About Rotary

Rotary International is a worldwide organization of business and professional clubs, dedicated to high vocational standards, community service, and international understanding. To foster fellowship through diversity of interests, a Rotary club is composed of one representative of each business and profession in a community. Established in 1905 in Chicago, Illinois, it now has its headquarters in Evanston, Illinois. Rotary is the oldest service club organization in the world; in 1922 the name became Rotary International as clubs were organized in other countries.

Rotary International is comprised of more than 1.1 million men and women in nearly 27,000 Rotary clubs in 149 countries and 39 geographical regions. Membership is by invitation, and clubs determine their own service activities. Currently the organization is encouraging clubs to focus community activities on fighting hunger, illiteracy, and drug abuse, and helping the elderly and the environment. Clubs also may participate in the international programs of the Rotary Foundation, which administers privately funded scholarships and grants in order to accomplish large-scale, international humanitarian projects as well as smaller projects that are sponsored and partially funded by Rotary clubs or districts in two or more countries. Rotary International's PolioPlus program, in cooperation with the World Health Organization and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), funds vaccine purchases and social mobilization activities in order to help eradicate polio worldwide by the year 2000. The organization also publishes an official periodical, The Rotarian in English and Revista Rotaria in Spanish.

The Ideal of Rotary

"Rotary is an organization of business and professional persons united worldwide who provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations and help build goodwill and peace in the world."

The Object of Rotary

The object of Rotary is to encourage and foster the ideal of service as a basis of worthy enterprise and in particular encourage and foster:

FIRST:	The development of acquaintance as an opportunity for service.
SECOND :	High ethical standards in business and professions, the recognition of the worthiness of all useful occupations, and the dignifying of each Rotarian's occupation as an opportunity to serve society.
THIRD:	The application of the ideal of service in each Rotarian's personal, business, and community life.
FOURTH :	The advancement of international understanding, goodwill and peace through a world fellowship by business and professional people in the ideal of service.

What are Rotary Projects?

The main objective of a Rotary Club is Service in the community, in the workplace and throughout the world.

Rotary's community development programs address many of today's most critical issues viz. hunger, environment, literacy to name a few. RI also offers programs that focus mainly on young people, including service clubs for high school students and young adults, leadership training workshops and student exchanges. The international components of RI programs enable clubs and districts to assist Rotary efforts abroad and to share information and arrange exchanges with Rotarians in other countries.

Vocational concerns figure in many club and district projects designed to promote high ethical standards in the workplace and to help young people and others become and remain productive members of society.

The 4-way Test

One of the most widely printed and quoted statements of business ethics in the world is the Rotary "4-way Test". It was created by Rtn. Herbert J. Taylor in 1932 and was adopted by Rotary in 1943 and has been translated into more than 1000 languages. The message should be known and followed by all Rotarians.

The four Way Test of all the things we think, say or do:
FIRST :	Is it the TRUTH?
SECOND :	Is it FAIR to all concerned?
THIRD :	Will it build GOODWILL and better FRIENDSHIP?
FOURTH :	Will it be BENEFICIAL to all CONCERNED?

A brief History of Rotary

The first Rotary Club in the world was organized in Chicago, Illinois, USA, on 23 February 1905 by Paul P. Harris, a young lawyer, who gathered together in a spirit of friendship and understanding, a group of men, each of whom was engaged in a different form of service to the public. That basis for membership - one person from each business and profession in the community - still exists in Rotary. At first, the members of the new club met in rotation at their various places of business and this suggested the name "Rotary".

Since 1905, the ideals of Paul Harris and his friends have become ideals which have been accepted by people of practically all nationalities and many political and religious beliefs. Today, there are Rotary clubs in Austria and American Samoa, in Brazil and Brunei, in India and Italy, in Scotland and South Africa, in 184 countries and geographical regions. The universal acceptance of Rotary principles has been so great that there are now more than 27.000 Rotary clubs, which have a membership of over 1.2 Mio.The general objectives of Rotary clubs in every country are the same, the development of fellowship and understanding among the business and professional leaders in the community, the promotion of community-betterment endeavors and of high standards in business and professional practices, and the advancement of international understanding, goodwill and peace. Rotary clubs everywhere have one basic ideal - "ideal of Service", which is thoughtfulness of and helpfulness to others.

What is Rotary?

The Ideal of Rotary

The Object of Rotary

What are Rotary Projects?

The 4-way Test

The four Way Test of all the things we think, say or do:

A brief History of Rotary

What is a Paul Harris Fellow?

Recognition levels are determined based on the following guidelines: