Every year on August 12, the world celebrates International Youth Day, a day the United Nations sets aside to recognize the important role young people play in shaping stronger communities and a better future. It is also a reminder that when we adults invest in young people today, we help create the leaders our world will need tomorrow.
That philosophy has long been part of Rotary, and a reason many people join.
Across the globe, Rotary helps young people discover their potential through leadership development, service, international exchange, and connections with mentors who encourage them to dream bigger. The goal is not to simply prepare young people for the future, but to show them they can make a difference right now.
With Rotary, youth aren’t just the leaders of tomorrow…they’re leaders today!
A Pathway to Leadership
Rotary offers opportunities for young people at every stage of their journey.
Rather than focusing on a single age group, Rotary provides programs that help participants grow over time, building confidence and leadership skills with the aim of building a lifelong commitment to service.
Interact, Discovering the Joy of Service
For students ages 12 to 18, Interact is often their first introduction to Rotary.
Sponsored by local Rotary clubs, Interact clubs encourage students to identify needs in their schools and communities, then work together to address them through hands-on service projects.
Along the way, students develop leadership skills, learn to work as a team, and discover that even small acts of service can create lasting change.
Interact clubs complete at least two service projects each year: one focused on their local community and another focused on promoting international understanding.
RYLA: Building Confident Leaders
The Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) takes leadership development to another level.
Whether offered as a leadership camp, a retreat, or a seminar, RYLA challenges participants to step outside their comfort zones while they develop communication, problem-solving, teamwork, and decision-making skills.
Participants learn from experienced leaders and collaborate with their peers. Ask any RYLA participant, and they’ll say they leave with greater confidence in their ability to make a positive impact in their school and in their community.
Youth Exchange: Becoming a Global Citizen
Few experiences change a person’s view of the world like living in another country.
Through Rotary Youth Exchange, students aged 15 to 19 spend several weeks or up to a full academic year living with host families in another country and attending the local school. They learn a new language and experience another culture firsthand.
If you ask exchange students what they got out of the year, it’s not the travel memories. It’s the friend in Brazil they still text and the confidence that came from figuring things out in a language that wasn’t theirs.
It’s that they see people from “other” countries differently now and realize that the way things are done in their home country isn’t the only way to do something.
For a club like Global Travelers, which believes that travel broadens perspectives and creates lasting friendships- that message really hits home.
Rotary often says that Youth Exchange “builds peace one young person at a time,” because every exchange helps foster greater understanding between cultures and countries. Today, Rotary Youth Exchange takes place through Rotary clubs in more than 100 countries.
Rotaract: Continuing the Journey
Leadership training doesn’t end after high school.
Rotaract brings together adults aged 18 and older who want to serve their communities and develop professionally while building friendships with other young leaders around the world.
Rotaract members plan their own projects, manage their own clubs, and often partner with Rotary clubs on service initiatives.
Many Rotaractors eventually become Rotarians as they understand the importance of Rotary in making their community and the world a better place.
More Than Programs
What makes Rotary’s youth initiatives so powerful isn’t simply that each program has benefits of its own: it’s the way they’re connected.
A young person might begin by serving in an Interact club, attend RYLA, spend a year overseas through Youth Exchange, join Rotaract as a university student or young professional, and later become a Rotarian.
Each experience builds on the last.
Along the way, participants gain leadership skills, international friendships, cultural understanding, confidence, and a deep appreciation for Service Above Self.
Investing in the Future
At Global Travelers, we understand how travel can transform lives. We know that stepping into a new culture, meeting people with different perspectives, and serving alongside others creates understanding that you just can’t get in a classroom.
Rotary’s youth programs reflect those same values. They encourage leadership and service while helping young people discover they can make a difference wherever they live.
This International Youth Day, we celebrate the young people already making an impact in their communities, and the Rotarians–like many of our own club members–who invest their time and encouragement to help them succeed.