- Our Club
- The Board
- Twinning
Foundation year
Established in 2012
Rotaract Amsterdam Nachtwacht International, Racani in short, was established in 2012 in District 1580. The club was an initiative of our mother club Rotary Amsterdam Nachtwacht. Since 2012 our club has grown tremendously and experienced exciting challenges every year. Because of our international nature we have a high membership turnover as members sometimes stay for less than a year in Amsterdam. Nevertheless, the core of the club always remains and the club continues to develop and grow each year.
Membership
National and international members
In our club we host both national and international guests and members. Because Amsterdam is such an international city with many expats and students from abroad, we want to provide them the opportunity to become part of, or continue their previous commitment with, Rotaract. Our meetings and any other communication always take place in English.
What It Means To Be A Rotaractor
Service above self
As a club we are committed to the general goal of Rotaract, we are a service club. As Rotaractors we identify needs in our community and work to fulfill them by proposing, planning and organizing local and international service projects. Rotaract is the youth section of Rotary International and was established in 1968. Rotaract clubs bring together people ages 18-30 to exchange ideas with leaders in the community, develop leadership and professional skills, and have fun while putting our hands together for our community.
What Makes Our Club Amazing
Inclusiveness and togetherness
There are more than 170.000 Rotaract members worldwide. In Europe alone there are more than 20.000 Rotaractors divided over 47 European countries. As for the Netherlands, we have about 43 clubs amounting for about 500 members. Whichever city you go to in the Netherlands, it is highly likely to find one or more Rotaract clubs in those cities. As such, Amsterdam also has three Rotaract clubs, of which ours is the only international club. Of course all clubs are amazing and should all be considered when deciding to join. Our club the differs in the we host our meetings semi-formal and in English, welcome both national and international members, and we organize both local and international projects.
International Collaboration
Clubs we collaborate with
Working on international projects requires good organization and supervision. In addition to this, many countries already have their own Rotaract clubs spread over local areas. However, not all countries and clubs are able to raise funds with ease, especially the less developed countries. Hence, this is where we stand to support these local clubs. So far we have collaborated with two rotaract clubs in Nepal as well as two Rotaract clubs in Croatia.
Our Club Meetings
What our meetings look like
The meetings of Racani are hosted in a semi-formal fashion. The reason behind this more informal way of meeting is that, from our experience and feedback, it creates an atmosphere in which every (guest)member feels free to speak and provide suggestions and it also allows for a more relaxed way of communicating with each other. Our meetings start with dinner from 19:00 – 20:00, followed by the official meeting from 20:00 – 21:00. We don’t have a dress code, although we always appreciate appropriate attire. Furthermore, the general code of conduct is to be on time for the official meeting, to treat each other with respect and to throw kindness around like confetti.
Will be updated soon to feature the current board!
Michelle Haukes
President
“No one has ever become poor by giving” – Anne Frank
Gigi Levens
Secretary
“Helping people by charity is the most human thing we can do” – Oprah Winfrey
Frederik Beukering
Vice-President
My hope is that we as a club can spread the fun of giving to society.
Chris Tomaszkiewicz
Treasurer
Over the years we’ve twinned with several Rotaract clubs across Europe. So here we present you: our twins!