Navigating the Global Network

Navigating the Global Network

January 2010

Rotary mobilizes to aid in Haitian relief and recovery

Rotary has established the Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund for Rotary members who want to donate toward recovery efforts after a powerful earthquake rocked the country on 12 January.

More than US$75,000 to date has been donated to Rotary clubs in the Caribbean as part of an early assistance effort. Caribbean club members will be coordinating much of the Rotary relief work through a local Haiti Task Force, set up two years ago to administer all financial aid to the nation.

homeless in haiti

ShelterBox, an international disaster relief organization founded by a Rotary club member in the United Kingdom, has dispatched a response team of two club members from the United States and one from the United Kingdom to deliver nearly 1,700 containers of supplies to the affected areas. An additional 1,600 containers will arrive in the country in the days ahead. Together, the boxes will have the capacity to provide shelter and supplies for up to 33,000 people. Aquabox, a separate disaster assistance project based in the United Kingdom, is sending more than 100 of its boxes to Haiti to provide safe drinking water.

Get updates on Rotary's aid efforts in Haiti and find out how you can help.

Learn more about ShelterBox and Aquabox.

Nigeria the 2009 leader in progress toward ending polio

The incidence of polio in Nigeria dropped by more than 50 percent in 2009 to 388 cases as of 22 December. There were 783 cases for the same period in 2008.

Most dramatic was the decline in the transmission of the type 1 wild poliovirus, from 707 cases in 2008 to 74 cases in 2009. Also, the proportion of unimmunized children in Nigeria's highest-risk states fell below 10 percent for the first time.

The World Health Organization's Advisory Committee on Polio Eradication attributes 95 percent of the world's progress against the disease in 2009 to Nigeria's success.

Learn more about Nigeria's success against polio.

Rotary recovery efforts continue five years after the Indian Ocean tsunami

Five years after a powerful tsunami devastated communities along the coast of the Indian Ocean, Rotary projects continue to contribute to long-term recovery.

Shortly after the tsunami hit on 26 December 2004, The Rotary Foundation established a Solidarity in South Asia fund, coordinating US$5.9 million in donations toward recovery efforts throughout the region. The Foundation also awarded nearly $500,000 in humanitarian grants in India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand. Many individual Rotary club and district foundations also contributed from their own funds.

Youth Complex Aceh Indonesia

Rotary supported projects have rebuilt schools, provided classroom supplies, secured boats and fishing equipment to restore local economies, and helped construct and furnish hospitals and shelters for the homeless.

Rotary and United Nations
strengthen cooperation

Rotary's more than 60 years of collaboration with the United Nations continues to expand in 2010.

Developed in 2008, the United Nations-Rotary Outreach Programme, a specialized speakers bureau, connects UN experts to Rotary clubs and districts for briefings on important humanitarian and global issues. To date, over a dozen UN specialists have presented the latest information on global health, peace and security, climate change, development and other issues to some 5,000 Rotary club members throughout the United States.

Learn more here .

Now, Rotary and the UN Global Compact are joining forces to encourage responsible business practices and humanitarian service. As business and professional leaders in their communities, many of Rotary's 1.2 million club members share the Global Compact's commitment to human rights, labor standards, the environment and anti-corruption efforts. Rotary club and district service projects often parallel UN efforts to reduce poverty, improve health, encourage literacy and promote ethical business conduct. This natural link between Rotary and the UN Global Compact will strengthen in 2010 as Rotary club members collaborate with Global Compact local networks. Get details.

Learn more about the Rotary-UN Global Compact collaboration.

Rotary fast fact

Perlman at concert to end polio

The Concert to End Polio, featuring violin virtuoso Itzhak Perlman, brought together Rotary club members, guests and friends 2 December and raised more than $100,000 toward Rotary's US$200 Million Challenge.

Perlman, a polio survivor, played to a sold-out audience in New York City's Avery Fisher Hall at

the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.

Perlman received several standing ovations, and the concert received a positive review in the New York Times. Rotary International joined with Perlman and the world-renowned New York Philharmonic for the first time to present the event.

In addition to raising funds for polio eradication, the concert helped increase awareness of the disease, which many people don't realize still remains a threat to children in parts of the world.

To learn more about Rotary's Concert to End Polio click here.

Click to view video from the concet

Learn more about Rotary at www.rotary.org

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Representatives to the UN and Other Organizations

Rotary representatives are appointed by the Rotary International president to increase awareness and recognition of Rotary's programs, policies, and activities within the international community. Rotary representatives work with NGOs and intergovernmental organizations to lay the groundwork for future collaboration at regional and community levels.

UNITED NATIONS - NEW YORK
Brad Jenkins, Primary Representative
Sylvan M. Barnet, Jr., Alternate
Robert A. Coultas, Alternate
William A. "Bill" Miller, Alternate
Helen B. Reisler, Alternate

UNITED NATIONS - GENEVA
Peter Eichenberger, Primary Representative
Kurt Tritten, Alternate

UNITED NATIONS - VIENNA
Franz Zeidler, Primary Representative Anton Hilscher, Alternate

UNITED NATIONS
ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR AFRICA (ECA)

& AFRICAN UNION
Nahu Araya, Primary Representative

UNITED NATIONS
ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR EUROPE (ECE)
Peter Eichenberger, Primary Representative Anton Hilscher, Alternate

UNITED NATIONS
ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN (ECLAC)
Eric Krumm, Primary Representative

UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMISSION FOR WESTERN ASIA (ESCWA)
Michel Jazzar, Primary Representative

UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMISSION FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (ESCAP)
Som Indra-Payoong, Primary Representative

UNITED NATIONS
EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC, AND CULTURAL
ORGANIZATION (UNESCO)
Bernard Dervaux, Primary Representative
Cyril Noirtin, Alternate

COUNCIL OF EUROPE
G�rard Caen, Primary Representative
Fran�ois Goettelmann, Alternate

UNITED NATIONS
ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME (UNEP)
Henry Kyemba, Primary Representative

UNITED NATIONS
HUMAN SETTLEMENT PROGRAMME (UN-HABITAT)
Samuel F. Owori, Primary Representative

UN FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION (FAO)/ WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME (WFP)/ INTERNATIONAL FUND FOR AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT (IFAD)
Marco Randone, Primary Representative
Antonio Lico, Alternate

WORLD BANK
Doris Margolis, Primary Representative Peter Kyle, Alternate

ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES/WASHINGTON, D.C.
Richard S. Carson, Primary Representative

Contact Information

Rotary International
External Relations (PR 210)
One Rotary Center
1560 Sherman Avenue
Evanston, IL 60201-3698 USA
ER Fax: +1 847 866 8237
ers@rotary.org

Christine Sanders
External Relations Specialist
Tel: +1 847 866 3254

Bryant Brownlee

External Relations Specialist

Tel: +1 847 866 3023

About Rotary

AN ORGANIZATION OF BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL LEADERS� UNITED WORLDWIDE � 1.2 MILLION PEOPLE � MORE THAN 200 COUNTRIES AND GEOGRAPHICAL AREAS � PROVIDING HUMANITARIAN SERVICE � BUILDING GOODWILL AND PEACE IN THE WORLD