This Meeting was our 19th this Rotary year and our 5,010th meeting in the Club’s 102nd year.
This week’s MC was Carol Bond, and the reflection was delivered by Ruth Carlos-Martinez whose thoughtful reflection is published elsewhere in this Bulletin. President Chris Sotiropoulos proposed the loyal toast.
After welcoming guests and visiting Rotarians, President Chris invited PP Reg Smith to the podium to launch the Smith Family Around the Bay Silent Auction. Reg took the opportunity to explain how to access and participate in the Auction. While this is the first year of using a specialist on-line platform to promote and conduct the auction, the initial response has been strong. To get involved, just go to the Club Web site and click the Around the Bay Silent Auction tile; alternatively, go directly to the auction, just click here: https://www.32auctions.com/RotaryAT
President Chris reminded then reminded us of the special evening event being held at the at 6:00pm on Wednesday 15 November. Tickets are selling fast and this promises to be a highlight event as we have 3 electric vehicle experts dispel common myths about this rapidly emerging automotive transformation. Read more about the event under 'Next Week’s Meeting'.
President Chris also advised that the 102nd Annual General Meeting of The Rotary Club of Melbourne Inc. is to be held during the regular weekly luncheon meeting at No 35 Sofitel, 25 Collins St Melbourne on Wednesday 22nd November 2023 at 1.05p.m.
Past President Adrian Nelson then came to the podium to introduce our guest speaker, Lucienne Heyworth who was s a D9800 Rotary Peace Fellow to Uppsala University, Sweden, 2015-17 and was one of six humanitarians honoured as People of Action: Connectors Beyond Borders during the 2019 Rotary Day at the United Nations, which focused on the global refugee crisis. Adrian also noted that Bob Fels iconic contribution in supporting Peace Fellows annually for many years.
Lucienne developed an 'education in emergencies' curriculum to provide instructional materials that can be used in makeshift learning spaces to teach people displaced by conflict. Such spaces create critical safe places for entire communities, where families can fill other basic needs like food, hygiene, and health. Lucienne, who was a teacher before she developed her expertise in providing education in areas of conflict, has focused her work in the Middle East.
Focussing on Education during Conflict, Lucienne provided a compelling account of how she had applied her learnings from her Rotary Peace fellowship through extensive experience working with multiple non-government organisations in the middle East in Cypress, Somalia, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. Young people are impeded in their educational progress by displacement through events including disasters and conflicts and the delivery of makeshift programs to support them. Lucienne encountered and responded to the massive warehouse explosion that devastated Beirut in August 2020.
To view her memorable address on our YouTube channel, Click here. To view the whole meeting, Click here.
