Sessions & Labs
Sessions & Workshops
The Public Image & Rotaract Summit is designed as a working Summit. Its sessions combine practical workshops, listening, dialogue and shared experience, with a clear focus on what participants can take home and use after Samsun.
Some sessions open important conversations. Others help participants create something concrete: a message, a project story or a belonging action. Leadership journeys, audience questions and success stories bring different Rotary experiences into the conversation.
Practical Workshops
Friday morning is dedicated to three parallel practical workshops. Each has a defined focus and a tangible output. The shared introduction begins at 09:00, and the workshops run from 09:15 to 11:15. Choose one and select your preferred workshop in the registration form.
Rotary Voice and Public SpeakingRotary Voice and Public Speaking
Public Image is shaped every time we speak about Rotary. This workshop focuses on communicating clearly, confidently and in a human way to people inside and outside our organisation.
Participants explore how to speak about Rotary in language others can understand, present project impact and use voice, pace, pauses, eye contact and body language effectively. No previous speaking experience is needed.
Participants will work towards:
- a clear message in a 60-second version;
- a 90-second version of the same message;
- a three-minute version of the same message;
- a practical Public Speaking Checklist.
Inclusive Club ExperienceInclusive Club Experience
Attraction may bring people to Rotary. Belonging influences whether they stay, participate, lead and speak positively about their experience.
This workshop explores the behaviours and expectations that shape club experience across generations: what makes people feel welcomed, heard and valued; what makes them feel invisible or disconnected; and how everyday habits, meeting traditions and barriers to participation could change.
Practical output:
Participants develop a Belonging Action Card with practical ideas that can be applied in their club after the Summit.
Project Storytelling and People of ActionProject Storytelling and People of Action
Strong Rotary stories begin with what changed. This workshop focuses on turning project information into positive, ethical and credible stories of human impact.
Participants work with the framework Human Change + Proof + Invitation: showing the difference a project made, supporting the story with credible evidence and giving the audience a meaningful reason to engage or act.
Ethical storytelling is part of the work. Stories should respect consent, dignity, truth and context, and protect the people whose experiences we share.
Practical output:
Each group develops a People of Action story package with a headline, short text, photo brief and clear invitation, supported by evidence of human impact.
Sharing Workshop Outputs
From 11:25 to 12:00, representatives of the three workshops share their outputs. Discover the messages, belonging tools and project stories participants have developed, and consider which approaches could help your own club.
Inspirational Keynote
Trust, Reputation and Social Impact Beyond Rotary
Hakan Åžahin
Trainer and Consultant, Ä°zgören Akademi; former Interact and Rotaract leader.
An outside perspective on trust, reputation and social impact opens the conversation about how Rotary is experienced and understood.
The keynote follows the official opening and prepares the ground for the Summit’s first major dialogue, Public Image as Public Trust.
Dialogue Sessions
The Summit’s main dialogue sessions examine three connected questions: how trust is built, how generations experience Rotary and how lasting impact becomes part of everyday behaviour.
Public Image as Public Trust
A plenary dialogue on credibility, behaviour and the lived Rotary experience.
The session explores the connection between how society sees Rotary and how members experience the organisation. Consider how truthful communication, real impact, welcoming culture and consistent behaviour shape public trust.
One Rotary, Many Generations
A conversation across generations on belonging, leadership and shared responsibility.
Different generations may have different expectations around leadership, communication, time, service and change. Explore how listening and shared leadership can make room for new voices while keeping the values that bring us together.
Create Lasting Impact as Behaviour
What helps a good project keep making a difference after the event, photographs and first funding have passed?
Explore the behaviours behind lasting change: listening to communities, working with partners, sharing ownership and checking what has improved. Identify practical habits your club can adopt and clearer ways to recognise progress.
Recognition and World Polio Day
The Power of Goodness Awards
Discover the purpose of The Power of Goodness Awards and how this initiative brings attention to people whose actions deserve to be seen. Consider how recognition could inspire others in your community.
World Polio Day
Saturday, 24 October is World Polio Day. District 2430 leads the introduction from 12:15 to 12:30, followed by lunch and a shared activation from 12:30 to 14:00. Take part in a common cause that connects Rotary’s global commitment with visible action in Samsun.
Shared Experience and Leadership
Meet Our Hosts
Meet Rotary Club of Samsun Karadeniz, the club welcoming the Summit to Samsun, and hear about its Rotary experience.
ROFIFE Rotary Short Film Festival
Discover the Rotary Short Film Festival and its place in Rotary storytelling.
Success Stories from Districts 2430 and 2420
Hear selected examples from our host district, District 2430, and consider what could be useful in your own community.
Istanbul Rotary Club, District 2420, presents its Peace Essay Competition as a separate club initiative.
Our Journeys to Rotary Leadership
Hear personal Rotary journeys from District Governors-elect, District Governors-nominee, Past District Governors and experienced leaders, and discover the experiences that shaped their approach to leadership and service.
Frank Talk — Questions from the Audience
Bring your questions into an open conversation with district and regional leaders.
Zone 21B Success Stories
From Action to Impact
Across Zone 21B, Rotary and Rotaract clubs are turning ideas into meaningful action.
Following the earlier contributions from Districts 2430 and 2420, representatives from Districts 2440, 2452, 2475, 2482, 2483 and 2485 share selected success stories. Listen for practical solutions, partnerships and approaches you could adapt to your own context.
Follow-up
Continuing Beyond Samsun
Explore how to stay connected, exchange experience and carry useful ideas and cooperation forward after Samsun.
From Listening to Next Steps
The different formats are connected. Practical workshops build skills. Dialogue sessions deepen understanding. Leadership journeys and audience questions open new perspectives, while Zone 21B Success Stories show how ideas become meaningful impact.
The closing session brings these experiences together. Leave Samsun with something you can use: a stronger Rotary voice, a better story, a practical belonging action, a transferable idea, a new connection or partnership, and a clearer next step.