It was in 1964
During the World’s Fair in New York, a technology called Picturephone by AT&T was introduced & packaged as the first video conferencing platform. Participants were allowed to communicate via video with the person on the other end, enabling them to experience the first video telephone device designed for the masses. It is this breakthrough that has informed the modern-day teleconferencing solutions, which we are so lucky to enjoy.
A few months ago, it was not fashionable to hold a Board/Committee meeting online, leave alone a Club meeting. In a record six months, this seems to be the way forward. As a Rotary family, we have seamlessly realigned our ways and fully adopted online meetings to ensure that we keep our members engaged and continue serving our communities.
Closer home, at a club level, we have experienced a much cordial member-engagement interaction through the online meetings. Attendance, which often needed some extra effort with the physical meetings, seems to be the least of our worries now.
So, what does this mean though for our internal structures as a club?
In the words of Paul Harris “If Rotary is to realize its proper destiny, it must be evolutionary at all times, revolutionary on occasions.” As we turn our focus to Membership & New Club Development in the month of August, it’s time we re-imagine how new members are inducted into the RCNC family.
What role do we play as individuals to ensure that our respective clubs are not left behind when it comes to observing old & outdated ways of bringing onboard new members? How do we shape the Rotaract experience to be more appealing & attractive to a generation that is global, social, visual, and technological? How do we stitch an experience for the most connected, educated, and sophisticated generation ever?
As a club, the key to our future growth lies in building an Experience for our Guests & Members. Every activity, event, or a meeting we plan, is geared towards helping you experience what it means to be part of the #RCNC Family. While staying true to our culture of excellence, we are investing deeply in our members’ personal & career growth, providing Mentorship & Coaching opportunities for you to better your abilities and skills.
Through our projects, we are giving our guests & members the opportunity to work on their passions. We are providing the opportunity to understand how our correctional system works. Through our Elimu Magerezani signature project; we present you with the opportunity to experience what a young boy or girl goes through if they happen to find themselves on the wrong side of the law.
With this, and many other programs which we are involved in, we intend to;
Spark a Conversation; Be it our #RCNCTuesday Trainings, #AlumniThursday campaigns, #RCNC_VAR moments & many other programs; at the core of what we do is the drive to engage you in meaningful conversations around what’s ailing our society, the kind of problems we are going through as a community & the desires of our people.
Craft Solutions; through these conversations, we are able to come together around a table (these days it’s around a Camera on your device) and discuss how in our small impactful ways, using our little resources, can we become solutions to these nuances & challenges in our community.
Create Change; Through our committees, we are able to rally behind our families, friends & like-minded partners, in small teams, to facilitate training, donate equipment aimed at facilitating the educational & economic needs of our beneficiaries.
These we do, not because we have so much time & resources, but because it’s the right thing to do for my family, for your family, for our communities, for our societies & for humanity.
Ladies and gentlemen. This is the #RCNCExperience; An experience aimed at building the capacity of young professionals to grow each other, to support one another in creating meaningful change in their communities & mentor each other as they grow, both in their professions & in leadership.
Do you feel this is something that you would be interested in?
Yes, we are looking for you.
Together, let us better our community in the words of Helen Keller, “Alone, we can do so little; together, we can do so much.”
Click here to join the #beRCNC Family.Article by: Ambrose Mbuvi (Rtr) |President, Rotaract Club of Nairobi Central