In my first year as a Rotary public image coordinator, I dreamed of having a video competition to tell Rotary stories and let communities all over the world see the lasting change Rotary makes. Clubs and districts could let the world know about Rotary and our impact by sharing these inspiring videos within their communities, on social media, and elsewhere. I had in mind something that would leave its mark on the hearts and minds of Rotarians and non-Rotarians alike.
When I shared this idea with the Zone 21B assistant Rotary public image coordinators, the team was keen to make the video competition a reality. We drafted criteria, chose a title (“The Power of Goodness”), made a flier, and sent invitations to the district governors, club presidents, secretaries, and district and club public image coordinators.
I’ve always believed that constant communication is the key to success, and so our zone’s public image team has had constant communication about the competition with the corresponding districts and clubs for the past three years. We emphasized the importance of promoting Rotary to the public. We sent monthly emails, fliers, and promotional videos to inspire them to participate.
In our first year, we had 58 entries. In Rotary Year 2021-2022, I encouraged public image coordinator Mykola Stebljanko of Zone 21A to join us, and we had 55 entries. This past year, due to the circumstances in Ukraine, the forest fires in Greece and Turkey, and the devastating earthquake in Turkey, we had 32 Rotary and Rotaract club entries from 10 of 16 districts from Zones 21A and 21B.
Videos are evaluated with a 100-point scale on the following criteria:
Creativity and weight of impact to the community (30 points): Videos must feature Rotary members showing the world what is good in Rotary and how Rotary cares. They must represent one or more of our areas of focus.
Message content (40 points): Video must reflect the competition theme (“The Power of Goodness”), be relevant to Rotary’s mission and vision, and present a logical, compelling sequence.
Technical organization (20 points): Rotary branding standards (including logos and other technical content) must be correctly presented, along with continuity, timing, camera operation, sound quality, editing and adherence to a 3-minute time limit.
People’s choice – Most likes (up to 10 points): The 10 finalists’ videos from each zone will be posted on the competition web page, YouTube, Shutterfly, and Zone 21 Facebook page, and will be ranked on the number of likes.
The top three winners receive a monetary prize and a plaque of appreciation, and all contributing clubs and districts received certificates of participation. All the videos are on our competition website.
The hard work of the Rotary public image teams has served its purpose, as per the reviews from the Rotarians in Zone 21 and the amazing reactions from local communities. The admiration of people outside Rotary has brought members joy in doing service above self. Some have even been encouraged to support Rotary and become potential members because of what they have learned about Rotary. My successor, assistant public image coordinator and Past District Governor Altan Arslan, will continue the competition.