Caption: Olayinka Babalola, RI President, encouraged the trainees to a memorable journey as future district governors.
Training in Palanga, Lithuania during the GELS/GNLS Days, 1–3 September 2026
The training program for future governors (DGE/DGN) includes a three-day Learning Seminar organized jointly by Rotary International and the Zones. In my role as DGE, I participated in the seminar held in conjunction with the Rotary Summit from 1 to 3 September 2026 in the beautiful city of Palanga, Lithuania (a wonderful summer destination for road travellers, although there are no direct flights).
Some of the Finnish participants travelled by car, while others arrived by motorhome, making their way through Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania and visiting several other beautiful coastal towns along the route. Perhaps we will have an opportunity to read about these journeys in publications from other districts.
Participants in the training represented Zones 15, 16, 17 and 18. The facilitators were experienced Rotary leaders from these districts:
- Chief Facilitator and Training Leader, PDG Anna König
- Leading Facilitators, Zones 17 & 18, PDG Ulf Bingsgård / Lidun Hareide
The preparation process includes completing role-specific courses in My Rotary’s Learning Center in advance, together with the Learning Seminar Workbook. This workbook serves as a comprehensive guide for future Rotary district governors and is designed to help participants prepare for their term of office in 2027–28. It addresses key topics such as motivating and engaging clubs, building effective teams, aligning district goals with Rotary’s Action Plan, and strengthening the Rotary brand and its impact.
These topics were discussed extensively during the seminar, and participants shared experiences concerning the resources available to district governors for planning membership growth initiatives, financial management, communication development, the establishment of new clubs, and support for The Rotary Foundation.
The greatest value of the trip came from reconnecting with friends made during last year’s training in Brussels, meeting new Rotary colleagues, and strengthening the feeling that none of us is alone in this important role.
And of course, the wonderful city of Palanga deserves a special mention of its own.
Anne Kuusio,
DGE 2027-2028, Ekenäs-Tammisaari RC
Everything possible was discussed together – mostly in English, but Swedish was also spoken a lot – with the DGE group separately and together with DGN representatives.
On the final day, all the participants met and changed tables every 10 minutes. Wisdom and Rotary ideas were both heard and shared.
Tiit Rahkema, D1420 DGN, also found a new EPN shirt for the event.
The evening program of one training day includes the End Polio Now dinner, which we also participated in with a group of people from Finland and Estonia. The event presented the Polio situation around the world – it is already close to eradicating it completely, but donations are still needed to reach the finish line for a long time. In the photo, DG Heldur Allese and signed with red equipment belonging to the theme.
Different topics were discussed in groups and presented with proposals for measures.
At the end of the training days, before the start of the Summit, we enjoyed a joint lunch with all participants. The buzz of conversation exceeded the noise recommendations at times.
