Trip to share ideas on uplifting communities

GOODWILL HUNTING: Some of the Rotary Club of Port Elizabeth members who fly to Portugal today to attend an international convention are (back, from left) Mahlubi Sipamla, Tandi Mzombane, Jacco Wolters, Hlubi Hewitt-Coleman and Linsley Pudney, and (front) Pamela Sipamla, Andrew Binning and Denise Pudney A GROUP of Port Elizabeth Rotary Club members are jetting off to Portugal today to attend an international convention to share ideas about community upliftment.

The 10-member group will be among about 45 000 Rotarians attending the 2013 Rotary International Convention, which takes place in Lisbon, Portugal, from Sunday to next Wednesday.

The annual event, according to PE Rotary Club president Andrew Binning, is a platform for Rotarians from across the globe to interact and share ideas about the projects they support in their respective countries.

This is the first time a large group from the PE Rotary Club will be attending the event.

The convention will also be held in Africa for the first time in 2019, in Durban.

“This is an opportunity to be inspired and to see other members’ projects,” Binning said.

The convention would also be an opportunity for the Rotarians to build contacts.

“Rotary is about building goodwill and uplifting communities. It will be interesting to see how other members are contributing towards that.

“For us, it will also be an opportunity to get new ideas on how we can be more effective in our communities and how we can do better to uplift them.

“This is about sharing ideas with people who share the same vision.”

Binning was also looking forward to meeting presidents of the other clubs.

Nelson Mandela Bay mayor Ben Fihla has sent written greetings to the mayor of Lisbon and the group has also arranged to meet the South African Ambassador to Portugal, Keitumetsi Matthews.