About ROTARACT

Rotaract, an acronym for 'Rotary in action‘, is the youth wing of Rotary International spreading the joy of Rotary amongst youngsters between 18 and 30 years of age. Rotaract is a part of the global effort to bring peace and International understanding to the world. This effort starts at the community level but knows no limits in its outreach. There are 10k Rotaract clubs, divided into various districts for the purpose of easy governance, spread across 178 countries with 300k+ Rotaractors all over the world.

Today‘s young people will become tomorrow‘s parents, professionals, business leaders, and community leaders. With the help of programs like Rotaract, they can gain the tools and skills necessary to develop into responsible, productive members of society. Now is the time for Rotary clubs to focus on the future by challenging the new generations to test their talents, develop new skills, and confront issues they will face in their lifetime. The Rotaract program can instill in its members life skills that can be shared with others for generations to come.

The Rotaract club organizes a variety of projects and activities, depending primarily on the interest of the club members. However, within the Rotaract program, all clubs undertake three kinds of activities to varying degrees; professional development, leadership development, and service projects. Together these three areas ensure a balanced club program and provide important experience and opportunities for the personal development of each Rotaractor.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
A club‘s professional development activities should expand the members: understanding of the work environment and business opportunities within their community. These activities should highlight the Rotaractor‘s role in the community‘s economic development and illustrate how the skills developed through service activities can help in resolving problems in the place of work. Each Rotaract club should provide professional development opportunities to its members through activities such as:

• Professional and vocational forums.

• Business technology updates.

• Management and marketing seminars.

• Conference on business and professional ethics.

• Presentation on finance and credit options for business start-ups.

Sponsoring Rotarians can enhance the professional development of Rotaractors by providing practical advice on entering the business world and tackling business, vocational and professional changes. Making the clubs professional development projects can also help Rotaractors get better acquainted with sponsoring Rotarians.

LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
A club‘s leadership development activities aim not only to make members more effective leaders in their personal lives, but also to teach them how to develop and sustain strong clubs with relevant projects. Important topics to address in training club leaders include:

• Improving public speaking skills.

• Developing techniques for marketing the Rotaract program to potential members.

• Building consensus among members.

• Delegating project responsibilities and ensuring necessary follow-up.

• Identifying channels for project publicity and promotion.

• Finding financial resources for strengthening club development.

• Assessing project success.

SERVICE PROJECTS
Service above Self is Rotary‘s foremost guiding principle. A Rotaract club‘s service projects are designed to improve the quality of life at home and abroad. These projects often address today‘s most critical issues, such as violence, drug abuse, AIDS, hunger, the environment, and illiteracy. Each Rotaract club is required to complete at least two major service projects annually, one serving the community and other to promote international understanding. Each should involve all or most of the members of the club.

Rotaract clubs organize a variety of projects and activities in varying degrees, depending primarily on the interests of the club members. To convene these projects successfully they conduct meetings. Within Rotaract programs, all programs they do can be classified into four avenues of service. They are:

1. CLUB SERVICE: Projects done to maximize friendship/interaction within the club members and with other clubs in the district.

2. COMMUNITY SERVICE: Projects done to benefit the local community or an individual in the community.

3. PROFESSIONAL/VOCATIONAL SERVICE: Projects done with an idea to enhance the personal skills and leadership qualities of the Rotaractors in a club.

4. INTERNATIONAL SERVICE: Projects done in partnership with other voluntary organizations and Rotaract clubs outside our district.

Whatever project/activities you may think off can be grouped under these four avenues. Through these four avenues of projects the Rotaractors ensure a balanced club program and provide valuable experience and opportunities for the personal development of each Rotaractor and also the development of a community. It is a feeling to experience. Today’s young people will become tomorrow’s parents, professionals, business leaders, and community leaders. With the help of the Rotaract program, they can gain tools and skills necessary to develop into responsible members of society. If you are between the age group 18-30 and not in Rotaract, you are missing something. If you between18-30 and in Rotaract, Congratulations for taking steps towards greatness.

Before performing the projects the Rotaractors ensure the authenticity of the project by applying the Rotary’s famous Four Way Test. From the earliest days of the organization, Rotarians were concerned with promoting high ethical standards in their professional lives. One of the world’s most widely printed and quoted statements of business ethics is the Four-Way Test, was created in 1932 by Rtn. Herbert J. Taylor (who later served as Rotary International President) when he was asked to take charge of a company that was facing bankruptcy. This 24 word test for employees to follow in their business and professional lives become the guide for sales, production, advertising and all relations with dealers and customers, and the survival of the company is credited to this simple philosophy adopted by Rotary in 1943. The Four-Way Test has been translated into more than a hundred languages and published in thousands of ways. It asks the following four questions:

1. Is it the TRUTH?

2. Is it FAIR to all concerned?

3. Will it build GOOD WILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIP?

4. Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?

Significance: Ethical standards in business have been a concern of Rotary since its founding in 1905. Four-Way Test is a tool given to Rotarians to achieve high ethical standards.

The purpose of Rotaract is to provide opportunity for young men and women to enhance knowledge and skill that will assist them in personal development, to address the physical and social needs to their communities, and to promote better relation between all people worldwide through a frame work of friendship and service.

Why I am Rotaractor?

After the world “To Love”, the best words in the world are-”To serve”. To love is to devote one to serve in or simply to serve. Love is worth nothing if we are not able to be useful to someone. Indeed for we, the Rotaractors, love and service are the two keywords of our organizations. They lie at the deep core of mankind’s aspirations to give and serve selflessly. And so, we Rotaractors are guide to the Elitz Du Coeur. The greatness of this organization lies perhaps, above all the way it brings people closer and creates friendship among them.

Rotaract is both a factory that manufactures friendship and a service centre, which maintains and strengthens existing friendship and extends mutual understanding. But Rotaract also needs to generate a constructive, persuasive exchange of ideas. Let us remember that the role in Rotaract is not to transform men. We do not have enough virtue or sufficient enlightment to be capable to do that. Without such values, man is not worthy of respect, and the world is not worthy of respect, and the world is not a worthy place to spend one’s life. That is the reason I am a Rotaractor.

Introduction of Rotaract

Organizing A Rotaract Club can be one of the most exciting activities for you, your community and the local Rotary club. It gives you the opportunity to bring together dynamic and energetic young men and women who can help resolve community problems, become community leaders and work to make your community a global partner & in creating a better world. For members, a Rotaract club brings together young men and women of similar background and interest to enjoy the fruits of effective teamwork, the success of worthwhile projects and the bonds of lasting friendship. Rotaract club projects open the door to unique community service opportunities, unique international experience through participation in international conferences, volunteer work in other countries and visits of Rotaractors from other lands.

For the sponsor club, a Rotaract club brings in new energy to Rotary, fresh ideas for service, increased support for projects, and a new type of teamwork and future members for the Rotary club.

In short, when you organize a Rotaract club, everyone benefits- the community, the potential Rotaractors, the sponsoring Rotary club and you.

What is a Rotaract Club?

Rotaract clubs are part of a global effort to bring peace and international understanding to the world. This effort starts at the community level but knows no limits in its outreach. A Rotaract club is a community service activity of a sponsoring Rotary club. It is a worldwide organization of young men and women aged 18 to 30 who believe that they can make a difference through community and International service projects, Rotaractors help to improve the lives of people around them. In doing so they develop leadership skills and professional skills and establish a network of friends. Rotaractors have access to the many resources of Rotary International (RI) and the Rotary Foundation. Rotary International provides the administrative support that helps Rotaract clubs thrive.

Rotaract Clubs are of two types:

1. Community based in which any youth who is eligible can become a member.

2. Institutional based in which members of that particulars institute can become members.