Rotary International Virtual Convention (20-26 June 2020)
8am in Chicago, 11pm in Melbourne
Given this year’s annual Rotary Convention in Hawaii (Honolulu) was cancelled due to COVID-19
restrictions, the Convention was moved online and a Virtual Convention was created – the new “norm”!.
The First General Session kicked off at 11pm on Saturday night 20 June and went for 90 minutes. Titled
“Together We Connect” – our RI President Mark Maloney (and Gay) lead a strong contingent of
Rotarians and non-Rotarians on the great work we do. The highlight of the speeches for me was
listening to Secretary General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres, but the absolute highlight of
General Session 1 was the musical tribute from Australian pop-opera quartet, ARIA with their rendition
of the Prayer and then Puccini’s Nessun Dorma.
8am in Chicago, 11pm in Melbourne
Given this year’s annual Rotary Convention in Hawaii (Honolulu) was cancelled due to COVID-19
restrictions, the Convention was moved online and a Virtual Convention was created – the new “norm”!.
The First General Session kicked off at 11pm on Saturday night 20 June and went for 90 minutes. Titled
“Together We Connect” – our RI President Mark Maloney (and Gay) lead a strong contingent of
Rotarians and non-Rotarians on the great work we do. The highlight of the speeches for me was
listening to Secretary General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres, but the absolute highlight of
General Session 1 was the musical tribute from Australian pop-opera quartet, ARIA with their rendition
of the Prayer and then Puccini’s Nessun Dorma.
Rotary family connecting across the globe to support each other and the fight against COVID19, and how
we can continue to support these efforts.
General Session 2 on Sunday night was a little shorter (just under an hour) and the title for this session
was “Together We Learn”. Again the highlight for me was hearing from our incoming President Holger
Knaack and President-Nominee Shekhar Mehta. We saw the Honolulu Mural Project as well as a special
performance by Hawaiian ukulele virtuoso, Jake Shimbukuro.
We watched Rotary Peace Fellows in action around the world and received an update on our polio
eradication efforts and found out how existing infrastructure assists in the battle against coronavirus.
All sessions are available to watch online at riconvention.org
Enjoy and if you are keen, Taipei next year from 12-16 June 2021 or Houston, Texas from 4-8 June 2022.
we can continue to support these efforts.
General Session 2 on Sunday night was a little shorter (just under an hour) and the title for this session
was “Together We Learn”. Again the highlight for me was hearing from our incoming President Holger
Knaack and President-Nominee Shekhar Mehta. We saw the Honolulu Mural Project as well as a special
performance by Hawaiian ukulele virtuoso, Jake Shimbukuro.
We watched Rotary Peace Fellows in action around the world and received an update on our polio
eradication efforts and found out how existing infrastructure assists in the battle against coronavirus.
All sessions are available to watch online at riconvention.org
Enjoy and if you are keen, Taipei next year from 12-16 June 2021 or Houston, Texas from 4-8 June 2022.