Seoul Convention

Between jet lag, the Rotary convention, and meeting people, I’m afraid this blog has gotten frightfully outdated.  Let me see if I can sum up the past week in just a few paragraphs.

SPEAKERS.  What is there to say when the first speaker of a four-day convention is none other than Ban Ki Moon? And when later that day the prime minister of Sri Lanka drops by?

NUMBERS. Estimates are all over the place on how many Rotarians were here this week.  The problem is that the folks doing the counting were doing so at the entrance to the plenaries, and there was plenty to do without going to the plenaries.  What seems clear is that this is the largest gathering of Rotarians ever – and the numbers are probably in the high 40,000s.

PEOPLE. One of the really neat things about Rotary and its annual convention is that one is likely to run into people one has seen before  .. on the other side of the world.  I did that and more, not only running into Rotarians from far-off distances, but also I got to talking with a Rotarian from the very-close-by Brunswick Coastal club, and it turns out that our paths crossed professionally way back in the late ’70s.  (Yes, you guessed it, we shared a nursery school together).

SPECIAL INTERESTS. The various dinners, breakfasts, whathaveyou for Rotarians of specific interests are especially fun just for this reason.  Frank and I always attend the All-Africa Breakfast where, for sure, whatever we are wearing pales in comparison to what the African Rotarians are wearing.  And the  Arch Klumpf Society dinner is always a good time, although more sedate than the All-Africa Breakfast.

WAR VETERANS. This year the city where the Convention was held through a special lunch for veterans/families of those who served during the Korean War or in Korea since the war.  Frank qualifies as the former, so we went … and were royally feted, not only with lunch, but also with singing, dancing and, of course, speeches.  It was also fun to see what Koreans serve  for a banquet meal when they are left to their own devices.  And it was good to recognize that the sacrifices of the UN nations has not been forgotten.

ENTERTAINMENT.  Rotary typically tries to get top-name entertainment for the Convention – some are hits, others are misses (Because Ray Klinginsmith, from Missouri, was president when the Convention was held in New Orleans, so I am afraid we had country music rather than jazz.  Ugh).  This time, while most of the entertainment was versions of Korean traditional, the Convention closed with Psi, a K-pop singer  who happens to have the song with the most YouTube hits of all time, and who also happens to be a third-generation Rotarian.  Who knew?

ROTARY NEWS.  Oh, yes, that’s what we’re here for, isn’t it?  And the news is good – with polio on the run and Membership numbers not growing, but at least we’ve stopped the slide, and Rotary changing – or, I should say, the Rotary world recognizing that change is all to the good.

AND THEN THERE’s SEOUL.  Part of the fun of a convention is discovering a new city.  Let’s face it, Korea was never on my top-ten list, but we’re here, and Frank and I have discovered a warm and hospitable people, an ancient culture and strong national pride, and absolutely amazing cultural sites.

NEXT YEAR, ATLANTA.  And a convention without jet lag for us! I can relate to that.

 

 

Tuesday at the Convention

This morning was the All-Africa breakfast, which is one of the hidden secrets of the International Convention.  Everyone shows up, because it is a lot of fun, with everyone from Africa in appropriate dress, and  non-Africans who have worked in the continent all making a showing.  This year there were very few people from 9125, the Nigerian District, however; there was a problem with visas.

Apparently the typical thing to do is to try to get the visas approved in a block.  This year, however, the Portuguese embassy required all Nigerians to show up in person in Abuja or Lagos.  Not only was this expensive and  inconvenient for anyone who doesn’t live in Abuja or Lagos, but even then many visas were turned down.  Some enterprising Nigerians got visas to Switzerland or Italy and just crossed the border after arriving in Europe, but obviously, all this meant expense and bother.  The world is in a pretty bad condition when one country turns down the citizens of another country for what is, after all, a convention about working for international friendship and peace.  Ah, well.

 On to the plenary – it is Foundation day – and the debacle surrounding yesterday’s breakouts led me to change plans today.  We didn’t even try for any of the breakouts; after the plenary we declared an afternoon of sightseeing.  We traveled by commuter train out a few miles to Belem and the very famous statue to Henry the Navigator and all his followers, then walked along the quay to the castle that was once Lisbon’s fortification against the Moors.  Then, and until the earthquake, it sat in the middle of the river; today it’s on the shoreline (the river bank changed course) and still pretty impressive.   Home via street car (you can tell that Frank created this itinerary) and to do the laundry and catch up.  Another beautiful day in Lisbon.

Monday at the Convention

The plenary speakers this morning included a former child soldier from South Sudan who spoke of peace through poetry and rap and a Nigerian woman/Nobel peace Laureate named Lehmay Gbowee who is working on women’s issues in West Africa.  Both had the entire Rotary plenary attendees on their feet … then on to the President’s luncheon.  Frank and I ran into  Janine Teuppenhayn (shown with us here), the daughter of an old friend from Berlin who we knew was a Rotarian, but who Frank hadn’t seen since she was a child.  Only at a Rotary convention, only with more than 20,000 people around us!

We ended up sitting at lunch at the table of a Japanese  director.  The Japanese  revere age, so I shouldn’t have been surprised when the gentleman next to Frank directly asked him his age.  Frank was momentarily surprised, but game, and directly answered “83,” at which point the gentleman repeated the number for the benefit of the entire table and allowed as he was only 78.  The purpose of the lunch, however, was to honor President Sakuji and Kyoko Tanaka, and since that is one of Frank’s favorite thing to do, the age incident quickly faded from view.

Usually, Rotary events start and stop on time, but everything in Lisbon has started late and ended later; by the time we got out of the luncheon we discovered that the  breakouts were all filled and no one more was being admitted.  So we couldn’t support Carolyn in her breakout, and we spent the afternoon waiting around  to meet at prearranged meeting places that we couldn’t get into, et cetera, and were pretty tired by the time cocktail time came.

But we needed our strength for the evening … a cocktail reception for Bequest Society members led to Fado Night at the Bull Ring.  Frank and I had both enjoyed a song or two of Fado, which in Portugal’s answer to an invented-here musical style, and is sort of French art song meets the blues, but an evening of it proved too much.  Also, the seats at the bull ring were steep and minus any leg room, and there wasn’t exactly any air conditioning, you know, so after a suitable interval we left and made our way back to the hotel by metro.

Convention Opens

The Opening Plenary is always so exciting — the flags of Rotary are carried in — and when you realize that there are 225 countries and territories in Rotary, that makes for quite a display.  When you realize that’s more countries and territories than are in the UN, it makes for quite an emotion.  Last year South Sudan was introduced as a new Rotary country; this year it was Maldives.  Basically, Rotary is everywhere EXCEPT Cuba, North Korea, Burma, Vietnam and mainland China — except provisionally in the last two countries.  It turns out that when totalitarianism moves in, Rotary is booted out.  Totalitarian regimes don’t like business people sitting around over lunch looking for ways to improve the community.

President Sakuji spoke — after the longest standing O I think I’ve ever witnessed.  I’ve heard this talk before — and it bears repeating.  It’s how we was six years old when the war ended, and what he really remembers is the emotions of the adults when they heard the Emperor for the very first time speak on the radio and say that Japan had surrendered.  Knowledge of Hiroshima and Nagasaki came later.  So Tanaka-san grew up knowing what war can do for a country, and he learned as an adult what peace can do.  As he said, his grandparents would never believe that today in Japan everyone has health care, no child goes hungry, et cetera, and this is the result of peace, not war.

After the plenary Frank left to join the Rotary lawyers fellowship, then we turned away from the Convention Center and toward sightseeing.  However, nap time intervened, so we only had time to walk down to the waterfront prior to returning to the Convention Center for the Zone dinner.

My father sailed into Lisbon in (I think) 1959.  He was a Coast Guard officer involved in a cadet summer cruise.  I don’t know where they went other than Lisbon that trip — I will have to ask him.  I was five years old at the time, and I only know about Lisbon because he purchased a set of stainless steak knives, which have come down to me and which Frank and I use practically daily since our flatware doesn’t have serrated edges.   So that’s all the family lore on Lisbon.

Our hotel is in the Baixa district — presumably built over an old river valley — between the castle and the old convent.  The community was rebuilt after the 18th century earthquake that leveled the  city — there’s a huge square on the waterfront, which was once the market/commercial district and then the apartment district, and another almost-as-huge square fronting a national theatre.  The metro is new, and because it transects a city famous for its hills (and we’re talking steep!) some of the stations have really long/steep escalators to  egress on the left, for example, but only a short ride to the right.

The Convention Center is up in a new part of town.  It was built for an Expo in 1998, and my only complaint is that no one thought to put a metro stop there — the closest stop is 10 minutes away — sort of like the Jacob Javits Center in New York City.  Ah, well, we need the exercise, and at least it’s on the flat.

Lisbon

Our first day in Lisbon has been a success. We flew direct from Newark, which meant that we arrived at oh-dark-hundred in the morning, and couldn’t get into our hotel until closer ’til noon. So we left the luggage at the concierge and wandered off in search of a cappuccino.

I should add that one of my first impressions of Lisbon is one of poverty. It is true that Portugal currently has 30 % unemployment, and that the country is among the poorest in the EU, But still. That cappuccino was punctuated by a half-dozen beggars asking for money, all with physical impairments of one type or another. At least one of the beggars carried himself very much like a polio survivor– he held his ankle and that gave him enough support to hobble on two legs. The thing is, that means that if he had some surgery — or at minimum a prosthesis — he could probably walk standing tall. Later in the day, on the metro, we saw a man in need of an LN-4 prosthetic arm. My point is: This is western Europe! There’s just no excuse.

Our hotel is in the Baixa neighborhood, which seems to be the center of tourism in Lisbon, and certainly, every other tourist in Lisbon this week is a Rotarian. Small wonder, with 20,000 of us registered for the Convention.

Lisbon is a town that time forgot. It’s mostly baroque architecture, but after an earthquake leveled much of the city in the 18th century and its overseas provinces disappeared at about the same time, Portugal lost its splendor and never recaptured its financial resources. The result is a small town, really, built on multiple hills overlooking the Tagus River, The convention center is a metro ride (and a transfer) away, out near the airport, but only 40 minutes from our hotel.

We had cappuccino, we got into our room (more on the room later) we napped and we dressed and headed out to the Convention Center to check it out and to register. Then back to the hotel for another nap, and then dinner in a seafood restaurant.
That turned out to be quite a treat! Frank had oysters — he has made it his business to try oysters the world over, each time proving to his satisfaction once again that Damariscotta River oysters are the best. I had been told about ordering barnacles — they have another name but that is what they are — they come with a hammer or something to dig them out of the shell. I was curious, but not 75 euros per kilo curious, so I ordered cockles instead, and they came cooked in garlic and butter, but not live a live oh. That, plus some cheese and olives made a great supper.

Did I mention that Lisbon is built on hills? Serious hills. You know how in America there are lots of split-levels where in back the second floor is on ground level? Here, there are plenty of apartment buildings where in back the sixth floor is on ground level! So after dinner we went up the hill in a funicular railway, then came back down via an elevator that was built by a disciple of Eiffels. Really rather remarkable.

Along the way we checked out the program for the next few days and made plans accordingly, and everywhere we went we passed fellow Rotarians, obvious via their “End Polio Now” bags, their Rotary shirts and their beefy faces, and played “where are you from?” Now to bed, because tomorrow is another day!

An End and New Beginning

I completed my last expense report this morning; my final email blast to the District went out this afternoon.  Tonight at my club meeting I will present two very well deserved Paul Harris Fellows to club members who really, really helped make the Conference a success.  And then:  And then.

Tomorrow Frank and I fly to Lisbon to join 20,000 other Rotarians at the 2013  International Convention. A lot of people have already left for the Convention, either to get in some pre-convention sight-seeing or just to get over jet lag before the speeches start.  We didn’t give ourselves that luxury.  On the other hand, the Convention ends on June 26.  Carolyn and Peter are hastening home immediately afterwards because “her” District Governor year starts on July 1.  Frank and I will be spending a week in Seville and environs because, well, at that point we will have the luxury, and no obligations that call for us to hasten home.

This doesn’t mean that I will fall into a crack.  I’ve been asked to be my club’s membership chair; I’ve been asked to be the District communications chair (first have to figure out what that means), and I’ve been asked to take on an assignment also at the Zone level.  So I will be keeping busy.

And whatever the next Rotary adventure turns out to be:  I’m ready!

http://www.rotary7780.org

Destination: Bangkok

With friends from District 9125, Nigeria.

So why go halfway around the world to attend a Rotary Convention? The prime reason has to do with reveling and appreciating the sheer inter-nationality of Rotary.  I reconnected with old friends from Mali and Nigeria and the Philippines, met new friends from europe, and swapped stories with my classmates and friends from across North America.

Another reason is to hob-nob with the movers and shakers in Rotary.  For all its fancy titles, Rotary is a remarkably egalitarian organization — we are all volunteers, after all — and it’s remarkably easy just to introduce oneself to a Rotarian in senior office and express appreciation or ask a question.

Another reason is to learn more about the “other” Rotaries — the Rotary of Rotaract, of the Cadre, and other Rotary programs that we don’t know much about in District 7780.

Then there is the opportunity to hear keynotes of what is current and avant in the Rotary world.  Here’s the place to get the best, the latest information.  This last proved less powerful this year, at least for me, since, along with my classmates I had equal benefit in the International Assembly in San Diego in January.  On the other hand, it doesn’t hurt to hear things twice …

And somewhere in there is the change to be introduced to yet another corner of the world.  Neither Frank nor I have ever before been to Southeast Asia, and I have always wanted to come to Bangkok.  We did that, plus a week in Cambodia! (Join Rotary and see the world!) And as always happens when one allows oneself to absorb new experiences, Cambodia turned out to be so much more.

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Muhammed Yunas Speaks

Muhammed Yunas at the Rotary Convention.

Bruce Aylward of the World Health Organization is an incredible speaker.  Muhammed Yunas of Grameen is an amazing one.  The thing about Rotary conventions is that it’s a place where world leaders and Nobel Peace Prize winners are likely to show up to talk about whatever it is that is their passion.  How outgstanding is that?

Yunas spoke about microcredit and how, to invent microcredit, he basically did the opposite of whateverit was that  conventional banking required.  Then he spoke of his new concept of social business.  His point is that if we were all to create a profitable business — but rather than the profit going into the pockets of a few people it was rolled back into the business to help promote more business, the world would be a greater place.  He isn’t talking about a world of do-gooders giving away their profits; he is talking about thriving corporations creating a business on the side to  do something for the betterment of the world.

His question to each of his listeners was: You are all business people.  You are all leaders, and all believe in giving back. What business could you start today that would give back to people less entitled than you?

Brave words.

Shopping Horrors

And to think that USAA tried to push us to a rental car!

Have I said anything recently about shopping malls? Our hotel is perched aside one of the largest shopping centers in downtown Bangkok, sporting 100 stores on seven floors with piped in music and  at least one multiplex theater and multiple food courts.

When I was in Philippines as a GSE team leader, we were constantly being taken to these places.  Each one had a superlative: Most stores, most recently opened, most square footage, whatever.  We would be driven past historical and cultural points of interest to spend the afternoon in a shopping mall. Eventually, I started to complain.  Why, I asked, was I being asked to spend time window shopping in a venue that sported all the brandnames from home that I know and love (Benetton, French Connection, Gucci)?  The answer would be that young people love these malls because they are air conditioned, and because they could spend the entire day hanging out with their friends without adult escort.  I get that, I would reply.  Our young people enjoy shopping malls as well.  But why do you bring your international visitors to share the experience?  Oh, that’s an interesting question, I would be told.  But wait until you see the mall tomorrow, it’s a superlative for something else!

With that as background, imagine my horror when I discovered that our hotel this week (chosen  by me based on price alone and yes, it is pricey) sits aside the largest indoor shopping mall  in downtown  Bangkok and that the only entrance is through the mall.  There are several over-priced restaurants at the hotel, but basically, the mall food court is our oyster.  It takes a minimum of two elevator rides to get anywhere, including out, and nothing is convenient.  You guessed it, this is my idea of shopping hell.

We’ve been in Bangkok since last Thursday, and  it’s been on the bus and off the bus and back on the bus to the International Convention, but  except for Sunday’s excursion to the Royal Palace we could have been in Billings as much as Bangkok. All I’ve seen of Bangkok is various elevator banks and the shopping mall.  One interesting note: All the signage in the mall is in English — only place in Bangkok that seems to be the case.  If I were an English teacher in this country, this is where I would send my students.  That said …

We’ve tried to leave the Convention early a few times to get in a few hours’ sightseeing, but have always been stymied by something-or-other.  So tomorrow — shhhhhh — we plan to play hooky.  And to NOT go into the shopping mall.  Don’t tell my secret.

At the Institute

The International Institute is a pre-Convention meeting in which the most current information is shared with senior Rotarians.  In plenary and breakout, the Institute is the chance where Rotary shares what Rotary is doing.  I don’t know why it isn’t better attended – there were about 500 here when 34,000 are expected for the opening session of the Convention tomorrow. There were only two other of my classmates from the paired Zones.  Well, their loss.

This year I was asked to be on the Findings Committee, which is Rotary-speak that means that I got to take the notes.  Actually, it was very much Old Rotary – I’m sitting there taking notes when the speakers could just have been asked to provide their speeches in advance.  If the Institute organizers did that, they could have the copies on the web tomorrow morning instead of recreating them and getting them distributed by sometime next month.

Also, if Rotary wanted to improve my note-taking, I would have been given earphones to pick up what’s on the mikes, just as the simultaneous interpreters do.  And, someone would have asked the convention center to provide an extension cord so I could plug in my laptop.  All these complaints really mean that I was doing an Old Rotary job in the 21^st century, and that I expected 21^st century tools to get it done. Silly me.

A Rotary International President I can see eye-to-eye with.

President-elect Sakuji Tanaka spoke today, all 5 ft 3 inches of him. Sakuji is the first Rotary president with whom I see eye-to-eye!  Frank and I are wearing our official theme tie and scarf, and because there are so few of my classmates here, they are quite rare. Frank reports that as Sakuji walked by, he looked at Frank and said, “nice tie!”

Which it is, but brings up a point on Rotary branding.  Rotary has a plethora of names and insignias, in some of which the Rotary wheel is so small as to be non-existent.  Lately, rumors have proliferated that annual themes will be abolished in order to simplify our signage.  So it was good to hear the three RI presidents (current, next year and the following year) all speak with one voice to say that the thinking of the Board is to keep the themes but to do a better job of using the Rotary wheel in a major way within the logo.  That is a good description of the new “Peace through Service” logo, and a good compromise, I think.

Rotary membership is another big deal.  Rotary has 1.2 million members.  It had 1.2 million members a decade ago, and the sad fact is that during that period we’ve turned, you guessed it, 1.2 million members.  If we could just cut down on the departure rate, we would have a very different organization.  The new information was in the regional breakdowns.  For example, Scandinavia has one Rotarian for every 300 citizens – that includes children and grandmothers, so it’s probably reached its density.  Germany and Italy have far fewer Rotarians per capita, but those who come in tend to stay forever – that’s because southern Europe has higher standards for who they let in, and once in, members stay for the honor of it if nothing else.

India, Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan and the Philippines are all growing numbers in huge percentages.  Japan is losing numbers, but its population is also aging out. Rotary calls this an “external factor.” The US still is the country with the largest number of Rotarians, but the Asian countries are coming on strong.

All this means that growing membership will take different goals in different areas, and that we must stop the one-size-fits-all approach.  I hope.

The most time was taken with discussion of Future Vision, the new Foundation process that is really changing not only the Foundation but all of Rotary.   That’s because it promotes strategic partnerships with other organizations that can provide on-the-ground expertise and money.  Seems that Rotary has figured out that what we have is 1.2 million volunteers, and that just as we have changed the polio eradication process with the sheer numbers of committed individuals we can throw at the problem, so, too, we can bring our volunteers to bear on a myriad other problems, relying on strategic partners for expertise.  It’s a grand  scheme.

And early indicators are that it is catching on in Future Vision districts.  It’s worth noting that Foundation giving in Future Vision districts is rising – perhaps because those districts have much more latitude in how they spend their  money.  From that perspective, I think our District’s plan to have a District-wide strategic planning session to decide how to spend our money is the right thing to