Bulletin 3 ,   04/09/2003

 CALENDAR OF EVENTS
11th September 2003 : Regular meeting


BACK FROM SUMMER HOLIDAYS

Welcome from your summer holidays revived and refreshed ! 

As promised, we’ll try to make this year a great Rotary year. We invite you all, therefore, to participate in a series of forthcoming events and activities towards that end including the Rotary Amman Conference (1-4 May 2004) and hopefully a visit to fellow Rotarians in Thessalonica (date still to be decided).

Be prepared to lend a hand and we’ll see that you have fun in so doing.


OUR CLUB’S BIRTHDAY

No one remembered it except Assistant Governor Nina Sadek who sent our president the following message:

“Dear President Nicos,
On the occasion of the 65th Anniversary of your club falling on 22nd August, I convey to you, your Board and all members of your club, my warmest best wishes, for many happy returns of the day with success and continuous progress in the service of the humanity.

Kindest regards to all 
A.G Nina Sadek”

PRINCE CHARLES & ROTARY

Prince Charles, before being offered a bottle of Rotary malt at the RIBI 78th Conference. His Highness had a similar reaction when he was informed of our plans to make this a great Rotary year !

100 YEARS OF ROTARY    2003-04 CENTENNIAL ACTION

· Rotary Institute organizers promote the Rotary Centennial.
· Clubs establish twin club partnerships to promote international service and fellowship.
· RI launches the Centennial Bell project. 
· The Rotary Centennial history book premiers at the 2004 International. Assembly and book sales begin.
· RI selects zone Centennial Poster Contest. 


NEW GENERATIONS MONTH

September is New Generations Month, when Rotarians work to support the development of youth and young adults. Four Rotary programs - Interact, Rotaract, RYLA, and Youth Exchange — help provide young people with education and valuable life skills to ensure a better future. 

Interact is a Rotary-sponsored service club for young people ages 14-18. The program gives young people an opportunity to participate in fun, meaningful service projects while developing leadership skills and meeting new friends. 

Through service activities, Interactors learn the importance of:
...Developing leadership skills and personal integrity;
...Demonstrating helpfulness and respect for others; and 
...Advancing international understanding and goodwill


Rotaract is a Rotary-sponsored service club for young men and women ages 18 to 30. The program is part of a global effort to bring peace and international understanding to the world. 

With Rotaract you can: 
…Develop professional and leadership skills.
…Serve your community and promote goodwill.
…Gain an understanding of the needs, problems, and opportunities in your community and worldwide


Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA), Rotary's training program for young leaders, emphasizes leadership, citizenship, and personal growth.
Are you ready to:
…Share an inspiring experience with tomorrow's future leaders?
…Mentor youth to further develop their talents and abilities?
…Help youth accomplish personal goals through teamwork


The most powerful force in the promotion of international understanding and peace is exposure to different cultures. The world becomes a smaller, friendlier place when we learn that all people — regardless of nationality — desire the same basic things: a safe, comfortable environment that allows for a rich and satisfying life for ourselves and our children. Youth Exchange provides thousands of young people with the opportunity to meet people from other lands and to experience their cultures, thus planting the seeds for a lifetime of international understanding. 
Since 1927, students and host families all over the world have had their horizons broadened and their lives enriched by the generosity of Rotary's Youth Exchange program. Administered by Rotary clubs, districts and multidistrict groups, the program today involves more than 82 countries and over 8,000 students each year.
The first documented exchanges date back to 1927, when the Rotary Club of Nice, France, initiated exchanges with European students. 


PROGRESS WITH THE LIBERALIZATION PROCESS IN CYPRUS

Liberalization of key sectors of our economy will create many new opportunities for development and will benefit the population, but “change” means that there will also be problems that have to be addressed. A major effort is required to achieve the time schedule for liberalization before Cyprus accession to the EU. It is therefore  essential that everyone involved with these issues should work together to ensure that the appropriate decisions are taken, the legislation is in force and that markets currently dominated by state monopolies are smoothly opened to competition.
Liberalization of markets, where until recently there have been only state monopolies, has been difficult in all the accession countries. This is because liberalization involves natural monopolies and the national interest, as well as the introduction of competition in markets and the protection of the public from exploitation. It concerns radical institutional change, including the separation of government functions from market operations, and changes in the legal status of institutions.

Difficult choices have to be made, and issues of economic policy have to be considered, such as whether to adopt a system of privatization or a form of state ownership. Furthermore, change affects established interests and modes of behaviour, thereby causing uncertainty and may not be popular, even though the EU experience has demonstrated that it is in the long term interests of citizens. 

The greatest difficulty, however, is to change the way of thinking of all those concerned. Everyone must realize that accession to the EU requires radical changes that cannot be delayed, changes that affect that nature and character of governance. Upon accession to the EU, the state will not be able to exercise the same level of control as before.

For this reason, we plan to invite specialists to speak on the progress with the liberalization process in our country. We want our fellow Rotarians to be rightly and adequately informed on the matter.


Rot. Clelia Theodoulou
Club Service Director.