Read how young Gladstone Sunrise Rotarian Alexandra Heron made the most of the Melbourne convention to inspire her work as a Rotarian.

Article by Rtn Alexandra Heron, Gladstone Sunrise Rotary

What a great opportunity to have the Rotary International Convention in Melbourne. It was the most amazing experience! I was in Interact, Rotaract and am now a proud Rotarian.

I have attended Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA), district conferences, attended Rotary meetings in other countries and engaged in Rotary service projects overseas, but attending the Rotary International convention was a whole new level and experience like no other.

The daily sessions at Rod Laver Arena were world class, energising and inspirational.

One highlight was the flag ceremony which showcased all the countries where Rotary is present; to see the flags, world map and hear the cheers of Rotarians in the audience from the countries all over the world was a humbling reminder of how we are so lucky to be part of such a worldwide organisation.

Each day the speakers gave us goose bumps, some led us to tears and they all inspired us.

There was a big focus on polio, and I learnt a lot from seeing and hearing videos and speakers, including the chief health officer in Pakistan in charge of the polio vaccine roll out. We are so close, and we must continue to eradicate this disease!

There were many phenomenal humans who spoke about their work in peace, environmental sustainability and girls' literacy. Hearing about world issues as part of an audience of people from different backgrounds and from different countries was amazing and very thought-provoking (it was like watching TED talk after TED talk).

Back at the Melbourne Convention Centre I enjoyed attending breakout sessions on:

• intersection of Rotary, career and family
• Peace Education – hearing about equipping teenagers to be peacebuilders.
• Rotary Action Group on Basic Education and Literacy
• Rotary Action Group on Menstrual Health and Hygiene
• ShelterBox

I also enjoyed visiting the House of Friendship and connecting with people at the different booths. I got to connect with Sandi from End Trachoma who I worked with via zoom and email to send 400 hygiene kits to indigenous communities Northern Territory. To meet Sandi in person was awesome.

I also had a fan girl moment when I met the founder of Days for Girls, Celeste Mergen; this was so special as I’m a member of Days for Girls Gladstone. 

My favourite part of convention was that every moment of every day I was speaking to someone from a different state of Australia or country overseas.

By wearing my Rotary convention lanyard, I found myself striking up conversations with people walking through the corridor, on the tram, in the café. Speaking to dozens of people from all over the world and hearing about their country, Rotary club, career and family was amazing.

I had many opportunities to speak to other Rotarians about the four successful RotaKids clubs that we have in Gladstone. I exchanged contact details with many Rotarians from other countries who are interested in establishing a RotaKids / EarlyAct club in their district.

I was very grateful to my mum who travelled to Melbourne with me to look after my two-year-old (he turned two on the first day of the convention). They had a wonderful time exploring the kids' activities of Melbourne while I was at the convention.

I will definitely try to get to another international convention in my lifetime and look forward to my son being able to attend with me when he is older.

We are part of a phenomenal global organisation that is making positive change in our world. I am so grateful and proud to be a Rotarian.