Rotary turns 107

27 February, 2012 – Over the month of February, Rotarians around the world have been celebrating the service organisation’s 107th anniversary – and in true Rotary spirit, many have taken the opportunity to raise awareness about polio eradication.

In recent years, Rotarians have celebrated the organisation’s birthday by lighting up internationally recognisable landmarks with the “End Polio Now” message. This year, there was a particular focus on Pakistan, which saw both Frere Hall in Karachi and WAPDA house in Lahore illuminated. Other landmarks lit up included the Tower of London in the United Kingdom; Roppongi Hills skyscraper in Tokyo, Japan; City Hall in San Juan, Puerto Rico; and Federation Square in Melbourne, Australia.

But lighting up landmarks is not the only way that Rotarians used the anniversary to highlight polio eradication. Thousands of participants around the globe took part in a swimming world record attempt, teams of volunteers from the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States helped out during India’s recent National Immunization Days and a new “This Close” poster was released in Pakistan featuring Aseefa Bhutto Zardari, the country’s polio ambassador. All of this culminated in Rotary’s Polio Summit, held on the 25 and 26 of February in New Delhi, India, where it was officially announced that India would no longer be considered a polio-endemic country.

For more, including photos of landmarks lit up around the world, visit Rotary’s website.