In a bid to bring together a number of Rotary competitions which have traditionally sat outside of the conference, as well as making the event appealing to non-Rotarians, the three-day gathering has been re-titled: the Rotary Conference and Showcase.
Running from Friday 10th to Sunday, 12th May, this 94th annual gathering of Rotarians from across Great Britain and Ireland will be centred on the Royal Concert Hall which lies in the heart of Nottingham city centre.
Saturday morning will have a focus on Rotary’s work at home and abroad, featuring Lorin LaFave from The Breck Foundation, a charity which raises awareness of internet safety, particularly or children.
Also sharing the stage at the Royal Concert Hall will be Lea Milligan from the international development organisation Mercy Ships UK, as well a representative from the Rotary-backed international aid charity, ShelterBox.
Running alongside that session on the Saturday, there will be a slavery symposium entitled ‘Ending Slavery In Our Communities’ taking place at the nearby Albert Hall.
Organised by the University of Nottingham Rights Lab, this all-day event will focus on tackling modern slavery with some of the world’s leading experts in human trafficking. There will be a specific afternoon session for Rotary members to attend.
As an alternative option on Saturday afternoon, the Royal Concert Hall will host a session called ‘Polio – Nearly There!’ which will see Polio through the eyes of a Polio survivor.
Speakers will include Rotary Purple4Polio Ambassadors Julia Roberts and Colin Powell. This inspirational afternoon will feature clips from the acclaimed Hollywood film ‘Breathe’, which brought polio to a new global audience.
And then on the Sunday, the final session of the conference entitled ‘Let Youth Be Heard’ culminates with the national Youth Speaks final and the annual Rotary Young Citizen Awards.
Other key features of the weekend will be:
- Showcase exhibition – highlighting some of Rotary’s amazing projects at home and abroad across all three days.
- Meet the Presidents – an informal Friday afternoon of tea and cake with the Rotary International President, Barry Rassin, and Rotary GBI President, Debbie Hodge.
- Foundation lunch – a Saturday ‘grab and go’ lunch with proceeds going to The Rotary Foundation.
- Rotary at the Races dinner – a three-course Saturday night dinner with keynote speaker, RI President, Barry Rassin, plus music and dancing at Colwick Hall next to Nottingham Racecourse.
