(The RGHF (Rotary Global History) coordinator for
youth
involvement is
Tim Tucker, UK, the webmaster is Damien
Harris, Jamaica)
Each
summer thousands of young people are selected to
attend Rotary-sponsored leadership camps or
seminars in the United States, Australia,
Canada, India, France, Argentina, Korea and
numerous other countries. In an informal
out-of-doors atmosphere, 50 to 75 outstanding
young men and/or women spend a week in a
challenging program of discussions,
inspirational addresses, leadership training and
social activities designed to enhance personal
development, leadership skills and good
citizenship. The official name of this activity
is the Rotary Youth Leadership Awards program
(RYLA), although the event is occasionally
referred to as Camp Royal, Camp Enterprise,
Youth Leaders Seminars, Youth Conferences or
other terms.
The RYLA
program began in Australia in 1959, when young
people throughout the state of Queensland were
selected to meet with Princess Alexandra, the
young cousin of Queen Elizabeth II. The
Rotarians of Brisbane, who hosted the
participants, were impressed with the quality of
the young leaders. It was decided to bring youth
leaders together each year for a week of social,
cultural and educational activities. The RYLA
program gradually grew throughout all the Rotary
districts of Australia and New Zealand. In 1971,
the RI Board of Directors adopted RYLA as an
official program of Rotary International.
