Hansi Natzke spoke on Youth Programs

Hansi gave an update to our club on the Youth Programs offered by Rotary.

RYLA stands for Rotary Youth Leadership Awards and is a leadership program coordinated by Rotary Clubs around the globe. Each year, thousands of young people participate in this program. Young people ages 14–30 are sponsored by Rotary Clubs to attend the event run by the club's district committee. Participants are chosen for their leadership potential. Rotary Clubs and the Rotary District cover all expenses for the participants. The format of the event vary from district to district, but commonly take the form of a seminar, camp, or workshop to discuss leadership skills and to learn those skills through practice. Rotary clubs and districts select participants and facilitate the event's curriculum.

RYLA aims to:

·         Demonstrate Rotary's respect and concern for youth;

·         Provide an effective training experience for selected youth and potential leaders;

·         Encourage leadership of youth by youth;

·         Recognise publicly young people who are rendering service to their communities.

Every RYLA program covers the following core topics:

·         Fundamentals of leadership

·         Ethics of positive leadership

·         Importance of communication skills in effective leadership

·         Problem-solving and conflict management

·         Rotary's purpose and service to the community

·         Building self-confidence and self-esteem

·         Elements of community and global citizenship

Interact is Rotary International’s service club for young people ages 12 to 18. Interact clubs are sponsored by individual Rotary clubs, which provide support and guidance, but they are self-governing and self-supporting.

Club membership varies greatly. Clubs can be single gender or mixed, large or small. They can draw from the student body of a single school or from two or more schools in the same community.

Each year, Interact clubs complete at least two community service projects, one of which furthers international understanding and goodwill. Through these efforts, Interactors develop a network of friendships with local and overseas clubs and learn the importance of

·         Developing leadership skills and personal integrity

·         Demonstrating helpfulness and respect for others

·         Understanding the value of individual responsibility and hard work

·         Advancing international understanding and goodwill

As one of the most significant and fastest-growing programs of Rotary service, with more than 33,000 clubs in more than 200 countries and geographical areas. Interact has become a worldwide phenomenon. Almost 340,000 young people are involved in Interact.

Rotary Youth Exchange (RYE) is a Rotary International student exchange program for students in secondary school. Since 1929, Rotary International has sent young people around the globe to experience new cultures. Currently, about 9,000 students are sponsored by Rotary clubs every year. Typically, students are sent to another country for a year-long stay, generally living with multiple host families during the year and being expected to perform daily tasks within the household as well as attend school in the host country.  Short term exchange programs are also quite common. These typically involve direct student exchanges between two families arranged through Rotary to coincide with major school holiday periods.

The Rotarians that participate in the program are volunteers. Many Rotarians are involved in various aspects of the youth exchange program including student selection, compliance with immigration and Rotary regulations, hosting, and supporting students. Each student is sponsored by a Rotary Club and Rotary District in their home country and is hosted by a Rotary Club and Rotary District in their host country. Most districts have a chair for the Rotary Youth Exchange program and some also have committees. Each Rotary Club that hosts a student SHOULD provide a Rotarian counselor for the student who is the student's contact person within the club and provides support to the student when needed (this does not always happen). Some districts are very active and host and send many students, other districts are less active and host fewer students. Some clubs do not even invite host students to attend weekly meeting while other clubs will actively encourage the students to attend.

The parent Rotary organization, Rotary International, has instituted a Certification Program which assesses individual RYE programs with a primary focus on quality control and student safety. Rotary groups are not permitted to participate in RYE programs without first obtaining RI Certification.

Events for students vary from country to country and district to district, but exchange students may often be able to visit other parts of their host country and sometimes other countries while on exchange with their host families, schools, or Rotary. Many districts organize tours for the students they host, which may include weekend trips to nearby cities, tours of the host country that may last several weeks, and many students in Europe have the opportunity to take part in Eurotours which visit many countries and last two to four weeks. However, like most exchange programs, the primary purpose of Rotary Youth Exchange is to provide a cultural and academic exchange and significant independent travel by students is therefore not allowed.

Today, many Rotary Exchange students can be recognized by their Rotary Youth Exchange blazer. While most countries recommend navy blue, the blazer may also be dark green, red, black, or maroon. The colour of the blazer usually depends on which country or region the exchange student is from. One Rotary tradition is that students cover their blazers in pins and patches they have traded with other students or bought in places they have visited as evidence of their exchange.

Before students are sent abroad they attend orientation at Quest University in Squamish. Students get drilled what to do and not to do. Parents are taught how to deal with problems and new situations and both parents and students are subjected to 3 days of training.

Rebounds are students who have spent a year abroad on the Rotary Youth Exchange program and return home for their "rebound year." This is a year of transition for them, as they reflect on the changes they have undergone in their host country as they focus on reintegrating into their home culture, school, friendship circles and social networks. While the Rebounds are excited to share their experiences from their year abroad, this time may be a confusing one for them. Many find they are now a part of two cultures: their host culture and home culture.

Our commitment to the Rebound students is to provide a support network as they go through this transitional year. In the fall, after their exchange year, Rebounds are invited to an orientation where they can share their experiences with fellow Rebounds who understand their joys and challenges. We provide a facilitator to work with the Rebounds, in exercises where they explore ways they've changed, and discuss ways to translate their exchange experience into their lives back at home and future goals. When possible, a social worker is available for kids who have had particular challenges on their exchange year.

It is our hope that the Rebounds will transition from students who are served and helped by RYE, to a group who is serving and helping us and others. We ask Rebounds to work with their sponsoring clubs to recruit and train prospective Outbound students, help provide orientation for Inbound students in their community, and participate in their sponsoring Rotary club's service projects. They are asked to share their experiences from abroad with their club and community, and to continue to be outstanding representatives of the program. Students who excel in these areas are invited to the Winter Orientation, to serve as trainers and role models for Inbounds and Outbounds. At the same time, many Rebounds enjoy the chance to strengthen friendships in their Rebound class, and expand their Rotary connections and network.

All Rotarians are encouraged to get their criminal record check complete, in order to better facilitate the program.

Get your criminal record check completed online here:

https://justice.gov.bc.ca/eCRC/home.htm

1. Club Members currently not Paul Harris Fellows, who have contributed greatly to our club for several years. The criteria for first time recognition will satisfy a majority of the following:

• A member in good standing for minimum of 2 years.
• Has served as an active board member or active committee chair for a minimum of one full year, during which time they have shown commitment to their responsibilities.
• Active participation in and supportive of the club’s service and fellowship activities.
• A record of regular attendance (a minimum target of 60%) although personal circumstances  that preclude regular attendance may be taken into consideration
• Supportive of The Rotary Foundation through annual personal  donations

2. Club members who are already Paul Harris Fellows, who are worthy of additional recognition for their outstanding and ongoing contributions to Rotary within the club and at the district level, or who have made significant contributions in the community outside of Rotary. This would take second place to those being considered for first time PHFs and only when other awards such as Four Avenues of Service, DG Awards, etc. were not an option.

3. Non- Rotarians who have made significant contributions to Rotary or to the community where these contributions have been outstanding and supportive of the ideals of Rotary International. Such an award would promote a greater awareness of Rotary or Service within the community.