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Rotaract is an
international organization of service clubs for men and women aged
18-30 that fosters leadership and responsible citizenship,
encourages high ethical standards in business and promotes
international understanding and peace.
Founded in 1968 as a program of
Rotary International,
Rotaract allows young men and women the
opportunity to give service to their communities while developing
themselves personally and professionally through a spirit of
fellowship and understanding. What started out as a single club in
North Carolina, U.S.A. is now a global phenomenon of over 165,000
Rotaractors in more than 7,600 clubs in 158 countries worldwide.
Coined from the words
Rotary in Action, Rotaract clubs are either community or
university based and embody the principles of service set forth by
Rotary. Clubs organize a variety of projects and activities,
depending primarily on the interests of the club members. However,
within the Rotaract program, all clubs undertake three types of
activities in varying degrees: professional development, leadership
development, and service projects. Together, these three areas
ensure a balanced club program and provide important experience and
opportunities for the personal development of each Rotaractor.
Rotaract has the following goals:
- To develop professional and leadership skills
- To emphasize respect for the rights of others, based on recognition of the worth of each individual
- To recognize the dignity and value of all useful occupations as opportunities to serve
- To recognize, practice, and promote ethical standards as leadership qualities and vocational responsibilities
- To develop knowledge and understanding of the needs, problems, and opportunities in the community and worldwide
- To provide opportunities for personal and group activities to serve the community and promote international understanding and goodwill toward all people
The principles of Rotaract are based
on the fundamental concept which Rotary is built upon:
Service above Self. This
calls on Rotaractors and Rotarians alike to put service to their
communities above all else. This is further strengthened by the
concept of Fellowship through Service,
which focuses on the building of bonds of friendship among club
members while they endeavour to service their community. These
principles are embodied within the Rotary Four-Way Test
which challenges Rotaractors and Rotarians to live by them not just through their
service to the club but also in their personal and professional
lives as well.
From the earliest days of the organization,
Rotarians were concerned with promoting high ethical standards in
their professional lives. One of the world's most widely printed and
quoted statements of business ethics is The Four-Way Test, which was
created in 1932 by Rotarian Herbert J. Taylor (who later served as
RI president) when he was asked to take charge of a company that was
facing bankruptcy.
This 24-word test for employees to follow in their
business and professional lives became the guide for sales,
production, advertising, and all relations with dealers and
customers, and the survival of the company is credited to this
simple philosophy. Adopted by Rotary in 1943, The Four-Way Test has
been translated into more than a hundred languages and published in
thousands of ways. It asks the following four questions:
"Of the things we think, say or do:
- Is it the TRUTH?
- Is it FAIR to all concerned?
- Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?
- Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?"
History of the Four-Way Test
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