2016 ROTARY INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION

Our Best Practices

Makoto HonjoSecretary GeneralRotary Fellows Tokyo

Takeaways: What were our “best practices”?

Takeaways

• Building a routine and sticking to it

• Finding dedicated leaders

• Cooperation with District

•Outside financial assistance certainly helps

Rotary Fellows Tokyo (RFT) – who we are

• Established 1967 upon initiative of then RID 358

• First president the late Nagakazu Shimizu (RFF 1950-51). Shimizu san was the first Japanese RFF . Sadako Ogata, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (1990-2000), is founding member.

• Current membership 600+ ex Ambassadorial Scholars and Peace Fellows residing and/or working in the Tokyo area.

Early RFT activities

•Annual dinner, addressing District Conferences and Rotary clubs

• Strong logistical support from Rotary in Japan

Early RFT activities (cont’d)The alumni directory was edited and published by

Rotary no Tomo, the magazine for Rotarians in Japan

More Japanese ambassadorial scholars

• Addressing District Conferences and Rotary clubs

• Spring and autumn annual events

• Participation in orientations for Scholars going abroad, alumni musicians playing for Rotary functions became additional activities of RFT,

• RFT took over logistical functions like maintaining alumni information

Spring Event speakersYear Speaker Affiliation (then) Topic

1994 Ayaka Amou Lecturer, Istanbul University Life of the Northern Elephant Seal

1994 Seiichi Kanise Free journalist

1995 Günter Pauli Zero Emissions Research & Initiatives （ ZERI ） Zero Emmission

1995 Emiko Magoshi Professor, J F Oberlin University White Collar Innovation

1996 Yoko Matsuo Conductor, Central Aichi Philharmonic Orchestra Winning at the Besançon International Music Festival

1996 Donald Bobiash Canadian Ambassador Refugee Assistance and the Role of the Developed Nations

1997 Seiichi Kanise Free journalist Reporter Stories from Behind the Scenes

1997 Mari Oshima Professor, University of Tokyo Science Classes Brought to Your Home

1999 Masami Togi Gagaku musician Gagaku and Me

2002 Koichi Ichikawa Professor, Meiji University Reading Our Times Through Idols

2004 Mami Hijikata Mizuho Bank The Management Strategy of Shinsengumi

2005 Kuniko Iguchi Member, House of Councillors Int’ l Diplomacy and the Challenges to Japanese Foreign Policy

2006 Sadako Ogata Former UN High Commissioner for Refugees Connecting the World Laterally

2007 Spring Concert by RFT members Kayo Akinaga (Soprano), Sumio Morita (Tenor), Kazue Kojima (Pianist), Makoto Chiba (Clarinet)

2008 Miki Enohara Reporter, NHK The Media’s Role in Recent Asian Natural Disasters

2009 Kentaro Hayashi Médecins Sans Frontières Traveling to Disaster Areas as a MSF Member

2010 Michie Nakamaru Opera singer To Become Truly International

2011 Mieko Nishimizu Former World Bank Vice President Learning from Bhutan

2012 Naoko Yamazaki Former Astronaut/Cosmonaut Space, Mankind, Connecting Dreams

2013 Mieko Suzuki Founding Member, Fukushima Global RC (RID2530) Fukushima Now

2014 Kenichiro Kono National Institute for Materials Science Being Afraid of Radioactivity Rationally

2015 Asako Anayama Research Institute of Info-Communication Medicine 70 Years from WW2 – Learning from the German Experience

2016 Jonathan Soble New York Times Tokyo Correspondent 16 Years as a Tokyo correspondent

Spring Event May 29, 2012

Speaker Naoko Yamazaki, former Astronaut

Spring Event April 23, 2016

Speaker Jonathan SobleNY Times Tokyo correspondent

Autumn Event December 6, 2015

Current RFT officers with portfolios

Sumio Morita PresidentMakoto Honjo Secretary GeneralYuko Maurer TreasurerIwao Miyamoto Auditor

Advisor (past President) Eijiro Tanaka

Issues we’ve had to address

•Diverse member interest

• Financing our operation

•Need for secretariat

• Leadership transition

Diverse member interest

• Not easy to please every member

• 100+ person attendance at Sadako Ogata and astronaut Naoko Yamazaki talks vs 30-40 person attendance at primadonna Michie Nakamaru and ex IBRD VP Mieko Nishimizu talks

• “Rotary Family” initiative by RID2580 from 2014 RFT have started inviting members of the Rotary Family from our 2014 Autumn Event

Financing

• We do not collect membership dues

• Financial support from RID2580/2750

• Erratic support from RID2750 post split of Tokyo into two districts

• Subsidy from TRF

Need for secretariat

• Secretariat up to 2014 basically part time operation

• Secretariat transition in 2015: handled by professional secretariat contractor

One of the first jobs of the new secretariat:

To make the RFT website (task completed March 2015)

Alumni Association of the Year Criteria•Be formally chartered by Rotary International

•Be up-to-date in responding to all requests for information from RI, such as surveys, and keep Rotary’s records of association officers current

•Enhance the awareness of the value of alumni within Rotary

•Have completed a project or activity over the preceding 12 months that had an impact on a local or international community and involved a majority of the association’s members

•Have an online presence through social media (e.g., Facebook, LinkedIn)

•Demonstrate collaboration between Rotarians and alumniSupport the Object of Rotary and demonstrate the principle of Service Above Self

Extending our activities – Japan Rotary Alumni Association

E Tanaka President RFTN Takagi Secretary General RID2780 M Honjo Treasurer RFTM Matsushita Auditor RID2680H Yunoki Officer w/o Portfolio RID2780K Mori ditto RID2780S Morita ditto RFT

Officers up to Spring 2016:

Japan Rotary Alumni Association (cont’d) 1st convention @ Tokyo, 2011

5th convention @ Fukuoka, 2015

What is “best practice” ?”

A method or technique that has consistently shown results superior to those achieved with other means, and that is used as a benchmark. 

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/best-practice.html#ixzz45sVhX53n

Lessons: What were our best practices?

• Building a routine and sticking to it

• Finding dedicated leaders

• Coordination with District

•Outside financial assistance certainly helps

Thank you감사합니다

有難うございました

And finally