by Josep Maria Reichardt Rotary International is an organization committed to society and the environment that currently has more than one million members. The Local Rotary Clubs are the members of Rotary International and are made up of people, especially businessmen and professionals from different activities, who work together at the local level to carry out projects within the Areas of Interest in Rotary, these are:
- Peace and conflict prevention/resolution
- Disease prevention and treatment
- Water and sanitation
- Maternal and child health
- Literacy and basic education
- Economic and integral development of the community
Rotary was founded in 1905 by an American lawyer named Paul Harris, meaning that Rotary is currently 117 years old. More than 100 years ago, Rotary created the Rotary Foundation, a foundation to transform contributions from members and other donors into life-changing service projects in local Rotary Clubs and around the world. The Foundation has invested more than US$4000 billion in transformative and sustainable humanitarian projects. One of his best-known campaigns is the worldwide polio eradication project. Since this campaign began, Polio has been eradicated in more than 100 countries; currently there is only a residual focus of Polio in one or two countries.
In 2005, Rotary International launched a pilot project to create the first Rotary eClubs. Rotary eClubs, unlike face-to-face Rotary Clubs, allow the incorporation of members who cannot travel to attend face-to-face Rotary Club meetings, either for mobility, schedule, economic or other reasons. Some Rotary eClubs have a geographical scope similar to that of the Rotary Districts that promote them, others such as the Rotary eClub of Latin America They are transnational in scope whose only link between its members is the use of the Castilian or Spanish language.
The Rotary eClub experience has been essential for the continuity of face-to-face Rotary Club meetings during the years of the COVID 19 pandemic.
