COP Blog Post 7

High Level Segment statement of Greta Thunberg, on behalf of the Environmental Non-Governmental Organizations (ENGO) Constituency. Her message is even more powerful when you watch the video. 

I saw Greta as we both attended COP24 in Katowice, Poland. She was usually accompanied by her father, Svante Thunberg, hurrying from one event to the next in the sprawling, maze-like, temporary complex. I was reluctant to approach her directly, as I thought there was little I could do or say to add to her mission of persuading the adults who are empowered to take climate action to do so, and I didn’t want to interfere with her focus. 

I did, however, have a fleeting conversation with her father about the gift of children who are advocates, because I felt we had that in common.  At about Greta’s age, my younger son became a fiercely outspoken advocate for public transit in Detroit, Michigan, once the epicenter of the auto industry.  While not quite as big a challenge as persuading those in power to act on climate change, still, tackling mobility inequity is a big undertaking for someone too young to drive, let alone, vote.  Stephen had tasted the independence that transit offered him in Paris and other urban centers, and vowed to make transit better at home, because “If Detroit had better transit, it would be a better city.” His naivete and purity of vision allowed him to see and act when many adults were resigned to transit poverty in Motown.

So, during a hurried a lunch break, I fell into step with Greta’s father and offered him my business card, which stated my role in Katowice as the observer for Rotary International, as I thanked him for his daughter’s vision and advocacy, and his role in nurturing it.  He scanned the business card, and as he popped it into his pocket he commented, “Rotary? I was a Rotary exchange student.”

Thus, I had a second connection with Greta and her advocacy. Greta’s father and I shared the life-changing experience, and gift from Rotary – of the Rotary Youth Exchange program. 

Then it struck me – the gift of Rotary Youth Exchange is multi-generational with much broader influence than we often recognize. The exchange year, the prep before and the follow-up afterwards, and the lifelong credential are all gifts to the student who travels to another country to study and live with several families for a year of high school. Those students fortunate enough to participate are imbued with Rotarian values of service above self and the Four Way Test for their lifetime. The families who host them benefit by creating international connections that continue to the next generation: I have attended two weddings in foreign countries and greeted ten international “grandchildren.” 

Of course, my information is anecdotal, but from my sample size of two, I cheerfully speculate that when exchange students step into the role of parents, we carry the values of our exchange year with us through life. And as parents. we may be blessed with the opportunity to nurture advocates like Greta and Stephen who become advocates for the planet, the social community, truth, justice and equity. 

First, be moved by the power, purity and singularity of Greta’s vision. Then, ponder with gratitude the impact of Rotary Youth Exchange (RYE), which serves over 8,500 high school students to live and study abroad each year in 113 countries. Over 80% of districts participate, and have engaged with over 143,000 students since record keeping began in the late 90’s. I’m an engaged Rotarian today, because I had the privilege and honor of being outbound to the RC of Port Adelaide, South Australia 51 years ago. 

Next time you are invited to host an exchange student, contribute to a winter clothing fund for a student from the tropics blindsided by winter in the northern hemisphere, transport a student to a school or RYE event, or provide a special outing, say yes. You’ll be contributing to the benefits conferred by RYE now, and for future generations, and you will be enriched as well.