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2024-25 年度 RI 社長年度主題說明

ENGLISH (EN)

2024-25 THEME ADDRESS

Stephanie A. Urchick
Rotary International President-elect
8 January 2024

Hello, family of Rotary! I am honored to address the 24-25 class of district governors,
the Irresistibles! And when I call you “my family,” I’m not just being kind. I really think
of Rotary as my family.
I want to start today by putting a special focus on some very important members of our
family of Rotary. In a couple of weeks, I’m traveling to Pakistan to meet with some
amazing people: female health workers.

Ending polio everywhere means taking on this hard task, block by block, across Pakistan.
It’s a difficult and, at times, dangerous mission. These women literally climb mountains
to vaccinate children in remote locations. But that’s not even half of it. They fight
misinformation and prejudice every step of the way.

When we finally eradicate polio in Pakistan — and everywhere — it will be due in large
part to these women.

So when I arrive in Pakistan to meet with these workers, I want them to know that even
though they will never meet most of you, they have your support, and you treasure their
contributions. So I want you to give them a standing ovation that I can share with them
on my visit ... hold on ... as soon as I get my camera ready.

In addition to your generous applause, the best way for you to support these health
workers and the fight against polio is by raising awareness and raising money. It’s not
too late to join or initiate a PolioPlus Society in your club or district. The Bill & Melinda
Gates Foundation is still matching our donations 2-to-1, but only if we meet our annual
fundraising goal of US$50 million.

To help raise awareness, I need you to contact elected officials and other government
leaders. Remind them that polio is still a threat. Push them to support polio eradication.
Polio remains our top priority and requires our fullest commitment. But there is so
much important work to do.

Thankfully, we have Rotary’s Action Plan to make our work easier and to make the club
experience simply irresistible. That’s where the magic of Rotary starts. We’ll need that
magic if we’re going to bring healing in a divided world. The numbers of armed conflicts
and displaced people around the world are rising at an alarming rate. We need to be at
our best if we want to have a positive impact.
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