The first club, the Rotary Club Chicago (Illinois, USA), was formed on February 23, 1905, under the leadership of lawyer Paul P. Harris. In the more than a century that has passed since then, the number of clubs has grown to thirty-three thousand, and the number of members to over 1.4 million.
From the very beginning, only people with moral integrity, openness to the world, sharing the same principles, who are role models in their profession, public and private life, can become club members. This guarantees that Rotary members act as responsible opinion makers, preferably in as many areas as possible. Social commitment and personal activity in the service of the common good are expected.
The admission of a new member is always decided jointly by the club members. Although the “soul” of the world organization, present on all continents in more than 200 countries, is the individual clubs, it is necessary to unite them.
The task of Rotary International is to make Rotary’s work as widely known as possible, to promote the unity and harmony of clubs, and to provide an administrative background for their operation. However, it is up to the members of each club to set guidelines in accordance with the Rotary ideal, under the responsibility of the respective club presidents.
It is important that members carry out their activities voluntarily, while fully preserving their individuality, regardless of political views, following the principles of helpfulness, altruism, humility, tolerance, understanding and peace towards others. Becoming a Rotarian is an honor. Those who met the strict admission criteria were found worthy of trust and won the right to attend the regular, weekly meeting.
Presence is a condition for becoming part of the community. It is both an expectation and a strict rule to attend at least 60% of the meetings organized during the semester, violation of which – following the decision of the club’s board – may result in disqualification. The essence and purpose of the Rotary spirit can only be truly embraced by subjecting our thoughts and actions to the test of the 4 questions (The Four-Way Test).
The Four-Way Test:
