Cost is biggest barrier to DCA attendance, study SHOWS|

A new survey has found out that cost is the main barrier to the attendance of district conferences – a finding that may trigger debate on the amount charged to Rotarians.

The study found out that 83 per cent of Rotarians either slightly agree (22%), agree (31%) or strongly agree (30%) compared to 17 per cent who slightly disagree, disagree or strongly disagree.  More males (86 per cent) compared to 81 per cent females tend to think that the cost of attending the DCA is prohibitive.

The data is important for it is the first district-wide survey to be conducted on Rotarians feelings about the DCA.

The data was collected from Rotarians who have served for less than 4 years (50%), 5-10 years (33%), 11-15 years (10%) and more than 17 years (7 %).  While majority of these respondents (51%) attended the DCA in Mombasa, it also indicates that a staggering 32 per cent of the Rotarians did not attend either of the last four DCAs in Mombasa, Naivasha, Kisumu and Addis Ababa.

Perhaps more shocking is that only 16 per cent of the respondents attended the DCA in Addis Ababa in 2016 compared to Kisumu (17 per cent), Naivasha (27 per cent) and Mombasa (51 per cent).

Majority (45%) of those who have never attended any of the DCAs are aged between 25-34 years and majority of them are those who have been Rotarians for less than 4 years. Only 8 per cent of Rotarians who have been members between 11 and 15 years have skipped the last four DCAs compared to those under 4 years (48 per cent), 5-10 years (16 per cent) and those over 16 years (28 per cent).

The survey also shows that the PDGs DG, DGE, DGN, and DGNM religiously attend the DCAs at an average of 86 per cent for Mombasa, Naivasha and Kisumu and 71 per cent attendance in Addis Ababa.

Although Club Presidents had a good appearance during Mombasa’s DCA at 71 per cent, they had a poor attendance at Addis Ababa (27 per cent), Naivasha (24 per cent), and the lowest was Kisumu at 13 per cent. It also shows that ordinary members and Club Officers have skipped the last four DCAs at 47 per cent and 38 per cent respectively.

To 94 per cent of Rotarians, the DCAs offer them an opportunity for short getaways with 45% of the “strongly” agreeing, 38 per cent agreeing and 11 per cent slightly agreeing. More males (96%) see DCA as a short getaway than women Rotarians (90 per cent). For the women, they strongly agree (65 per cent) that they attend the DCA to learn about Rotary their role in the clubs compared to males at 54 per cent.

Only 44% of the respondents strongly agreed on attending conferences to listen to the topics and speakers, with both genders agreeing at almost the same rate at 42 per cent (male) and 45 per cent (female).  The PDG, DG, DGE, DGN and DGNM strongly agreed (57%) to listening to topics and speakers more than the other roles.

The DCA is also a moment for Rotarians to meet old friends and make new contacts. Those who have been Rotarians between 5 – 10 years strongly agreed (71 per cent) that the DCA allows them to make new connections compared to those who have been Rotarians between 11 – 15 years (48%) and those with over 16 years in Rotary (61 per cent). Assistant Governor/District Officers that participated strongly agreed (76 per cent) the most to meeting old friends and making new connections at the district conferences.

Majority of members (99 per cent) see entertainment as an important part of the DCA with 59 per cent strongly agreeing with the female agreeing the most (63 per cent) compared to male (55 per cent). Those who strongly agree that entertainment is an integral part of DCA are aged between 25 and 34 years (66 per cent) while the age bracket 45 and 55 (49 per cent).

While more Assistant Governors and District Officers think that hotel reservations should be done by the conference committee the Club Presidents and past presidents differ. Actually, only 17 per cent of members strongly agree and 45 per cent of the members disagree – either slightly or strongly. The 45-54 years respondents disagreed the most with the reservations being done by the conference committee while those Rotarians who have stayed above 16years disagreeing the most.

Only 24% of the respondents strongly agreed with there being more time for presenting club awards, with 17% disagreeing on this. Females agreed slightly more on dedicating more time than male.

Majority of the respondents like to spend time at the house of friendship to get to know about club projects and shopping. Both male and female enjoy it at almost the same rate.

And finally, 99 per cent of the respondent agreed that quality of the food was an important aspect of DCA, with female members strongly agreeing the most (60%) compared to men (53 %).

By John Kamau