At the opening ceremonies of the 110th Rotary International Convention, the Philippine contingent made its mark. When the country’s name was called, the Filipinos’ spirited cheer filled the Hall of the Hamburg Messe und Congress in Germany—loud and clear.
The lively audience came as no surprise because according to Philippine promotions chairman, past District Governor Rolando “Oyan” Villanueva, more than 700 Rotarians attended from the Philippines. Add to the fact that Filipinos are cheerful in nature. They of course made sure to maximize their short stay in Hamburg, a city known for its beer pub and restaurants. For the Philippine Delegates Fellowship Night, Hofbrau Munchen was an easy venue pick for its German sausages and beer. The Filipino crowd couldn’t get over the good food topped with the best company.
The four-day convention passed by smoothly with world-class speakers, including: Dr. Peter Tschentscher, First Mayor of Hamburg, and Dr. Gerd Müller, Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development. After and in-between plenary sessions, the Filipino Rotarians also got to bond and exchange bannerettes with Rotarians from other countries at The ONE Philippines booth in the Hall of Friendship.
It was also extra special for the German Rotarians who witnessed the nomination of Holger Knaack of the Rotary Club of Herzogtum Lauenburg-Mölln for the position Rotary International President in Rotary Year 2020-2021.
On the closing day, Eckart Diepenhorst, CEO of mytaxi presented a check for €70,000, representing 100 percent of the proceeds from all rides to and from the Hamburg Messe from 31 May through 5 June to support three German Rotary club projects: a bee pasture, emotions training for Autism, and HANWASH, a collaborative initiative to bring clean water to Haiti.
See all the convention photos in the July issue of the Philippine Rotary Magazine.
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