Rotary Inter-Country Committees (ICC) ITALY - MALTA - SAN MARINO
PEACE - Message by the President 2023-2024 of Rotary International R. Gordon R. McInally
(3 January 2024 at 9pm)
January 2024
In difficult times like these, it’s impossible to avoid feeling heartbroken over the devastation and loss of life caused by war and destruction.
Rotary always stands against harming and displacing civilian populations and using armed aggression instead of pursuing peaceful solutions. We advocate for the observance and respect of international law. We believe in strong action to defend and promote peace, even in the darkest of times.
But we also take our position as an international, nonpolitical, nonreligious organization seriously. To respect the global perspectives and experiences of our members, and to work most effectively in our peacebuilding efforts, we do not choose sides in conflicts.
Rotary is made up of 1.4 million people in communities all over the globe who are united in our commitment to building a peaceful world. We strive to ensure that our words and actions prioritize the health and safety of our global membership and the communities where we live and serve.
Our members seek to offer humanitarian assistance to those affected by conflict, and our global reach requires that we promote peacebuilding and conflict prevention with cross-cultural, cross-border connections and friendship through Rotary.
For decades, Rotary has harnessed these connections to carry out service projects, support peace fellowships and scholarships, and establish programs like Rotary Peace Centers to help build lasting peace. Our members also take action to promote Positive Peace, addressing the underlying causes of conflict, including poverty, discrimination, ethnic tension, lack of access to education, and unequal distribution of resources.
Rotary members who wish to wage peace can use district grants and Rotary Foundation global grants to support projects with other Rotary members that help refugees and displaced people, provide medical support, and more worldwide. Members can also work with or join peace-focused Rotary Action Groups, Friendship Exchanges, Fellowships, and intercountry committees. And District Designated Funds or district cash can support our peacebuilding and conflict prevention efforts.
Members and nonmembers alike can learn more about peacebuilding through the Rotary Positive Peace Academy, a free online course available to anyone with an internet connection. You can find it at positivepeace.academy/rotary.
There is no denying that incidents of violence and atrocities being perpetuated around the world seem to be escalating. Global peace is fragile, and the stakes are getting higher.
Still, we know that it is possible to bring all people together to work toward a shared goal. Rotary members do so every day in every part of the world. May our ability to unify in common purpose be a spark that helps light the path out of these dark days.
Together, let’s Create Hope in the World.
R. Gordon R. McInally
President Rotary International 2023-2024
UKRAINE - Message by the Rotary ICC National Coordinator Italy, Malta and San Marino Alessandro Pastorini
(27 February 2022 at 7pm)
A violent and sudden wind of war has hit Ukraine and is bringing despair, destruction and loss of life.
A painful and unexpected event that we never thought we would see reappear near us and that upsets and touches us deeply as human beings and as Rotarians.
Much could be expressed on the essential value of understanding between men and of peace but now is the moment of facts, it is the moment of concreteness and to ask ourselves what we can do, even with our limited possibilities.
As Inter-Country Committees we will be able to support the initiative of Antonio Ernesto Rossi - President of the Rotary Club Genova Centro Storico and Chair of the Italian Section of the Inter-Country Committee Italy, Malta, San Marino / Ukraine - who together with Ukrainian representatives in our country is initiating a plan, with Rotary District 2032 and others, aimed at welcoming refugees, especially mothers and children.
Our thoughts go out to the Ukrainian people and the Ukrainian Rotarians, with whom we share the ideals of internationality and peace, with the hope that diplomacy will soon silence the guns.
PDG Alessandro Pastorini
Rotary ICC National Coordinator for Italy, Malta and San Marino
UKRAINE - Rotary International official statement posted at www.facebook.com/rotary
(25 February 2022 at 5pm)
It is a tragic and sad time for the people of Ukraine and the world.
At #Rotary, we are deeply concerned by the deteriorating situation in Ukraine and the escalating loss of life and humanitarian hardship there. Continued military action against #Ukraine will not only devastate the region, but also risk spreading tragic consequences across Europe and the world.
As one of the world’s largest humanitarian organizations, we have made peace the cornerstone of our global mission. We join the international community in calling for an immediate cease fire, withdrawal of Russian forces, and a restoration of diplomatic efforts to resolve this conflict through dialogue.
In the past decade, Rotary clubs in Ukraine, #Russia and nearby countries have transcended national differences and have actively engaged in peace-building projects to promote goodwill and to marshal assistance for the victims of war and violence.
Today, our thoughts are with our fellow Rotary members and others in Ukraine coping with these tragic events. Rotary International will do everything in its power to bring aid, support and peace to the region.
Message by the Rotary ICC National Coordinator Italy, Malta and San Marino Alessandro Pastorini
(4 July 2021 at 12:00)
The first Rotary Inter-Country Committee was established in 1950 between Germany and France, with only one aim: reconciliation between two countries torn by war.
In Genoa, on the initiative of the National Association of Mutilated and Invalids of War, the House of the Mutilated was erected between 1937 and 1938, a building on the facade of which is written this sentence:
"War is the lesson of history that the people never remember enough".
Two years later, Europe and the world would have experienced one of the most devastating tragedies: the Second World War! And then this sentence should be engraved in all consciences, because unfortunately there are still many conflicts in the world today. Conflicts for economic, political, social and religious interests. Through the network of the Rotary Inter-Country Committees and through the actions of the Rotary clubs we can be facilitators of reconciliation between different countries, improving the everday life of people, helping the needs of a suffering humanity, operating on the seven strategic areas of focus of Rotary International:
- Peace and conflict prevention/resolution
- Disease prevention and treatment
- Sanitation and hygiene
- Maternal and child health
- Basic education and literacy
- Economic and community development
- Supporting the environment.
If you are looking for an ideal of service join to the Rotary Inter-Country Committees, vectors of peace and worldwide understanding.
PDG Alessandro PASTORINI
Rotary ICC National Coordinator for Italy, Malta and San Marino
Rotary Inter-Country Committees (ICC): create bridges, foster peace and facilitate cooperation between different cultures and nations.
