International holidays - World Understanding and Peace Day

In 1905, on February 23, four residents of Chicago, at a friendly meeting, decided to create an international club for friendship and cooperation of business people So, with the light hand of lawyer Paul Harris and his friends, an entrepreneur, mining engineer and owner of a coal business, Rotary International was organized His main goal was to achieve mutual understanding between the inhabitants of the Earth, regardless of their race, nation, religion and political views Today there are about 33 thousand branches of Rotary International around the world, more than 90 of them are located in Russia And on February 23, the World Day of Understanding and Peace is celebrated annually in honor of the founding of the club The World Understanding and Peace Day holiday is a celebration of humanism, high ethics and philanthropy The main mottos of the brainchild of Paul Harris, who in 1910 was elected president of the organization, his friends and associates were and remain two: “Service above self” and “Those who serve best receive the most” The main idea of ​​the club was to develop friendship and solidarity among business representatives from big cities Following the Chicago branch, branches opened in San Francisco, Oakland, Washington, Seattle, New York and Los Angeles Later, Rotary clubs appeared in Canada, and during World War II - in Germany, Austria, Spain, Italy and Japan In Russia, the first branches were opened in 1990 in Irkutsk, Moscow and St Petersburg Today Rotary International has more than 12 million members They are engaged in humanitarian projects and promoting high ethical standards in business In their activities, members of the organization, headed by the President and Council of the club, are guided by the Constitution of Rotary International Rotarians and their associates annually celebrate World Day of Understanding and Peace on February 23rd It is not surprising that the initiative of Paul Harris and his friends back in 1905 found support all over the world, and a century later the ranks of the organization are constantly replenished with new members After all, in what Rotarians think, say and do, according to the current code, they are based on truth, honesty, good intentions and an assessment of actions from the standpoint of the common good The Rotary International Foundation implements several educational and humanitarian programs These include PolioPlus (the polio initiative), which has been in place since 1985, scholarships for university students and faculty, funding to fight hunger, sponsoring international exchanges for aspiring businessmen, and other initiatives In honor of the World Day of Understanding and Peace, this charitable organization holds conferences, meetings and other events at which it promotes the ideas of Rotarian brotherhood