Rotary International President Elect Dong Kurn Lee visited the West Midlands from Saturday 15th March to Monday 17th March and re-traced the footsteps of Rotary’s founder Paul Harris, when he made his first visit to the UK in June 1928. D K Lee visitedWarwick Castle, Stratford on Avon, Coventry and Birmingham. (A picture slideshow is available)
In July Dong Kurn Lee will become Korea’s first international President of Rotary International.
He visited Birmingham ahead of next year’s Centenary Convention in the city at the NEC in June 2009. He was welcomed tothe City by the Lord Mayor Councillor Randall Brew.
He visited various land mark sites and attended a meeting of the Rotary Club of Birmingham, which was the first British Rotary Clubvisited by Paul Harris in 1928.
He addressed the members of the 54 Rotary Clubs represented and said " During the next Rotary year, with your help, I want to make dreams real for the children of the world. There are 26,000 children dying every day because of preventable causes and diseases.
"So what I am going to do in my year is try and reduce child mortality, "I know you can’t solve that kind of problem in one year but a Korean proverb says ‘starting is half of the war’." he says.
"Through the emphases of Rotary International,- health,hunger, poverty and water – I urge you to work on projects that will help reduce child mortality. He continued I am excited to be in Birmingham and look forward to working with you all to make the Centenary Convention the best convention ever."
The 100th Rotary International Convention will be one of the biggest events to be held in the UK for over twenty years, and Birmingham has been chosen as the host city thanks to the combined efforts of the Rotary Club of Birmingham, Marketing Birmingham, Birmingham City Council, and The NEC Group.
Rotary International is a worldwide organisation of business and professional leaders that provides humanitarian service, encourages high ethical standards in all vocations, and helps build goodwill and peace in the world. It has more than 1.2million members, in over 32,000 clubs in 200 countries and geographical areas. The four-day convention in 2009 will attract visitors from all around the world including North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Australasia, India and Japan. The last time the event was hosted by the Rotary Club of Birmingham was in 1984 when it was also held at the NEC. The fact that Rotary has chosen to return to the city highlights the impression made and fond memories that were taken away.
19/03/08
