PolioPlus Advocacy Resources

Dear Zone Team:

In August we held a special PolioPlus seminar at RI Headquarters in Evanston to discuss how best to continue Rotary’s priority goal of a polio free world.   Some of you were invited to attend the seminar based on your location within a polio-affected or key donor country, and we appreciate your willingness to share your thoughts and ideas during the meeting.  As part of that discussion we identified four main areas where Rotarians can most effectively impact the polio eradication effort: fundraising, advocacy, awareness and corporate outreach. 

The PolioPlus staff has developed some resources to help carry this message out to Rotarians in the clubs and districts, particularly as it relates to understanding and engaging in advocacy, which may be a new concept for many. We hope you will utilize these resources in whatever ways best serve needs within your communities.

1.       PolioPlus Seminar Planning Data - these plans were developed during the meeting and follow the calendar year, highlighting key events or dates around which your polio activities can be planned.  If you were not in attendance at the meeting, please work with others on your Zone Team to add to the plan or to incorporate new, creative ways to highlight polio within your communities.

2.       Endpolionow.org website – the new website has many useful resources.   Some of you may have gone on the website to sign a petition presented to United Nations General Secretary Ban-Ki Moon at the polio side event that took place on 27 September as part of the United Nations General Assembly.  A press release highlighting the outcome of the event is attached, and we encourage you to share the information with your local media.

3.       Advocacy Flier – this flier has been developed to highlight the four main areas where Rotarians can continue to support polio eradication.  It can be used at Zone Institutes as well as other district and club events.  It is available as a PDF on the endpolionow.org website but can also be ordered in print form and is available in all languages.  Please let the PolioPlus staff know if you would like a limited quantity sent to you.

4.       Sample elevator speech – those in attendance at the seminar requested a short statement that could be used to highlight the main points regarding Rotary and its efforts to eradicate polio.  Based on the feedback provided, we are including a draft of that statement here, which can be utilized according to your needs and preferences. 

5.       Basic Advocacy Ideas – information on how Rotarians can advocate for polio eradication.  The purpose of this document is to get Rotarians to think about ways they can easily incorporate these efforts into their daily activities.

An Advocacy Power Point presentation is currently under development and will be sent to you shortly to help educate others about the important role advocacy is playing in Rotary’s efforts to bring in new supporters and to tell the world about the critical point we are at in our fight against polio. You can also find a new video online at www.vimeo.com/rotary that has been produced and will serve as a good resource for club and district events (instructions attached).   

We are providing these resources as an initial step toward helping to build on the many ways in which Rotarians are already working for polio eradication.  We encourage you to collaborate within your Zone teams to coordinate your plans and resources in ways that make the most of the work being done.  We will continue to reach out and ask how we can support your efforts to keep polio on the agenda of those who can help us win the fight.  In the meantime, if you have questions or need additional resources please do not hesitate to contact the PolioPlus staff at polioplus@rotary.org.

Regards,

Robert S. Scott

Chair, International PolioPlus Committee