The Rotary International Convention in Taipei, Taiwan, ended on a high note as singer Leona Lewis brought thousands of attendees to their feet with a stirring performance that included the resilience anthem “Fire Under My Feet” during the closing ceremony on 17 June.
Taipei’s warm hospitality was on full display as hundreds of Rotary volunteers formed a human corridor outside the venue, greeting departing attendees with cheers and celebratory gestures. Many people stopped to take selfies and exchange farewells before heading home.
The four-day event attracted more than 38,000 people from 140 countries and regions, making it one of Rotary’s largest conventions in recent years.
“This year, I spoke often about uniting for good,” said Rotary International President Francesco Arezzo, a member of the Rotary Club of Ragusa, Italy. “These past days, we have seen what that means. Rotary is a meeting place — where strangers become friends, friendship becomes trust, where trust becomes action.”
The convention featured impressive speakers, led by Malala Yousafzai, the youngest-ever Nobel Peace Prize laureate and a leading advocate for girls’ education.
Yousafzai, whose father was a Rotary member, began advocating for education in Pakistan before she was a teenager. At age 15, she survived a Taliban attack aimed at silencing her activism. Following months of surgery and rehabilitation in the United Kingdom, she co-founded the Malala Fund to continue her campaign for girls’ education worldwide. In 2014, at age 17, she received the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of her efforts to advance education and equality. She graduated from Oxford University in 2020 with a degree in philosophy, politics, and economics.
“I started my campaign for education at 11 years old,” Yousafzai said during the second general session on 16 June. “At first, it was just me and my father speaking out for girls’ right to go to school. But it is the people who have come alongside us, our collective work, that gives me hope.”
While acknowledging progress, she noted that about 120 million girls worldwide remain out of school, and she urged attendees to support girls as leaders. “Girls understand the problems best, and they understand the solutions best,” Yousafzai said.
She also encouraged Rotary members to help ensure that every girl has access to quality education.
“Over the years, I’ve learned that one person cannot change the world alone, that every movement in history was built by many hands,” Yousafzai said. “When you go home, look for girls in your community who are at risk of dropping out. Ask teachers what you can do to support their work. We need your bold and ambitious vision to build a better future for girls.”
Yousafzai also received a warm response when discussing mental health and her recovery from the attack.
“I initially focused only on physical recovery, but later I realized the importance of mental health,” she said. “Therapy helped me recognize that asking for help is strength, not weakness. I chose to be open about my struggles because young people around the world need to know they are not alone.”
Another challenge for the future came in the closing session from Salome Agbaroji, the 2023-24 National Youth Poet Laureate of the United States, who performed her poem “HOPE.”
“When you change hope from an attitude into an action, we get much closer to building the world we aspire to,” she said after performing the poem. “You, Rotary members, are the scientists and engineers of the small social revolutions that achieve great and measurable good.”
Rotary Foundation Trustee Chair Holger Knaack highlighted the global reach of Rotary’s humanitarian work and introduced the newest Programs of Scale grant recipient: Collaboration for Sustainable Water and Sanitation Systems in Haiti.
The initiative, led by Haitian Rotarians, builds on work with Haitian organizations and the national water agency. It aims to reduce waterborne disease by strengthening local capacity and by training community leaders, water operators, and municipal officials.
“It answers a question that matters to every Rotarian in this room: Can we deliver lasting change in places where change is hardest?” Knaack said. “This program is going to prove we can.”
Knaack also announced an expansion of the Rotary Healthy Communities Challenge to add Papua New Guinea. The program will train an additional 2,100 community volunteers in more than 1,000 villages, aiming to cut malaria deaths in half.
Michael K. McGovern and Valarie Wafer of the International PolioPlus Committee highlighted both the progress and challenges in Rotary’s effort to eradicate polio. Although Afghanistan and Pakistan remain the only countries with ongoing transmission of wild poliovirus, variant outbreaks continue to be a challenge in parts of Africa, including Nigeria.
Supported annually by US$50 million from The Rotary Foundation and US$100 million from the Gates Foundation, Rotary and its partners continue to integrate polio vaccination campaigns with broader health initiatives that strengthen health systems and improve community well-being.
The House of Friendship featured more than 200 exhibits from Rotary and Rotaract clubs, districts, and vendors around the world.
A highlight was the Taipei Village, sponsored by the Host Organization Committee, which recreated a section of Taipei’s historic old town. Visitors immersed themselves in Taiwanese culture through Chinese calligraphy, tea ceremonies, Indigenous traditions, and other participatory experiences.
“It is thrilling to see the internationality of our organization in one place,” says Brenda Waugh, a district governor-elect from Scotland, a member of the Rotary Club of Annan & District, and a first-time convention attendee. “I enjoyed the fun and fellowship, and I’m proud to be part of this massive international organization.”
The convention’s opening and closing ceremonies dazzled audiences with large-scale productions combining traditional Taiwanese dance, drumming, and acrobatics with contemporary staging. Italian singers and musicians also captivated attendees with spectacular operatic arias and beloved classics, including “Caruso.”
With large Rotary promotional billboards at Taoyuan airport and in Taipei’s subway stations, short TV clips in taxis, and extensive daily media coverage, the convention has enabled Rotary to raise awareness of its global and local impact in Taiwan, where membership has grown exponentially.
The convention also set up Rotary’s annual leadership transition. On 1 July, Olayinka H. Babalola will begin his term as Rotary International president for 2026-27, while Larry A. Lunsford will serve as president-elect.
Nearing the end of his year of service, Arezzo emphasized the importance of continuity in Rotary leadership.
“I like the image of a relay race,” he said. “No runner owns the race. The most important moment is not the running — it is the passing.
“Rotary is a relay. We receive. We carry forward. We pass it on. And every generation of Rotarians must leave the organization stronger, kinder, and more hopeful for the generation that follows.”
- Gundula Miethke contributed to this story.
Learn more about the Rotary International Convention in 2027 in Barcelona, Spain.
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RI President Francesco Arezzo (PDF, watch and download)
RI President-elect Olayinka Hakeem Babalola (PDF, watch and download)
RI General Secretary and CEO John Hewko (PDF, watch and download)
Rotary Foundation Trustee Chair Holger Knaack (PDF, watch and download)
