Rotaractors take part in a service project during the 2012 RI Convention in Bangkok, Thailand.

It’s official. I have attended five Rotaract Preconvention Meetings around the world, the most recent of which took place on 4-5 May, in Bangkok, Thailand.

This experience has been unlike any of the others because I also had the opportunity to attend the four-day Asia Pacific Regional Rotaract Conference immediately before. 

Being able to connect with hundreds of international Rotaractors in two very different conferences has inspired an active appreciation of the regional differences and meanings Rotaract has to clubs and districts around the world.

The intimate experience of spending four full and activity-packed days with the Asia-Pacific Rotaractors has given me an understanding of how respected and important the Rotaract program is for Rotaractors in this part of the world, a place I am discovering for the first time.

During the preconvention meeting, I was also able to watch the energy grow among participants as barriers come down as Rotaractors grew more comfortable expressing their ideas with the entire group.

One of the successes this year was our use of various methods of communication; whether through the use of a microphone, raising hands, or by dancing around, we connected on a variety of issues and had the opportunity to engage in meaningful discussion. Rotaractors reflected on the best aspects of the program and how we can make it even better in the future.

To round-off the preconvention and to kick-off the RI Convention, Rotaractors participated in a hands-on service project just outside of Bangkok, where we helped liven-up a school that had been victim to last year’s flooding.

Rotaractors showed that through service we are able to connect what we learned and use the bonds that we have formed to actively work on a project that truly puts service above self.