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The HISTORY OF ROTARACT IN HUNGARY History   Clubs   Districts

History of Rotaract lásd a teljes szöveg magyar

Although during the 1936 conference in Copenhagen between Rotary International and the European Advisory Committee ha raised the idea of creating a youth organizations, it was not until 1968 that Rotaract was created as a subsidiary of Rotary International. The name Rotaract was at the time, selected as a shortened translation of "Rotary in Action". It should be noted that there is a pan-European organization, whose leadership includes one delegate from each country (ERIC). The event lasts three years and is the largest of all European Conferences and is held annually (ERC or EUCO) In 1996 and in 2004, Hungary was the host of these conferences. At the time of this report there are about 8,000 clubs world-wide with total membership exceeding 180,000.

Districts   In the early 2000s, the Hungarian Rotaract clubs in the then-large District 1910 had become very active, taking part in joint events with eastern Austria, Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnian clubs. From all those countries still in District 1910 Hungary was fortunate to have its first Rotaract District Representative appointed in the 2000-01 year, Kiss Szabolcs a member of the Budapest-Danube club. The District was host to numerous events, and participated in many events in Innsbruck, Sarajevo, Split and Maribor. EUCO 2004 "WE Unite!" Conference  Budapest was also honoured to be host for this conference between April 28 and May 2 2004. The date was purposely chosen to coincide with Hungary's admission to the European Union on 1 May. Every Rotary and Rotaract club in Budapest was involved in the huge organisation which was highly successful. It included sightseeing, conference, spa visits, wine tastings, free software and many other activities for the estimated 450 visiting Rotaractors from the other countries in the District.  In 2007 the independent Hungarian national Rotary District was born due to the number of clubs, traveling, language and other issues.

Clubs  Following the re-admittance of Rotary into Hungary, the Rotaract Club of Budapest became the country's first Rotaract club in 1991. Soon after came the Rotaract Club of Budapest-Danube in 1994 and later that year the Rotaract Club of Szeged. The Hungarian Rotaract clubs in establishing the order are: RAC Budapest (1991) – discontinued RAC Budapest-Duna (1994) RAC Szeged (1994) RAC Pécs (1995) – discontinued RAC Budapest-Budavár (1996) RAC Debrecen (1999) – discontinued RAC Budapest-Sasad (2000) RAC Tatabánya (2003) RAC Budapest-Margitsziget(2003) RAC Baja (2004) – discontinued RAC Budapest-City (2006) RAC Nyíregyháza (2006) RAC Szeged-Tisza (2007) – discontinued RAC Miskolc-Tapolca (2007) RAC Győr (2008) RAC Szolnok (2009) RAC Budapest-Tabán (2010) RAC Mosonmagyaróvár (2010)  The RAC Budapest charter ceremony took place in the second half of 1991. Judit Izsó was the first president . In 1996 the club was host to the international European Rotaract Conference, when the 15 active members superbly organized a five-day program in which 110 delegates from 17 countries participated. The conference slogan "Communication for a Better World". The club was disbanded shortly after. The RAC Pécs started in the autumn of 1995 but was chartered in 1999 with the participation of 25 young people. The founding president was Lengyel Tamás. In the early 2000s however, the club was also abandoned. The RAC Debrecen charter ceremony was held on 18 April 1999 with the then Roraract District Representative, Kiss Szabolcs leading 15-20 yound people into the new club. It was abandoned in the mid 2000s. Both RAC Baja and RAC Szeged-Tisza abandoned after a short period. The Budapest-Duna Rotaract Club therefore is the oldest active Rotaract club in Hungary. The club has been involved in children's day programs, with the Red Cross and those suffering from floods in their region. In 2004 the club was primarily responsible for organising the 2004 European Rotaract Conference. RAC Szeged was chartered in 1994 with 17 original members. Although the club suspended operations in 1998 it was quickly re-formed in 2000 and has grown bigger and more active ever since. In the 2 years since re-formation, President Mojzes Krisztina brought about many positive changes, as did Juhász Péter in the following year and Kevei Zoltán the year after. In fact, since its initial stall, the club has become one of the more active Rotaract Clubs constantly challenged for that crown by all the other clubs in Hungary.

"Earlyact" is a registered Trademark and was created for primary school children aged 6-14 who are most susceptible to emotional and intellectual content. It can be seen from the following pages that it exists and operates in a number of countries, the first three being the U.K., the U.S.A. and Australia. At the time of writing, there are two Earlyact clubs in Hingary - Arany János Earlyact Club - formed 2009; chartered 8 May 2010, from the Meggyesi Golden Elementary School and supported by the Rotary Club Nyíregyháza; Kálvin János Earlyact Club - formed 2009; chartered 8 May 2010, from the Mátészalka Reformed School.  Past President of Los Angeles Palm Springs Rotary Club, Jim Dowlerrel was one who assisted in the creation of Earlyact in Hungary. It was also an exciting coincidence that the California District 5330 GSE team happened to be present during the inauguration of Europe's first and second Earlyact clubs.

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acknowledgements to Marinus W. Evertse, Rotary Club Szekszárd, president 2012-2013, ICC Germany-Hungary Trans Danubien D-1911 researched and posted by RGHF webmaster, Greg Barlow, Malaysia, November 2011.

Organizations within Rotary and/or associated with Rotarians