Beyond the Club - Rotary Paris Agora

In Rotary, clubs are autonomous and sovereign and report directly to the Rotary General Secretariat. They must adhere to the basic principles of Rotary International and comply with the bylaws and policies recommended by the Board of Directors.

However, there are two organizational levels above the clubs: districts and regions.

A Rotarian's journey begins with their club, but it is also a gateway to connections and service opportunities.

Districts

Districts are geographical groupings of an average of 1,500 to 2,000 Rotarians, and play a role in providing leadership, advice, training, and technical and operational support to clubs. There are more than 500 districts worldwide, each with several teams, or committees, made up of local Rotarians and volunteers who put their skills and experience at the service of the clubs around them. Our district is number 1660 and has approximately 2,000 members in 80 clubs.

These teams have multiple purposes and specialties: working on our brand image and communications, developing and maintaining our membership, optimizing the functioning of the Rotary Foundation and grant allocation, organizing international youth and student exchanges, and promoting local, national, and international initiatives. Functionally, they are associations governed by the 1901 law, whose members are the clubs, and which are led by a Governor who changes every year—as do most positions in Rotary.

Regions

Regions are international groupings of districts that share a common language and culture, and are also made up of specialized teams that are there to support and train district teams and their Governors. Our region is number 14 and consists of metropolitan France, French-speaking Belgium, Andorra, Luxembourg, and Monaco. There are a total of 20 districts with 32,000 Rotarians and 1,200 clubs.

The involvement of our members

Many members of our club have answered the call and committed themselves to serving our organization at the local, regional, and even international levels. These members have put their experience and skills to good use within our District as Assistant Governors, Membership Officers, RYLA, and finally Public Image Officers, a major role for which our club has had three incumbents over the past five years. This ongoing commitment has earned them a number of awards.

Our club is also involved at the Region 14 level, particularly in the communications and PolioPlus teams, as well as in several Intercountry Committees, national initiatives such as My Blood for Others, and Rotary Fellowships, which are associations of Rotarians from all countries who come together around various themes.