This year’s National Rotaract Training was held just over a week ago, and provided an opportunity for new and longstanding Rotaract members to broaden their Rotaract knowledge. As a new Rotaract member, I found this training to be extremely enlightening. I was great to find out more of the inner workings of Rotaract and how we can be effective, positive volunteers and leaders to bring about change in the community. With this year’s training day being held online via Google Meet, the challenges of the new COVID-19 environment meant that training was adapted to an efficient online format. Thanks to modern technology, the meeting was just as beneficial as in-person training in so many ways, which gave those of us attending the ability to attend from the comfort of our own homes.
The first part of this full day of training focused on explaining how every person within Rotaract can better understand and utilise their strengths. By using helpful online assessment tools such as the questionnaire provided by the VIA Institute on Character, we can realise our results. Then we can decide how we can use the knowledge we obtain from the tools at out disposal. By reflecting on the strengths we have, such as: fairness, honesty, bravery, zest and appreciation of beauty, we can thrive even more as active Rotaract general members or within a Rotaract board role. It can be very useful to map out our strengths according to each member, (in this case, board members were used in the above image example shown in the training conference). Club strength was also another area that was discussed, with the aim of providing knowledge on how to best build, strengthen and maintain a healthy, proactive Rotaract club. A strong Rotaract club was identified as consisting of members willing to hone their commitment to organisation and communication. Effective representation through marketing and high involvement of Rotaract within the community were also contributors to making Rotaract a roaring success!
During the late morning and afternoon, there were two ‘Breakout’ sessions, which allowed those participating in the training to choose a topic and to watch a separate online stream targeted towards their interests and roles within Rotaract. The options for the first of these breakouts centred on board member roles: President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and the Director roles. The second break out session included options for skills and knowledge relating to the successful running of Rotaract. These sessions included: IT and online tools, running events, marketing and branding and projects/planning for success.
Another key point that was discussed during the conference was the concept of creating an action plan. This is relevant for Rotaract clubs not only in the initial stage of creation, but also those clubs which are already growing exponentially. By forming a strategy, broadening your vision as needed and continuing to evaluate as progress is made, you can ensure you will remain on track to success. The above diagram shows a good example of a circle of success, and was another part of the presentation that I found very engaging, and a great tool that can be used within all areas of life, not just Rotaract.
Overall, the day was a fantastic opportunity to learn even more about Rotaract and participating offered attendees a huge range of new skills and knowledge. In this ever-evolving world, is was great to be a part of a training day with like-minded Rotaractors who share the passions of supporting the community and a thirst for knowledge!
By Amanda Barns
Director of Marketing