2012 Group Study Exchange to Taiwan
From:- Joe Donachie
To:- All Club Presidents
Subject:- D7820 Group Study Exchange Program 2012
As co-chair of our District Group Study Exchange Program I am writing to
you on behalf of District Governor Mark Brown and District Governor Elect
Bob Moffat to ask for your help in identifying suitably qualified applicants
to be selected as Team Members for our exchange in Taiwan in March
2012.
The GSE program, as you are aware, is an initiative of the Rotary
Foundation whereby participating districts throughout the world are
matched with another district and teams of four young professionals from
each district, accompanied by a Team Leader, then spend a period of four
weeks on a cultural exchange. During the exchange Team Members share
personal knowledge of their own country and experience the customs,
vocations and lifestyles of the other country and in this way promote
international understanding and goodwill through person-to-person
contact.
Our District 7820 will be participating in an exchange with District 3460 in
Taiwan during March 2012. PDG Doug Logan of the Rotary Club of New
Glasgow has been selected as the Team Leader and we are now starting
the process to invite applications from suitably qualified young
professionals to participate in this exchange.
While in Taiwan, team members will stay in Taiwanese Rotarians’ homes
and have the opportunity to meet their professional counterparts. They will
also give presentations to Rotary clubs and other groups about their home
country. The Rotary Foundation provides a round-trip air ticket, and local
Rotarians in the host country provide meals, lodging and group travel in
their district. Team members pay only for personal and incidental
expenses.
Having myself had the opportunity to be the Team Leader for the GSE
Program in 2008, at which time we spent a very informative and enjoyable
exchange with District 1640 in Normandy in France, I can assure you that
the participants in the Taiwan exchange will have a very rewarding
experience.
While I will be sending you further information and applications for the
program during the early part of May what we are asking you to do at the
present time is to make this information available to all your members and
have them give some thought to identifying suitable applicants for team
membership. We presently anticipate that all team members will be
selected by mid June, which will allow us sufficient time to complete the
requisite training process.
People interested in applying must meet the following criteria and be:
• employed full-time in a recognized business or profession,
• a young professional within the age range of 25 to 40,
• a resident of Rotary District 7820 (Newfoundland and Labrador,
Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, St Pierre et Miquelon), and
• endorsed by a Rotary Club of District 7820.
In addition to the foregoing that are restrictions in that applicants cannot
be Rotarians nor can they be related to the Rotarians (spouse, children or
grandchildren).
Please feel free to call me or e-mail should you require any additional
information at this time, otherwise I will contact you further about this in
early May.
Joe Donachie
Chair - (Outgoing)
D7820 GSE Program.