th of May, it’s Waggle Dance Practice prior to the R100 Picnic in the Park at Jells Park. Plus, something else – watch this space!
Come and join us at The Paradise for a great night!
OR hopefully you can Zoom in, and I apologise for not having a hybrid meeting last week, but I had displeased the gods apparently.
Stay safe and stay Rotary Even Prouder.
Yours in Rotary,
Vicki.
