When the RI President for 2023-2024, Gordon R Mclnally, who belongs to Scotland, gave the theme, Create Hope In The World’ he gave all of us, especially leaders such as yourselves, the role to be Creators.
So, if you are going to be the Creator, what should you do? You have to cause something new to happen or exist. What is that you need to create urgently now? You have to create the atmosphere for bringing the world into an orderly existence.
In Rotary, like in any other field, when you want to be the Creator, you have to sharpen your skills, imaginations and ability to move with people. As a Creator you have to invent, produce, bring out new concepts, and achieve goals,
Today, with chaos and turmoil going on in many parts of the world, one can easily say, “The most dangerous creation of any society is the man who has nothing to lose.”
But that is exactly why Rotary’s theme is Create Hope In The World.
We have to create the desire and hope to live peacefully within people in every part of the world and show how it can be done.
The thrill that can go through the human heart of the Creator as he sees some of his creation of the brain unfolding to success is an unmatched happiness. Such emotions make a man forget food, sleep, friends, love, and everything.
When Rotary created the hope that Polio can be eradicated and all of you worked tirelessly, every year the results we saw made us believe more in our ability to bring hope to millions of children, especially to their parents, that we can conquer the crippling disease.
When India was declared Polio Free in 2014, the happiness that unfolded in the country within every one of over 1 billion citizens is a case you should remember.
For Rotarians who worked it was a momentous occasion and I can recall that I could not sleep for days and I went about thanking God, The Creator, for blessing our country.
Many of the leaders in the Rotary World have attributed the creation of the Ulema Committee by me as the major reason why Polio was eradicated sooner here.
I am humbled by your confidence in me and I again recall the many trips organised by the INPPC to remote areas in UP, Bihar , Malegaon and few other States which needed more messages of hope and confidence that the polio vaccine will work.
It did work and this was the reason why the Governments across India tied up with Rotary to fight Covid 19.
The Government knew that Rotarians can Create Hope within people that Covid can also be contained and as the Chairman of Rotary india’s Covid Vaccination Task Force, I was able to get all your support and we took the message of hope to millions who were unwilling to get vaccinated.
Be the Creator of such hopes. Any authentic creation will be your gift to the future of mankind. The richest source of creation is the feeling, followed by a vision of its meaning.
But first understand this. Life in Rotary is not about finding yourself. Life in rotary is about creating yourself.
You are God’s highest form of creation. You are a living and breathing magnet. You have the ability to control what you attract into your life. So, if you attract love and peace, you can create more love and peace elsewhere and create hope in the world that Peace is Possible.
It is said that before commencing creation of this universe and all that is here, Lord Brahma performed yagnas since anything created has to be maintained only through sacrifice.
This is what this DTTS and AGTS aims to do. If you want to be the creator, you should also put into action our sacred Motto, Service Above Self.
If you understand that Creativity is also about connecting things, you will not wait for inspiration. You will have to go after it with a hammer.
As our RI President-elect has said, you have to come up with creative solutions to develop the mental health of people. This is the basis for peace. So, what can you create new in the years to come?
First, you have to create confidence amongst your Rotary club members that the organisation they have joined is capable of solving mega issues the world faces now.
For this to happen you have to create a harmonious atmosphere within the members of the clubs and district. If there are bickerings about elections, posts, procedures, accounts and such matters in the club and in the district then DTTS and AGTS would not have served any purpose.
Only when you are able to look beyond yourself and see the Rotary organisation as an entity that was created to do good in this world, can you aim to create hope in the world.
Paul Harris created Rotary to constantly inspire the next of leaders to create the change they want to see in this world. The leadership programmes such as DTTS and AGTS were launched over the years by Rotary leaders to connect emerging changemakers and equip them with tools and support they need to create hope in the lives of millions of people.
You can say that these seminars are a way helping Rotarians to explore a career in public service.
As we wrap up this year and get ready for the next one, it’s worth taking a look back at how far we’ve come. By any measure, 2022 – 2023 is a historic year. We have a lady Jennnifer Jone as our world leader for the first time.
We were able to control the unchecked spread of disinformation about the spread of Covid and we also saw the growing number of Rotary District leaders who refused to stand up for any move that threatened to scuttle our democratic function.
What gave me hope this year was seeing so many Rotarians around the world fighting back, especially the young leaders that Rotary is grooming to change the world.
Our network of leaders in India are already starting to have an impact on different issues and in different communities. And the more activists, organizers, and entrepreneurs I meet, the more I believe in their potential to create hope in the years to come.
Your training here must empower emerging leaders, the young people committed to making their communities better through a values-based approach.
Let’s address issues of systemic racism and gender discrimination in order to build a more diverse and representative generation of leaders in Rotary.
As the calendar turns to a new year in July 2023 with new possibilities and opportunities to inspire positive change around the world, I hope you’ll celebrate by making a strong decision today to put an end to all negative energies that are preventing the growth of many clubs.
Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.
The challenges we face are too great for any one person to solve. It will take sustained effort from brave leaders, organizations, and committed supporters like you willing to work together to make progress possible.
This is what you learn here today and you have to share this knowledge with your club members. A post in the District Administration is not what counts in your life. You have to put life into Rotary, your life. There is no time to waste.
Rotary is expanding its work to train young people across this country with the DTTS and AGTS program that will allow more people to be a part of our growing network of leaders from around the world.
And while these young people are working on the front lines of a range of issues, one thing that has become obvious is that progress on so many of them is linked to a broader commitment to democratic values of Rotary.
Right now, democratic ideas are under assault around the world and also to some extent in service organisations and NGOs. This has nothing to do with traditional partisan lines or policy preferences. What’s being challenged are the foundational principles of the movement itself.
That’s why such training seminars aim to bring together some of the remarkable young leaders in our network with some of the top thinkers and practitioners in the field so we can protect, improve and develop Rotary clubs.
It’s fair to say that we won’t solve this in 24 hours. The reasons for democratic backsliding are complicated and varied, but leaders have identified a few issues where we can start digging deeper.
Stalwarts of Rotary explored ways to create a more inclusive and sustainable model of Rotary leadership, so that members feel they’ve got real leadership opportunity.
You must reimagine both our traditional and social media platforms to curb toxic disinformation and encourage a healthier exchange of ideas, strengthen the forces of pluralism in an increasingly diverse world by looking at the story we’re telling about our culture, values and identity – because for any genuine service organisation to function, all people need a seat at the table.
Making progress on many issues is a project that will take decades, not years. But it will be driven by the ideas and insights of a new generation of leaders who are better attuned to the changes that are taking place around the world. We want you to be those leaders.
So, what will you create? Create jobs, create healthcare facilities, create educational institutions, create confidence, create happiness for all these are the ways in which you can create hope in the world.
From the beginning, we’ve set out to be a different kind of organization, and that extends to the way we talk about our work. Rotary club’s annual report isn’t just a place to share financial data or metrics—the kinds of things you’d usually expect from a yearly readout.
You must see it as an opportunity to tell our story, the story of Rotary in every part of the country. Your voice will help shape this organization and by sharing it with your members, you must create hope that nothing is too difficult for Rotary to do.
Your Rotary story must be about how diversity and inclusion are core to our calling and our conduct.
For Rotary International, expansion is important as It will enable this organization to encourage and affect change locally, while showcasing the Internationality to the rest of the world.
Rotary’s plans have been collaborative from day one, built in partnership with thousands of people who have offered their ideas and feedback in person and online.
We’ve been building this hope together from the start. Let’s carry this over the finish line for that alone strengthens the hope that ‘We can do it together.’
As we look to the year 2023-2024, I could not be prouder of the work we’re doing and the change our young leaders are making in their communities. I hope you’re just as excited as I am for the year ahead. From my family to yours, I hope you have another joyful Rotary New Year.
