Our world
Stay connected through Rotary’s online Learning Center
Rotary Connects the World — that is Rotary President Mark Daniel Maloney’s theme, and despite the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, Rotarians are continuing to connect with one another and the world. Rotary’s new Action Plan calls on us to increase our ability to adapt — and members are coming up with innovative ways to serve their communities and create opportunities for fellowship. Many clubs are meeting online for the first time, reimagining fund-raisers and other events, and reinventing planned service projects.
Rotary’s online Learning Center has resources that can help you stay connected to the organization and to one another. Instead of a meeting one week, for instance, everyone in your club might choose a topic to learn more about and then report back to the other members. You might even decide to develop a webinar using Rotary tips and resources. “The Learning Center courses could be used for general knowledge and for brainstorming, action planning, and idea sharing,” says Kimberly Kouame, learning resources manager at Rotary International.
Often, the first time Rotarians use the Learning Center is when they are elected to a club office. But with more than 600 courses in over a dozen languages (including more than 80 in English), the Learning Center has something to interest every Rotarian. Here are a few to pique your interest; find them all at rotary.org/learn.
Courses
Is Your Club Healthy?
When your club isn’t able to meet in person, it can be a challenge to keep members engaged. Now might be an ideal time to assess the state of your club and ask members what is working for them and what isn’t.
Your Membership Plan
Perhaps you’ve been thinking about creating a long-term membership plan. This course offers a helpful worksheet and step-by-step guidelines for crafting a strong future for your club.
Building a Diverse Club
In line with Rotary’s focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion, this course can help you expand your club’s membership to include people from different walks of life.
Committing to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
This course offers a closer look at Rotary’s DEI statement and how you can put those values into action.
Practicing Flexibility and Innovation
This course guides you through some of the ways your club can be innovative, with advice on subjects such as setting up satellite clubs.
Kick-Start Your New Member Orientation
If your club has had trouble retaining new members, with people joining only to leave a few years later, this course can help. Get tips on how to make sure your new members feel welcome and engaged.
All About Rotary Peace Fellowships
Perhaps you know someone who might be a good candidate for a Rotary Peace Fellowship and you want to be able to talk knowledgeably about the program. Or maybe you would like your club to be more involved. This course will give you information on Rotary’s Peace Centers and the requirements and deadlines for applicants.
Building Rotary’s Public Image
Rotarians are people of action, and we want the world to know what we are accomplishing. But how can you get the message out? This course will teach you how to build awareness of Rotary and its work.
Planning Your Projects: Service Projects Committee
This course is designed for people serving on a club service projects committee, but anyone can benefit from the ideas about how to carry out effective projects — with tips on doing a community needs assessment and executing the project.
Rotary Foundation Basics
The Rotary Foundation is central to Rotary’s work in the world. This course will walk you through the century-long history of the Foundation and its role in grant-making, supporting polio eradication efforts, and funding the Rotary Peace Centers.
Becoming an Effective Facilitator
Develop your leadership skills for Rotary and beyond through this course, which guides you on how to effectively work with a team to define and achieve objectives.
Mentoring Basics
Mentoring has always been one of the cornerstones of Rotary. This course identifies the traits of a good mentor and suggests some best practices to make sure your mentoring relationship is beneficial to all concerned.
Essentials of Understanding Conflict
We’ve all had to deal with interpersonal conflict, whether the issues are small (who sits at which table at the meeting?) or large (what are our club’s priorities?). This course gives you tools to understand different types of conflict and describes conflict management styles.
Leading Change
Change is hard, especially in a collaborative organization. This course offers ideas on how to lead a group of people through organizational change, how to assess people’s readiness for change, and how to deal with resistance to change.
• Illustrations by Anders Wenngren
• This story originally appeared in the June 2020 issue of The Rotarian magazine.