In honor of the first Rotary meeting that occurred on February 23, 1905, Rotary International has designated this day as “World Understanding and Peace Day” and has selected February as “World Understanding Month.”
Rotary Clubs of Hunterdon County are collaborating to celebrate this world understanding month by signing sister club agreements, receiving state and local proclamations, adopting orphans in developing countries and also honoring long serving Rotarians with the US Presidential Lifetime Achievement Awards as well as celebrating international food festival to promote diversity.
Rotary clubs of Clinton, North Hunterdon, Flemington and Whitehouse plans to celebrate Rotary’s goal of world peace and understanding by conducing various programs and activities during February 2023 that emphasizes “understanding and goodwill as essential for world peace.”
As I reflect on this core goal of our newly created partnership, I am truly humbled by Rotary’s undertaking to affect change on a global-level through simple ideas such as education, community service, and relationship-building between individuals. Rotary’s unwavering commitment and its dedication of resources to projects such as Youth Exchange, Vocational Training Team, Global grants, are exemplary.
These and similar programs are not designed to bring an immediate return on investment but to build a foundation for the future. They are progressive as well as deliberate; they offer grassroots, long-term solution to building peace and goodwill among individual citizens. In addition, our countless joint international service projects between Rotary clubs around the world also contribute to this vital objective.
Ideas for honoring this theme came about during our club president’s monthly meeting in January 2023. We will be honoring former Rotaract member and Rotarian Nick (Nemanja Nikitovic) to receive the US President’s Lifetime Achievement Award. He will be our keynote speaker and talk about his journey from Serbia to New Jersey. Nick is former Rotaract President from 2002, who is current advisor and a fulltime professor at the same institute where he started his long journey from Serbia to America.
Nick’s STORY
Nemanja Nikitovic: My Journey from Serbia to New Jersey
The evening of special celebration will include international food, presentation from former Group Study Exchange team members, as well as presentation of several volunteer service awards and international entertainment with an International cultural and other artistic theme.
This will be a great time for our clubs to launch an international community service project, make contact with a Rotary club in another country, look into a Rotary Fellowship Exchange.
District 7475’s recent Rotary Fellowship Exchange to Nepal is a perfect example of how we can promote greater understanding.
GAP EXPERIENCE: https://wordpress.com/post/theashapro.blog/2639
As Rotarians, we promote international understanding and enjoy international friendships. Those friendships take root every time an Ambassadorial Scholar meets his or her host family or a District welcomes a Group Study Exchange Team. Such life-changing experiences broaden our worldwide commitment. We would like to invite you all to join us on February 25, 2023, to our Taste of International Food fundraising event where you have a chance to experience world travel without leaving New Jersey.
Through Rotary and its Foundation, we foster personal relationships that transcend borders and form a foundation for peace. World Understanding Month is a chance for every club to pause, plan, and promote the Fourth Avenue of Service – Rotary’s continued quest for goodwill, peace, and understanding among people of the world.
I would love to hear about how your club honored this theme. You can reach me via email at trm7510@gmail.com.
The Asha Project 