While Calgary is known for its Stampede, my attending the Rotary International Convention in Calgary felt more like Nancy and Carolyn had placed me in a tropical paradise and said, “Tony, here’s a treasure map with a number of Xs. These mark all the spots where you will find amazing Rotarians who are supporting inspiring and impactful education projects around the world. Have fun meeting them while you are here!”
As it had been more than 15 years since I attended prior RI conventions (i.e., Barcelona – 2002 and Los Angeles – 2008), I had forgotten how powerful this event was – 15,000 attendees! – can be to remind one what a privilege and honor it is to be a Rotarian.
Two large Xs on the treasure map: BELRAG’s day-long pre-Convention Symposium (held in the architecturally resplendent Calgary Public Library) and the BELRAG booth in the education hub in the Convention’s House of Friendship Exhibit Hall. These spaces were magnets for nuggets of wisdom, inspiration, and collaboration from fellow Rotarians, saying: “Let me tell you about what my club is doing to advance local education opportunities in my community, in other countries, etc. How can we work together?”
These conversations were particularly rewarding to me as BELRAG’s STEM chair, and I had the opportunity to hear about so many Rotary-supported STEM initiatives. This included: clubs procuring and shipping STEM lab supplies and books; supporting offline digital content repositories (e.g., RACHEL, Teacher in A Box, Looma); and/or advancing digital literacy projects with in- and out-of-school youth.
I was having so much fun working at the BELRAG booth that Nancy successfully castigated me for not attending any of the convention’s opening and closing stadium sessions. It worked. I did manage to make two of these later in the schedule. Sitting among a sea of cheering Rotarians in a giant stadium with flashing lights, giant jumbotron displays, and notable guest speakers was quite memorable and moving.
It was also a treat for me to modestly help connect the dots between those individuals whom I met at the convention and who I then knew shared common project interests.
As I’ll be the BELRAG chair 2026/2027, I have already signed up to attend the RI Convention in Taiwan in June 2026. We are already starting to exchange ideas about BELRAG’s presence there, including possibly having an interactive education and STEM pavilion to take advantage of Taiwan’s digital reputation. Feel free to join us there.
