{"id":1579,"date":"2026-02-07T05:50:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-07T05:50:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dg-newsletter2526.rid3450.org\/?p=1579"},"modified":"2026-02-07T05:50:21","modified_gmt":"2026-02-07T05:50:21","slug":"rotary-international-president-message-february-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dg-newsletter2526.rid3450.org\/?p=1579","title":{"rendered":"Rotary International President Message February 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Rotary International President Message February 2026<\/h2><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Francesco Arezzo
President 2025-26<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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February 2026<\/strong><\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

At last month\u2019s International Assembly, President-elect Olayinka \u201cYinka\u201d Hakeem Babalola called on members of the Rotary world to live out our presidential message for the 2026-27 Rotary year: Create Lasting Impact<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This February, as we observe Peacebuilding and Conflict Prevention Month, we have an opportunity to channel Yinka\u2019s call to action into real change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Peace is not simply the absence of war. A life free from conflict but marked by hunger, instability, or the inability to care for one\u2019s family is not true peace. Peace requires liberty, opportunity, and respect for human dignity. Yet fear often blocks that path \u2014 fear of change, of cultural loss, of people we don\u2019t understand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fear isn\u2019t defeated through avoidance or aggression. Knowledge is the first step toward peace. Rotary embraces this idea. Our Rotary Peace Centers and their peace fellows, along with other peace education initiatives, demonstrate how knowledge builds trust and helps communities find solutions to conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Colombia, decades of conflict have left deep wounds. The 2025 Rotary Foundation Programs of Scale awardee, Pathways to Peace and Prosperity, partners with the United Nations World Food Programme to expand opportunity, improve conflict resolution, and connect people with social services. Its goal is to break cycles of violence, poverty, and food insecurity so peace can take root.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Maharashtra, India, People of Action honoree Swati Herkal built peace through prosperity. Her project confronted farmers\u2019 declining soil health, rising debt, and illness caused by chemical fertilizers. She and her Rotary partners launched a regenerative agriculture program that revitalized the land, lowered costs, and restored stability. More than 1,100 farmers now participate and over 50 villages have adopted the model.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rotary also advances peace by restoring dignity. In Chad, Rotary Peace Fellow Domino Frank discovered that more than 1,500 women who fought in a rebellion had been erased from reintegration programs. His advocacy led to Chad\u2019s first Rotary Foundation global grant and the creation of Corridors of Peace. More than 100 women \u2014 triple the goal \u2014 completed literacy and vocational training and formed a cooperative to support their families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Colombia to India to Chad, the lesson is clear: Peace is not a dream. It is the result of sustained action with a focus on true, lasting impact. To replicate these successes, Rotary clubs can take three steps: Learn from peace fellows and other peace experts in our organization, apply a peacebuilding lens to community assessments, and prioritize impact over ceremony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a world filled with fear, Rotary cannot be satisfied with half-measures and empty words. If we are truly people of action, then action must define us. Together, we can Create Lasting Impact<\/em> \u2014 across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Francesco ArezzoPresident 2025-26 February 2026 At last […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":419,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1579","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feb-2026"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dg-newsletter2526.rid3450.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1579","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dg-newsletter2526.rid3450.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dg-newsletter2526.rid3450.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dg-newsletter2526.rid3450.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dg-newsletter2526.rid3450.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1579"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dg-newsletter2526.rid3450.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1579\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1580,"href":"https:\/\/dg-newsletter2526.rid3450.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1579\/revisions\/1580"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dg-newsletter2526.rid3450.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/419"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dg-newsletter2526.rid3450.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1579"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dg-newsletter2526.rid3450.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1579"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dg-newsletter2526.rid3450.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1579"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}