According to our new Rotary International president, Jennifer Jones, "When an organization like Rotary dreams about big things like ending polio and creating peace, it becomes our responsibility to make them happen." She added, "You don't imagine yesterday, you imagine tomorrow." From that philosophy stems her 2022-2023 president theme, Imagine Rotary. And the logo is equally inspiring.The logo was created by Riki Sala, an Australian artist and graphic designer who specializes in contemporary Indigenous art, design and communications. He also created the 2023 Melbourne convention artwork, tying the two designs together for a shared vision.
Meaning of the design elements
There is, of course, a deeper meaning behind each element of the design. The circle in aboriginal culture, for instance, signifies our connections to one another. The dots around it represent people and there are seven because of Rotary´s areas of focus.
The circle and the dots together become a navigation star – our guiding light. The solid line underneath is what is referred to as a digging stick and it is used when doing hard work. And since Rotary members are people of action – it represents a tool for getting things done.
The colors
The colors green, purple, and white are not necessarily connected to aboriginal culture. President-elect Jennifer Jones asked the new crew of Governors to use one, two, or all three when dressing for official events instead of using a theme jacket. “As we celebrate diversity, equity and inclusion, I wanted all of us to be able to express ourselves differently in what we wear, but still have connection,” she explained.
There are several ways to interpret the colors: Purple for example stands for polio eradication, green for the environment, the newest addition to our areas of focus, and white for peace, our core mission. Together, they are the colors of the women’s movement, the Suffragette – a subtle nod to this history as Jones pointed out, since she will be the first female RI president.
One of Jennifer's aims to is complete the Rotary International board of directors' goal of women making up 30% of our membership by 2023. This goal has been met in 110 countries so far, and Rotaract membership is at 50% female members. But there is still work to do globally.
That said, our club's membership exceeds the 30% goal. Of our 23 members, 10 are women, making up 43%. And of the club's elected officers, 80% are women! (Thanks, CJ, Liz, Natalie and Linda. And also thanks, Doug, for serving as treasurer and accounting for the 20% male leadership in our club.)
As we begin our 26th year as a Rotary club, let's think of how we can dream big. As Jennifer says, "We all have dreams, but acting on them is a choice. Imagine a world that deserves our best, where we can get up each day knowing that we can make a difference." What difference will we make this year?