Re-imagining Rotary: Embracing Our Community
Gary Howard, Jill Duerig & Mark Poniatowski
District 5170 Lt. Governor Jill Duerig joined Castro Valley Rotarians Gary Howard, Past President, and Mark Poniatowski, Chair of the Racial Discrimination Forum, shared the presentation that they made at the District 5170 Leadership Training Assembly earlier in May. The presentation focused on the work Rotary is undertaking at the local, national, and international levels regarding Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). Gary Howard provided an introduction to DEI work, Jill reviewed in detail the efforts of Rotary International to support DEI work throughout the organization, and Mark Poniatowski described the work of the Club's Racial Discrimination Forum over the past two year. Jill explained that there are many ways to define diversity, equity, and inclusion and that Rotary International uses the following definitions:
- Diversity - Rotary welcomes people of all backgrounds, cultures, experiences, and identities.
- Equity - Rotary strives for the fair treatment, opportunity, and advancement of all Rotary participants.
- Inclusion - Rotary is working to create experiences where all people feel welcomed, respected, and valued.
Mark Poniatowski reviewed what the Racial Discrimination Forum has done and plans to do. He stressed its motto,
We want to be part of the solution Racial Discrimination rather than part of the problem: Silence is not an option.
The presentation was powerful, timely, and challenged all Rotarians to take action. Since the Meeting Highlights cannot capture the power of the presentation, everyone is encouraged to view the video of the presentation here and to click here to see the slides from the presentation. The full version of Meeting Highlight is available here.
