Rotary making International news - Update from General Secretary

Dear Colleagues,

I am pleased to report that Rotary has received significant and high-profile media coverage over the previous two months that highlight who we are and what we do, particularly our efforts to eradicate polio.

• New York Times: Rotary was featured in the ‘Your Money’ section alongside the Peace Corps as a volunteer and community service option for active retirees.
• National Geographic: Dr. John Sever, vice chair of Rotary’s International PolioPlus Committee, was interviewed about the history of the polio vaccine and Rotary’s efforts to end polio.
• Tages Anzeiger:Rotarian and polio-survivor Urs Herzog (story attached) was interviewed about the importance of immunization and the current fight to end polio.
• National Public Radio: Carol Pandak, director of PolioPlus, was quoted extensively about the planned introduction of the inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) into routine immunization programs in 2015. 
• Voice of America: Dr. John Sever, vice chair of Rotary’s International PolioPlus Committee, was interviewed for a story on the 60^th anniversary of Jonas Salk’s   inactivated polio vaccine and recent progress to end polio in Nigeria and Africa.
• Toronto Globe and Mail: A joint op-ed was by former Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin and virtuoso violinist and Rotary polio ambassador Itzhak Perlman – both polio survivors, was published.
• Jerusalem Post: An op-ed by virtuoso violinist and Rotary polio ambassador Itzhak Perlman was published about his personal experience contracting polio as a young boy in Israel, and his work with Rotary to eradicate the disease.
• In March, Rotary polio ambassador and Brazilian supermodel Isabeli Fontana posted messages on social media about her trip to India with Rotary to immunize children against polio. High profile fashion magazines Glamour Brasil and Vogue Brasil reposted her Instagram messages – reaching more than 13,000 people.

Click on this link to view and share an interactive compilation via Internet Explorer 10 or later and all other browsers. To view full articles, click on the headlines.

Best regards,
John Hewko
General Secretary
Rotary International