Rotaract Representative Hiwot Nekatibeb to Leverage Partnerships in New Role
With elegance and determination, Rotaractor Hiwot Nekatibeb steps into her new role as District Rotaract Representative (DRR) for the 2024-2025 Rotary Year, collaborating with District Governor Joe Kamau of Rotary District 9212. Rotaract clubs unite individuals aged 18 and older, fostering connections with community leaders, honing leadership and professional skills, and creating a vibrant environment through service.
Globally, Rotary and Rotaract members join forces to make a tangible impact through various initiatives. Hiwot, a past President of the Rotaract Club of Abugida in Ethiopia and past Deputy Country Chair for Rotaract Ethiopia, shares her insights and aspirations in an exclusive interview with Rtr. Faith Mueni from the Rotary D9212 Public Image Committee.
- What are your primary goals and vision for the Rotaract district in the 2024-2025 year under the theme “The Magic of Rotary”?
Vision: We strive to catalyze our collective impact by leveraging partnerships and collaborations to unveil the extraordinary essence of Rotary.
Primary Goals: Fostering a culture that is diverse, equitable, and inclusive culture to achieve our vision of serving as an impact catalyst.
- How would you describe your leadership style, and how do you plan to inspire and motivate Rotaractors in your district to achieve their best?
As a volunteer and community servant, I lead by example, I plan to Inspire by setting clear goals that align with our core values and vision and letting members know that their individual contribution turns our vision into a tangible reality.
- Can you highlight any specific initiatives or projects that you are particularly excited about for the upcoming year?
Including Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) as one of our strategic pillars, it is an initiative that am very excited about. It is a concept that reflects our core values and explains the responsibility that comes with being a Rotarian and Rotaractors.
- What are some of the biggest challenges you anticipate facing in your tenure, and how do you plan to address them?
Visiting clubs in person and participating in events as much as I want may pose challenges in balancing work time and may exceed budget limits. However, strategic planning and prioritizing important events can alleviate these difficulties.
- How do you plan to enhance member engagement and participation across the district?
By developing an engaging internal communication platform at a district level to keep members updated, know their contributions, and learn from other club experiences. Fostering a culture of joint fellowship/projects between clubs and district level and expanding the impact of RYLA and DCA as a district-wide program will also greatly enhance members’ engagement.
- Diversity, equity, and inclusion are significant focus areas for Rotary International. How do you plan to promote these values within your district?
As explained in question number three, it is one of the priority areas that I want to focus on, streamlining this concept in all Rotary focus areas and programs will promote these values.
- Can you share examples of past projects that had a significant impact on the community, and how do you plan to build on these successes?
School feeding projects, RYLA, Blood drives, and new club formation are projects that had an impact on the community, by reverse engineering past successes to identify how it was made will give a big headstart. Figuring out and tallying up past success methods to find what has been used most often and setting new goals that can enhance the impact.
- How do you envision the collaboration between Rotaract clubs and Rotary clubs evolving during your term?
As the Rotaract D9212 theme is Impact Catalyst, a collaboration between Rotaract and Rotary is the only way that we can accomplish serving as impact catalyzers.
- What inspired you to take on this leadership role, and what personal experiences have shaped your approach to leadership in Rotaract?
My service in Rotaract exposed me to contribute to the impact of Rotary and this motivated me to take even bigger roles to contribute my share in expanding the impact.
- As Rotary celebrates its hundredth year, how do you plan to honor this milestone in your district’s activities and initiatives?
By revealing and celebrating Rotary’s achievement for the past hundredth year in all the district activities and initiatives
- Looking ahead, what do you see as the future of Rotaract, both in your district and globally, and what role do you think young leaders will play in shaping that future?
I envision Rotaract as the leading youth-led organization, making a significant impact at district, continent, and global levels, with young leaders acting as catalysts for positive change.
