Rotary International Launch of projects initiated in WA

The Agent General Mrs Kerry Sanderson AO joined Western Australian Rotarians at the Rotary International Conference in Birmingham in June 2009 to jointly launch three important projects initiated by Rotary in Western Australia, which are now to have an international profile.

Mrs Sanderson said the commitment of the Rotary Clubs from Western Australia in leading these projects through the initial development phase and to piloting and refining the projects and promoting them internationally was to be commended.

“The leadership shown by Rotary once again demonstrates the commitment of the movement to build a better world through service,” she said.

Days of Change

The Days of Change Project addresses the need to reduce greenhouse gases and is focussed on helping people take simple steps to reduce their carbon emissions.

The international deployment of Days of Change will commence in 2011, with the engagement of at least one major international city and ten international Rotary Clubs in the programme that year.

By 2012 the goal is to engage at least ten major international cities in addition to 10,000 minor cities and towns in the program, with a total of 16 million people making pledges to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, resulting in a reduction of more than 2 million tonnes in emissions.

The project is endorsed by Rotary District 9450 - Perth and Northern Western Australia, and District Governor Sue Rowell is one of the Days of Change Champions. She has been assisted in the launch by Rotarian Veronica Devereux.

The programme envisages gaining the commitment of people to work together to make the changes required. Once the program has been piloted in the regional WA town of York during August 2009, the intention is that every Western Australian will be asked to make the pledge, which will ensure that the community is engaged to act on a scale not seen before.

The changes in global average temperatures forecast in the absence of major action could threaten forests and lead to a loss of a number of species of flora and fauna worldwide. We all know that changes are vital, but this programme makes it easy for people to make a commitment by asking them to pledge to make one or more practical changes.

Some steps are as simple as turning appliances off at the wall when not using them, reducing showering time, replacing areas of grass with native plants or turning down the temperature of the hot water heater. The impact of these pledges will be monitored and reported on.

At the joint launch of the Global Poverty Project and Treemission is from left to right, Western Australian Agent General Mrs Kerry Sanderson AO with 2008/09 Rotary International President Dong Kurn Lee - Rotary Club of Seoul Hangang; Sue Rowell - District Governor Perth and Northern Western Australia; Tony Ciallella Director, Days of Change Program; Wei Soo - International Operations Manager, Global Poverty Project; Veronica Devereux - Rotary Club of Western Endeavour.

Treemission

Days of Change is complemented by the Treemission project, which is a collaboration between Rotary and the National Trust of Australia (WA) and Carbon Neutral started by Men of the Trees in 2001. Again, the concept is to make it easy for people to make a commitment to addressing climate change .

Through Treemission, emissions accrued in everyday activities can be turned into trees and shrubs. This will not only help lower carbon levels in our atmosphere but also conserve endangered plants, animals and rehabilitate degraded land.

The initiative sets up a system to make tax deductible donations to offset carbon emissions from meetings and daily activities. These donations will enable an area of land to be planted and rehabilitated with the intention being that a covenant will be placed over the site preventing removal of the trees for 100 years.

An exciting part of the project is that where possible locally endemic species will be used, and tree and under-storey species will be chosen for reasons of biodiversity. Strict accountability and audit requirements will apply administered by the National Trust.

The Global Poverty Project launches "1.4 Billion Reasons" presentation

Rotary District 9450 and District Governor Sue Rowell together with Wei Soo, Project Manager of the Global Poverty Project, are committed to working to end extreme poverty. The aim is to establish a global grassroots movement to capture ideas and to engage people to achieve the millennium development goal, which focuses on halving global poverty by 2015.

There are around 1.4 billion people on our planet who live in extreme poverty - this provides 1.4 billion reasons for the international community to respond. This thought provoking presentation is currently touring Australia, with plans to also taking the message to an international audience.

1.4 Billion Reasons aims to make people aware of poverty issues; persuading and empowering individuals and communities to make a difference by taking action to end extreme poverty.

Rotary District 9450 Western Australia is a proud supporting partner of this initiative and encourages people to connect with their peers and communities to have a voice in changing the world, and catalysing the global movement to end extreme poverty.

Rotary International Launch

The Agent General for Western Australia, Mrs Kerry Sanderson AO attended the launch of the three projects at the 100th Rotary International Convention in Birmingham on 20 June 2009. In a joint launch of the projects with 2008‐09 Rotary International President, Dong Kurn Lee, Rotary Club of Seoul Hangang, Seoul, Korea, she said she had been impressed and inspired by the commitment to these three important projects.

“All projects rely on spreading the message through the world and empowering and encouraging people to participate and Rotary is well placed to act as a catalyst in ensuring that this happens,” she said.