I recently had the opportunity to participate in the 2016 Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) North America Conference, which was held in Washington DC from July 19 to 24. RYLA is an intensive training programme that brings together youths and young adults (Rotaractors between the ages of 18-30) to further develop their character and leadership skills and learn more about Rotary.

This year’s RYLA NA Conference brought together aspirant leaders from around 45 different countries to share this experience. I am proud to say that I was the first Maltese Rotaractor to represent my country and my club at this conference where I had the privilege to promote my country.

Rotary is an international service organisation that serves to bring together business and professional leaders in order to provide humanitarian services, to encourage high ethical standards in all vocations and to advance goodwill and peace around the world. Our six areas of focus are promoting peace, fighting disease, providing clean water, saving mothers and children, supporting education and growing local economies.

Through our global campaign End Polio Now, which has been running for over 25 years, Rotary has completed 99 per cent of its mission to eradicate polio and we are aiming to achieve 100 per cent eradication in the near future. As the polio campaign is drawing to a close, the 2016 RYLA conference gave Rotaractors around the world the opportunity to come together and come up with proposals for Rotary’s next global campaign.

At this conference I was chosen to be one of the 20 group leaders and I was happy to lead 10 Rotaractors from the US, Mexico, Canada, Tunisia, Honduras and Haiti work on the next Rotary global campaign. We chose to focus on supporting education and proposed ways to help children and young students living in rural parts of the world to have better access to school and education.

I would like to appeal to all young people who would like to learn more about Rotary to get in touch with us via facebook - Rotaract Malta La Valette. By being part of Rotary and Rotaract, you will be able to serve humanity, assist in your self-development and be able to have access to several young professionals from all across the globe.

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