In 1933 Paul harris gave a speech at the 24th annual Rotary International Convention. It was aired around the world. There was no video of this event, so i decided to animate a picture of Paul and have him give the speech in a visual context. Thanks go to rotaryfirst100.org for the audio portion.

Five Simple Advocacy Actions

The following are ideas that any Rotarian can use any time to engage those with the authority to influence political and financial commitments for polio eradication. This includes: Members of Parliament/Congress/National Assembly; Ministers of Development or International Cooperation, Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Ministers of Finance, and Heads of State.

Most Rotarians can reach out to their member of Parliament/Congress/National Assembly. This outreach can be done by standard mail, by phone, via email (many of these bodies provide email addresses or other means of electronic communication on the world wide web) or via social media such as Facebook and Twitter. Face to face contact is also important. Many elected officials hold town halls, conference calls or other special opportunities to encourage constituent engagement.

• Take advantage of media articles about polio eradication – particularly those that draw attention to the positive role of Rotary and the need for support. Share the article with your elected officials. Tell them polio eradication is Rotary’s highest priority and is important to Rotarians as their constituents. Encourage their support for this issue at this critical time, and if appropriate, thank them for your country’s previous support.
• Take advantage of reports issued by key groups for example, the Independent Monitoring Board or the Strategic Advisor Group of Experts. These reports often feature key points and/or quotes on which you can focus your own message.
• Share the infographics available from RI (at www.endpolionow.org ) that convey key messages in simple, easily digested ways. These infographics can be sent at any time to highlight key aspects of the program and the need for continued support.
• Make it personal – tell why polio eradication is important to you. Perhaps you, a friend, or a family member has been personally affected by polio. Perhaps you have children or grandchildren who have been spared as a result of the progress already made. Perhaps you have traveled to a country where you have seen the ravages of polio. Share your story with your elected official and why you feel it is important that they support this issue.
• Invite an elected official to speak to your club and use this as an opportunity to highlight Rotary’s commitment. This could be done in several ways:
• Provide a polio-related speaker gift such as a framed photo of a child being immunized or perhaps an End Polio Now pin with a certificate advising that a contribution has been made in his/her name to PolioPlus. Spend a minute talking about polio eradication as Rotary’s highest priority and encourage the official’s support.
• Ask the official to speak about the government’s support of polio eradication. NOTE: RI can assist in preparing talking points for the invited official’s use and you can offer this assistance. This ensures that they are briefed on the issue and also conveys to the official that this is an issue that is important to your club.
• If an elected official is invited to a club or district event for a non-polio related reason, this is still an opportunity to highlight polio eradication as Rotary’s top priority and encourage that official’s support. This simple action will reinforce outreach that is done by other Rotarians at Capitol level. Often elected officials will mention that they have spoken to a Rotary club but the club never mentioned anything about Rotary’s work on polio. This actually hurts Rotary’s efforts.

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

¡Descubre un Club Rotario con una de la mejores webs hoy!

El Rotary Club de Palma de Mallorca Junípero Serra, ha lanzado recientemente su web de última generación.

Entrevistas, videos, fotografias, historia y un sin fin de información de actividades de Rotary International y del club que fomentan el altruismo, la fraternidad yla amistad.

¡Una web al servicio de todos y que recomendamos!

Entra aqui: http://www.rotarypalmajuniperoserra.org/