Surf Coast to host major Rotary conference

REGISTRATIONS have opened for the annual Rotary 9780 District Conference, which is slated for next year between March 21 and 23 on the Surf Coast.

The event will be hosted by district governor Lesley Shedden and the Rotary Club of Torquay, with about 200 people expected to attend.

The Rotary Club’s 9780 district encompasses more than 50 Rotary Clubs and is expected to bring visitors from as far as Swan Hill and Mt Gambier to the region.

District governor Lesley Shedden said the conference was an opportunity to learn more about “the magic of Rotary”, its impact as a global organisation and for members of the district to come down and experience this part of the world.

“Together we achieve more,” she said.

“[The conference] is about all of the great stuff that Rotary does… coming together to celebrate, to enjoy each other’s company, because so many friendships are made through Rotary,” she said.

The conference will start on March 21 with a golf event at 13th Beach Golf Course in Barwon Heads, before continuing through the weekend with a program of exciting events, social opportunities, and guest speakers who will share their insights into topics that have come to represent core projects for the broader Rotary community.

Michael Carr-Gregg, one of the nation’s most prolific psychologists and a specialist in the mental health and wellbeing of adolescents will speak on March 22, while domestic violence campaigner Rosie Batty will share her story on March 23 when the conference venues shifts to The Sands Resort in Torquay.

International End Polio ambassador Ramesh Ferris is also set to appear, travelling from Canada to speak. He will be joined by local polio survivor and the Rotary district’s End Polio chair Gary Newton.

“Rotary has driven the need to vaccinate all children in the world since 1985, and there are now – thanks to Rotary – only two countries in the world where polio is still endemic, which is Pakistan and Afghanistan,” Ms Shedden said.

She said Rotary hoped to see a future where polio, like smallpox, no longer existed.

Throughout the conference, attendees will also be encouraged to participate in a hands-on project, which involves using leftover yarn to knit squares that will be then stitched together to make rugs and blankets that will be donated to those in need.

“I have this goal that at least five men will be in the audience knitting at some point during the conference,” Ms Shedden said.

Numbers are limited and half of the available tickets have already been sold, so those interested in attending next year’s event are encouraged to book early.

For more information, or to secure your tickets, head to rotary9780conference.com.au