9830 District Conference 2009

The conference was held at the Tailrace Centre in Launceston from Friday 20^th to Sunday 22^nd March.

Welcome and Dr Gordon Pembroke

We arrived on Friday evening for the start of the main session.  After the many welcomes, including RI President Representative Wilf Wilkinson (also past RI President), and some music from the St Patrick School Band, the first key note speaker was Dr Gordon Pembroke.  Dr Pembroke, a “British specialist in innovative youth leadership within developing countries”, was extremely entertaining.  At the end of talk we found out that he was actually a comedian by the name of Graham Bowman.  His style was similar to Ronnie Barker.

GSE Teams

On Saturday we heard from the outgoing Tassie team going to Devon and the incoming Tassie team from Japan (including our Renee Grech whom we sponsored), and the Japan team currently staying here.  On Sunday we heard from the GSE team from California (including William Young).

Dr Tamara Boyd

She was Saturday’s first keynote speaker and talked about her career and current work in water management in Victoria.  She told us of her work in the mining industry, including driving and teaching other to drive the huge trucks, and her work on an oil-rig in Bass Strait.  Through her work on the oil-rig she found out how important workplace wellbeing is and went on to form her own business to teach employees (initially on the oil-rig and then many other companies) music.  The music lesson promoted personal wellbeing and increased their work effectiveness.  Her current role is as manager for Parks Victorian in statewide ecological water.  She talked about the need to understand the complete water cycle not just above ground water (eg rivers and lakes) or below ground water (eg water basins).  This has critical implications for the freshwater ecosystems and how human water usage (both take-up and discharge) affect it.

Dr John Avier OAM

He was Saturday’s second keynote speaker who talked about facial surgery.  He talked about some of the work he has done as part of ROMAC (Rotary Oceania Medical Aid for Children) and for ANZOAMS (Australia and New Zealand Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons).  This included many graphic images of the lives he and others of ROMAC have transformed.  His Rotary club of Brisbane High-Rise has helped with funding doctors and himself to travel to help these children in desperate need.

Saturday’s Forum

This forum allowed the audience to ask questions of the various Rotary leaders present.  Much of the discussion focused around membership, especially on gaining younger members; naturally City Central Hobart was mentioned several times.  People suggested using facebook and utube to help link with others who might like to join Rotary.

Deepa Willingham

She was Saturday’s third keynote speaker who talked about her life and most importantly about the learning centres she has established in several places around the world under the umbrella of PACE (Promise of Assurance to Children Everywhere).  The Piyali Junction near Calcutta was the location of first Learning Centre in 2003.  Its primary focus is “to nurture the educational, health, nutritional, social and cultural development of girls in impoverished areas of India and other parts of the world”, by providing “a holistic approach to combating poverty by bringing literacy, health/immunization, clean water/sanitation, vocational training and banking/micro-lending to girls and women in the community.”  The focus is on girls and women as they tend to remain in the community and play a key role in the literacy of their children.  Another important focus of the education and independence is to reduce forced prostitution.  More information about Deepa Willingham’s PACE program can be found at www.paceuniversal.com.  She is the DG elect for her district in California.

Buz Green

PP Buz Green talked about his organisation Learn-Grow.  This formed out of a large plant database containing nutritional and location information about many edible plants.  Using this information Learn-Grow can help people grow edible plants that are suited to their area that are also nutritious.  Planting cabbage has been encouraged by Western countries but it often contained less nutrition than the plants it replaced.

Chris Kerslake

Chris Kerslake is a very funny but unconventional school teacher.  She started as an unsuccessful teacher in South Australia, but was thrust into the role of principle of a dysfunctional school.  The violent school kids did everything but go into the classrooms, teachers didn’t want anything to do with these children and the parents did not know what to do.  Chris Kerslake decided to walk the school halls with broom making a tune to barely remembered Christian songs.  Unbelievably the children stopped using the sticks to hit each other and began to hit the rhythm to her songs while following on behind.  Using music she managed to bring a semblance of order and education to the school.  As part of her motivation she organised a bus trip so the kids could play to other groups.  The parents came along too and gave the children a strong sense of purpose and hope.  This was very successful so she decided to promise them a trip on the Nullarbor train as the next motivation.  After talking to the management of the company and not taking ‘no’ for an answer she finally got to take the children on the train.  She realised that her methods were not compatible for general school education, so she formed the Bushband for disenchanted youths (5-11  years old).

Belinda Cameron-Tucker

She talked about Youth Exchange.  She highlighted its importance for young people and the problems of finding host families.  More host families are required to make the program and on-going success.

Other Items

• Two Exeter Primary School students, Jamie and Jack talked about what their school could do for the Solomon Islands.
• Una Hobday talked about PolioPlus in Somalia. Around 2 billion children have received the polio vaccination. By 2003 Somalia was polio free, but in 2005 people from Nigeria reinfected Somalia. By 2007 Somalia was again polio free.
• Lew Pretorious talked about process of construction low cost housing in Fiji.
• Lou Johnson talked about 3-H grants (grants for Health, Hunger and Humanity), malaria nets and AusAid.
• Party Safe is a group of 13-17 year olds who promote partying without alcohol or other drugs.
• Fire Relief – Rotary has raised over $400,000 so far for the Victorian bush fire appeal.
• Samantha Hammersley sang during the Saturday night dinner. It was very well received. She sang magnificently.