Events

An informal session for the die-hards who will be working through the week of public holidays.

Come to Adelphi, downstairs at the Parmelia Hilton for some fellowship and discuss what Rotary can do to make the world a beter place.

Earlybird bookings https://www.trybooking.com/BBPDL  by COB Tuesday 30th April 2019

The Rotary Club of Perth requests the pleasure of your company at lunch, Friday 3rd May to learn about the Rotary Path to Peace Project.

UNAAWA is a strong supporter of this new Rotary Project, including being the first to provide a letter of support and making the project a feature of its International Day of Peace in September 2018.

Rotary’s Number 1 Area of Focus is “Peace, and Conflict Prevention/Resolution” so it is appropriate that a means be found to challenge everyone with the question “what are you going to do to reduce violence?” The context is reducing violence in any of its forms from domestic violence to war.  The project provides a mechanism for informing people what Rotary and a number of other organisations are already doing to promote peace, then challenges the participant “what will you do?”  The mechanism can be easily updated with new ideas, and once established in Perth can be replicated in many other towns round Australia and other countries.  Hear the details and challenge the speaker with your questions on 3 May

The Climate conversation has been hijacked – we are either “believers” or “deniers”, while most of us don’t know what there is to believe or deny.  Most politicians believe that we can control global warming by emitting less CO2 – is this so? Should we deny India our cleaner coal than the coal they use?  Does rise in CO2 give rise to warming or is it the other way around. As a Geoscientist I want to talk about the past to understand the present.

Jaap Poll was born in the Dutch Indies, now Indonesia and as a toddler, was interned with his family in a Japanese prison camp. Jaap completed High School and University in Holland. Jaap has a PhD in Structural Geology and joined Shell. He worked and lived in Central America, the Middle East and Europe before arriving in Melbourne in 1969. When Shell wanted to transfer Jaap to Nigeria, he joined Woodside in 1973.

In 1980 Jaap and family moved to Perth and has worked in Australia, PNG, Thailand, Mozambique, Tanzania, Kenya, Indonesia, the Philippines, Argentina, Italy, Russia, the North Sea and the last 16 years extensively in Turkey.

Jaap acquired degrees in Arbitration and Mediation from the UNI of Adelaide and has been an active Rotarian since 1992 in PNG. He has been President 3 times in different Rotary Clubs. His hobby is researching climate change through the eyes of a Geoscientist for the last 10+ years

Aboriginal tourism is tracking strong growth of demand from domestic and international visitors and is undervalued with only $250k per year allocated to marketing, out of a $45m a year state tourism budget. The economic growth in jobs and social outcomes that this untapped segment can potentially deliver to the tourism industry is yet to be realized. Other challenges that affect the industry are the high airfares to regional and remote areas, access to land in National parks and reserves, salary costs for small businesses and seasonality in all areas of the state. Workers accommodation in remote areas also require improvement to help the industry grow along with better recognition of the industry in training.

The past 4 years WAITOC has been working hard on product development and to Date WAITOC has helped 49 businesses through the program, 39 of which were new emerging enterprises.  Surpassing the original target of 20 by over 100%.

The businesses within this program employ 104 full-time Equivalent Jobs with this year’s Tourism Council State tourism awards had a record number of Aboriginal Businesses participating, showing the growth of Aboriginal Business mentors across WA was definitely on the rise due to the support of WAITOC and its Business Development program.With Go Cultural Aboriginal Tours and Experiences winning the national gold medal.

Robert Taylor has spent most of his working life, (30 years), in the hospitality industry. Robert’s journey began in the kitchen as a chef and progressed to executive chef for ALH in 1999. In 2000 Robert and his partner went into hospitality property management and in 2003 formed a management company, Forte Hospitality, of which he has been a director for 14 years. Mr Taylor a Nhanda man is now the CEO for WAITOC. His business experience, and the knowledge he has gained during his time as the WAITOC Chair will be instrumental in ensuring that Aboriginal Tourism is seen for what it is, a unique point of difference for Australia in the global tourism market.

Robert supports and fosters industry collaboration and partnerships as a key driver of change and innovation. 

Perth-based and founded charity, Break the Boundary is developing an Australian-first Off-road Disability Access Hub, right here in the Perth-hills. The project is focussed on helping people with disabilities, families and people living with daily challenges enter and experience the outdoors while integrating with local trail walking and cycling groups. The project has been managed by 100% volunteers, collaborated with over 10 local community supporters, raised over $12,000 in sponsorship and $30,000 in pro-bono costs. Break the Boundary will present on the projects final stages as it nears completion and wants to give local community groups and businesses the opportunity to be part of history!

Up to the age of 23, Andrew’s story is typical for a young adult growing up in Perth, Western Australia. Having graduated from university with a Bachelor of Science (Security) and Engineering, life was about to take a nose dive.
Shortly after landing a graduate position with one of the worlds leading engineering consultancies, Andrew relocated to Brisbane and started his new career and life. It didn’t take long for Andrew to find his feet in a new city with new colleagues and friends.  His adventurous spirit and love for nature took him from one outdoor thrill to the next. But, it was this desire to feel alive that would also see his life flipped up-side-down during a mountain biking accident in late 2008 which left him paralysed instantly from the waist down.

Shocked by what seemed like an outlandish statement on TV, in 2016 Darren began researching the WA recycling industry and was shocked to discovered that none of the plastic collected in WA recycling bins is actually reprocessed in WA.

In response, Darren has set out to create WA’s first waste plastic  reprocessing facility. The first  project in development is turning discarded plastic beverage bottles into 3D printer filament, enabling anyone with a 3D printer to start printing stuff out of recycled plastic. 

But Greenbatch isn’t Darren’s first social enterprise. As just 19, Darren created the registered charity, Dreamfit Foundation, designing and building custom engineered equipment for people with disabilities. Having completed over 1,000 projects, Dreamfit has impacted over 10,000 individuals and families affected by disability across Australia. In 2015 Darren handed the reigns of Dreamfit as 15 years as the CEO to a large disability organization leaving behind on ongoing legacy for the WA community.

If that wasn’t enough, Darren has still made time to volunteer and support a number of other organizations and causes including Engineers without Borders, Native Animal Rehabilitation Centre, Guide Dogs WA, The University of Western Australia, Committee Economic Development Australia, Australia Day Ambassador, , Engineers Australia, Disabled Surfers Association, Association for the Blind, DisAbled Recreation Club, Bloom Labs, Leeuwin Ocean Adventure Foundation, Ministerial Advisory Council on Disability, Leadership WA and Fremantle Sea Rescue Volunteer to name a few.

For his work dedication to community, Darren has numerous accolades including:

• United Nations JCI Top Ten Most Outstanding Young People of the World
• WA Young Australian of the Year
• WA Citizen of the Year
• Rotary International Paul Harris Fellow
• Australia’s Top 50 Most Inspirational Engineers
• Australian Mechanical Engineer of the Year WA Business News 40 under 40

Passages is a key project of the Rotary Club of Perth. For 20 years and across two locations in Perth and Mandurah, Passages has assist young people in disadvantaged situations with a safe space and access to professional services.

Learn more from the team at Passages and hear form Ash Ladner about the results from the recent Race Day fundraiser

Community life isn’t what it used to be! Evidence shows that compared with the mid-1980s, Australians today have four fewer close friends: people they could talk with frankly, without having to watch their words. 18% of people say they have no one to turn to in times of difficulty. Only one in three people know their immediate neighbour’s name, with a corresponding figure for how many people trust their neighbours. Over 40% of people in nursing homes never get a visitor…simply, levels of neighbour connection, trust and mental health are at all time low, with the experiences of loneliness and depression at all-time highs. Maybe, the way governments and service agencies ’do community’ needs challenging? Maybe less ‘to’ and ‘for’ community, and more ‘with’ and ‘by/of’ the community. Less ‘servicing’ community, more ‘strengthening’ community’. Less ’wrapping services’ around people, and more ‘wrapping community’. Less viewing and calling people ’clients’, ‘customers’, ‘patients’ and ‘consumers’…more engaging them as ‘co-owners’, ‘co-producers’, ‘co-designers’ and in fact ‘citizens’. 

A community enthusiast and social entrepreneur, Peter has worked with 2000+ communities across Australia and in 59 countries seeking to facilitate fresh and creative ways that stimulate community and local economic renewal. Motivated by the desire to create caring, healthy, inclusive and enterprising communities, Peter, through his organisation, the Bank of I.D.E.A.S (Initiatives for the Development of Enterprising Action and Strategies), helps communities spark their own ideas and invest themselves in building sustainable futures. A significant part of the organisation's income is returned to innovative community initiatives. In the last year, he has worked with 70 communities from Marble Bar to Gnowangerup, Launceston to Cairns, and convened and facilitated community building conferences in Australia, India, Canada and New Zealand.   A keen author, Peter has written 16 books on community and economic development, youth policy and enterprise. Peter’s passion and purpose sees him traverse the globe continuously in his relentless desire to enable communities to discover their strengths and transform themselves. In 2011, he was a recipient of a Centenary Medal for his work with rural communities, and in 2017, was the WA Senior Western Australia in acknowledgement of his community entrepreneurialism. 

We will cover our personal journey from the aftermath of the Vietnam War though to the battle against malaria.

We will finish with a message of hope in the form of a malaria vaccine being developed by the Griffith University QLD.  This vaccine is currently at the stage of development where it is being trialed here in Australia on a 30-person sample before moving to further trials and eventually in country vaccination. 

Steve was born in WA and served 20yrs in the Australian Army.

Having lost his daughter to malaria Steve and his wife Dorene have fought a continuous battle to rid the world of that disease, the world’s second greatest killer.

At the age of 70 he took up volunteer work in Laos and Cambodia clearing land mines and unexploded ordinance and the supplying of water, sanitation and poverty alleviation. In 2009 Steve became a director of Mines Victims and Clearance Trust where they became involved in organizing the clearance of unexploded bombs and mines in Laos.  As such Steve laid the ground work for the combined Rotary Clubs “Watering Project” in Xieng Quong Province.  

Under the name of Carroll family Projects they have travelled to Laos  and Cambodia doing poverty alleviation, water supply and sanitation projects on many occasions.

In 2015 Steve organized an Around Australia Motorcycle Ride Against malaria, having lost their daughter to that disease in 1990. The ride raised over $28,000 that was donated to the “Healthy Village” projects in Solomon Islands and Timor Leste.

The Maitland Rotary Club awarded Steve the Paul Harris medal for service above self in 2012.

In 2017, to assist in the development of a malaria vaccine “PlasprotecT”, Steve and Dorene have offered to match any $500. donation to the vaccine project from Distr 9670 clubs, up to a limit of $25,000. To this date they have reached $19,000.

A voyage on the tall ship Leeuwin, like life itself, is a great adventure. It provides an exhilarating hands-on experience while building life-skills, leadership and teamwork. For over 30 years, Leeuwin Ocean Adventure has provided young people from across Western Australia and beyond with an opportunity to build psychological skills – self-confidence, self-esteem and teamwork) and sociological skills (acceptance and co-operations of others). These skills contribute to the social capital and civic functioning of Western Australia.

Carol first sailed on Leeuwin in 1989 – sponsored by her employer Challenge Bank as part of a leadership development program. Carol saw the extraordinary impact of a week at sea on her fellow voyage-trainees and resolved that this was an organisation she wanted to be part of – no sailor then and no sailor now – Leeuwin Ocean Adventure for Carol is about the impact on young people and Leeuwin’s capacity to give young people the skills to make good choices in life to enable them to be better citizens.

Regenerative Agriculture is an ecological approach that allows the landscape to renew itself but also regenerates the businesses and communities that engage with that land (both economically and socially).

Stuart will report on how the wheatbelt is performing economically, socially and on the land and environment we farm. There is fresh regenerative approach to doing business in the Wheatbelt. 

Stuart is a fourth-generation farmer who owns and manages a 5,000-hectare farm at Buntine, Western Australia.

Stuart is co-founder of the Liebe Group, one of Australia’s premium grower groups, and was its inaugural President in 2007. He has extensive experience in research, extension and strategic development of agriculture in Australia.

Stuart instigated the Regional Repopulation Plan with the Shire of Dalwallinu in 2010 and Chaired the Regional Repopulation Advisory Committee (RRAC). He sat on the Perth Working Group Committee associated with the RRAC as deputy Chairperson. The program has led to an increase in population in Dalwallinu by around 15%.

Stuart has expert knowledge in soil and regenerative agriculture practice and his efforts in natural resource management saw him honoured as a Soil Champion in the International Year of Soil 2015 and then added to the Regional Natural Resource Management Leadership Honour Roll in 2016 by the Northern Agricultural Catchment Council in Western Australia.

Stuart has also been part of the team that has seen the first four return regenerative agriculture company in Australia become listed on the ASX. Stuart is non-executive Director of Wide Open Agriculture Ltd.

www.wideopenagriculture.com.au