The
Rotary Club of Auckland had the opportunity of organising RYLA 2013 for
District 9920 and it was once again centred on Willow Park at Eastern Beach in
Auckland, plus Motutapu and Rangitoto Islands, during the period 29th
June to 6th July 2913.
A
District RYLA Mini Assembly was held in November 2012 and Clubs were provided
with a complete ‘Information Guide’ and after working closely with RYLA Club coordinators
a total of 118 Awardees participated, supported from 23 Auckland-based Rotary
Clubs, including 4 Awardees from Fiji and 1 from the Cook Island under the ROTA
PACIFIC scheme.
RYLA
2013 was an-eight day residential programme involving Leadership Themes of “Building
a Foundation “ – People & Relationships, Starting with you, Getting
Inspired ; all over 3 days. Next it was
“Leadership in Practice” – Commercial Perspectives, Managing Teams, Working
under Pressure. This section included a two-day Island Experience on Motutapu
and Rangitoto Islands which was once again expertly managed by the NZ Army
under the control of Lt Col Jon Atkinson with the Rotary Club of Auckland
providing all the logistical support. The Awardees in teams were able to test
their leadership skills during a non-stop 26 hour period under difficult
conditions with ample support of NZ Army Officers. This once again proved a
unique and challenging experience and a highlight for many Awardees.
The
final two days incorporated further “Leadership in Practice” – In the
Community, where Awardees went to three different Community Projects and got
physically involved in practical projects to make a difference. The final night
featured a Graduation Dinner at Willow Park which 280 people attended including
the Prime Minister Rt Hon John Key, DG Willard Martin, the NZ Army Officers involved and Rotarians from the Rotary Clubs sponsoring
Awardees.
Rotaract
took the opportunity to showcase their activities on the final morning and a
feedback session produced valuable information with which to improve future
RYLA programmes.
Overall
the feedback was extremely positive which reflected the huge effort put into
the organisation of the 2013 event by Rotary Club of Auckland members supported
by other District Rotarians. We all gained enormous satisfaction and proved
once again how valuable RYLA is in developing leadership skills in our talented
young people.
Jim
Johnston
Chair
RYLA 2013 Operating Committee
Past President, Rotary Club of Auckland Inc
