JULY 2009
For an application or further information, please contact: GSE Team members must apply by August 15.
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GSE Traditional Exchange: District 9550 in AustraliaDeadline to apply for team leader: July 25by DG George Fletcher Our GSE Team this year will exchange with District 9950 that includes parts of the Northern Territory and Queensland in Australia and East Timor. The team leader must be a Rotarian. Interviews will be August 2, 2009 and perhaps August 1st as well, depending on the number of applicants. Team member applications are due August 15th. The exchange will take place between March 26 and returns on May 3rd of 2010. The team will meet monthly for training and team building exercises. Queensland is on the east coast of Australia. Its capital is Brisbane, where the Rotary International Convention was held in 2003. South Carolina has a sister state relationship with Queensland related to tourism. District 9950 includes northernmost part of the state as well as parts of the Northern Territory. It is one of the most diverse Districts in the world, covering 1.5 million square kilometers (580,000 square miles. By comparison, District 7750 is about 10,000 square miles. The District includes two world heritage areas of Kakadu national Park and the Great Barrier Reef, as well as rainforests, tropics and the outback. The District is renowned for its agriculture, cattle, fishing, horticulture, mining, sugar cane, tropical fruits and tourism. They have 50 clubs and about 1300 members. Within the District is also East Timor. Its natural environment, according to the 9550 website has “stunning mountains, beautiful beaches and reefs, lush forests and depending on the season, rushing rivers or dry river beds.” However East Timor is one of the ten poorest countries in the world. The problems faced by East Timor are compounded by the lack of infrastructure and a critical shortage of skills in most vocations. The East Timorese regard education as the most important priority in the development of their country, because it is the lack of people with the expertise and technical skills to rebuild the country that remains the most critical stumbling block for development. The Rotary Club of Dili was chartered in 2002. Multicultural Darwin is the capital of the Northern Territory, and has a population of about 100,000. It has a young population and vibrant economy, Charles Darwin University, and a major liquefied natural gas plant that commenced production in 2006. Darwin is the closest Australian city to Dili in East Timor, being only a 1 hr 45 min flight away. There are nine D9550 Rotary clubs in the Territory, with six in Darwin. Townsville is situated on the east coast of North Queensland. It has a population of about 160,000 and has an excellent James Cook University that is renowned for its Marine Sciences. There are 12 Rotary clubs in the area. Throughout towns to the south are another five Rotary Clubs, a fertile sugarcane farming region, and the famous Whitsunday beaches and islands. Two hundred miles north of Townsville is the lush, tropical city of Cairns. It has a population of 140,000 and is known as the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef. Cairns is home to seven Rotary clubs, with another 12 clubs located in towns to the north, south and west. Five hundred and sixty miles west of Townsville and in the outback is Mount Isa, the mining, industrial and commercial centre of Northwest Queensland. There are four Rotary Clubs in this region. Click here for more information about District 9550. GSE Chair Ken Tucker and I believe that this will be an exciting exchange. This may be the last exchange of its kind, as Rotary is planning to make major changes in the program under the Future Vision Plan. GSE Team members must apply by August 15th. Team members should be between 25 and 40 at the time of their selection and have been employed in their profession for at least two years. |
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District Governor George Fletcher 205 Rosebay Drive | Greenville, SC 29615 Send items for newsletter to Editor@rotary7750.org. |
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