By Michael Hayes Rotary Club of Conroe July 18, 2025

This year’s Rotary International Convention was held in Calgary Alberta. The convention was a more intimate affair, with only 15,000-plus participants instead of the 30,000ish who attended the convention in Singapore in 2024.

Calgary itself, at the foot of the Rocky Mountains and a gateway to the incredible Banff National Park, is a beautiful city. The Province of Alberta is very much like Texas, the home of tremendous oil reserves and oil production. It is also home to many tribes of the indigenous peoples of Canada, known as the First Nations. There are 45 First Nations in Alberta.

Alberta is also home to the Waterton Glacier International Peace Park, the world’s first international peace park and UNESCO Heritage Site.  The International Peace Park bridges the US and Canada, linking Glacier National Park in the US with the Waterton Glacier National Park in Canada.  

Both the First Nations and the International Peace Park had significant influence in the Rotary Convention. Representatives of the First Nations spoke of each of us living in harmony with the environment and with each other, having respect for all things and all peoples.  The attitude of living in harmony with each other was apparent throughout the city.  Calgary is a very multicultural city, with people from every continent resident in the city.

It was friendly and respectful, we were surprised with the manners of the youth, who willingly offered up their seats on the subway to women and older individuals.

Waterton Peace Park had several influences on the Convention, starting with a focus on the environment.  There were multiple presentations during the Convention on environmental projects, all with a focus on sustainability. There were a number of discussions on topics like reforestation, habitat recovery, and ecosystem management.

Another major area of influence was the issue of Peace. A number of presentations were made on the topic. One covered how to train Rotary Youth Exchange Students to be Peace Ambassadors when they visit other countries.  Another presentation focused on how to work with youth to provide Peace Training, and how to respect all people.  Other presentations focused on Positive Peace and how to use the positive peace tool to solve problems in communities to make them more resilient.  

Another focused on how to introduce the Positive Peace Tools to community leaders for their use.

One of the joys of the Rotary International Convention is meeting people from other countries and other cultures and finding common ground.  Even though we are all from different places and different experiences, our Rotary beliefs and values give us commonality and a basis for friendship.  

Despite our differences, we find that we are all so much the same.  It is like being with 15,000 friends and family.  For example, visiting with the Rotarians from Ukraine was fun, but going around the corner and visiting with the Rotarians from Russia was most interesting. Visiting the Action Groups and Fellowships was also inspirational.

Now, we look forward to Taipei Taiwan in 2026!

The Rotary Club of Conroe meets at noon Tuesdays at Honor Cafe in downtown Conroe. 

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