Hundreds of Rotarians from ten countries in the northern Caribbean will rendezvous in Jamaica from April 27 to May 2 at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in Kingston, as clubs in Rotary’s District 7020 gather for their annual district conference under the theme Unite for Good.
Like the famed James Bond, whose character was birthed in Jamaica, the conference has likened its delegates to ‘agents’ who have been assigned a mission to keenly focus on how their respective clubs can further strengthen their impact on communities to improve lives and build resilience in the face of existential threats, such as climate change, the rising incidence of non-communicable diseases, and other challenges.
“The challenges of the modern world are growing in scale and impact,and our clubs must grow equally in strength, ‘unite for good’ to support communities and their people to become resilient and tothrive,” said District Governor 2025-2026 for Rotary District 7020, Professor William ‘Bill’ Aiken.
Referring to the frequency of powerful category 5 hurricanes that have made landfall in the region in recent years and the continued alarming incidence of cardiovascular disease in the Caribbean, he said the capacity of clubs must be reinforced through upskilling, recruitmentand forging partnerships.
“Hurricane Melissa, which made landfall in Jamaica last year- just a year after a brush by the category 4 storm, Hurricane Beryl- and Hurricane Dorian, another category 5 storm, which devasted the Bahamas in 2019, are keen examples of the brutal realities we now contend with. And so, our work in all seven areas of focus as an organisation requires not just more diligence on the part of our members, but deliberate capacity building so that our clubs can facilitate recovery and strengthen resilience,” the District Governor underscored. Rotary’s seven areas of focus are peacebuilding and conflict prevention, disease prevention, maternal and child health, basic education and literacy, water, sanitation and hygiene, community economic development, and environmental protection.
“We will come together to fellowship, inspire each other, unite incoming presidents and secretaries through the forging of partnerships so that they can return to their respective clubs better able to navigate the changing environment and invigorated to create lasting impact in their communities and the world,” he said.
The District Governor will lead a decorated team of high-profileRotary dignitaries to address attendees. They include Rotary International (RI) President-nominee, Larry Lunsford, who will serve as RI President for the 2027-2028 Rotary year, and Past Rotary International President, Barry Rassin, who served RI as president from 2018-2019. RI Director, Patrick Eakes and past RI Director, Jeremy Hurst are the other high profile Rotary dignitaries.
The opening ceremony, which Jamaican public figures are also slated to attend, is scheduled for Thursday, April 30 in Emancipation Park, opposite the Jamaica Pegasus hotel.
“We want the public and Jamaicans at large to come see and understand what Rotary means to Jamaica and the region, hence the decision to bring the opening ceremony into the public domain, and we invite corporate Jamaica and other interested parties to also join us,” said District Governor Bill Aiken.
Rotary remains the largest service organisation of its kind worldwide with more than 1.3 million professionals, businesspeople and community leaders who pool their skills, finances and time to promote peace, sanitation and hygiene, provide clean water, fight disease,improve maternal and child health, protect the environment, grow local economies and support education.
District 7020 comprises some 91 Rotary clubs and 46 Rotaract Clubs in 10 northern Caribbean countries- Anguilla, Bahamas, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, St Martin/St Barthelemy (French West Indies), Haiti, Jamaica, Sint Maarten, Turks and Caicos, and the US Virgin Islands.