Richard Baleares was one of over 40 youth leaders who participated in the International Rotary Youth Leadership Awards Forum in Taipei, Taiwan.
Richard Baleares, the president of the Rotaract Club of Saipan, was proud to represent the CNMI internationally.
RICHARD Baleares, president of the Rotaract Club of Saipan, participated recently in the International Rotary Youth Leadership Awards Forum in Taipei, Taiwan.
He said it was an “inspirational” gathering of Rotaract members from around the world. The forum, he added, allowed participants “to return to their areas of service with a broadened perspective and wider network.”
Rotaract Clubs, whose members are young men and women between the ages of 18 and 30, are associated with the broader Rotary International network of service-oriented organizations.
On Saipan, Baleares said the Rotaract Club service projects include adopting and maintaining a bus stop in Kagman, Halloween treats project candy distribution, among others.
As for the forum in Taipei, it was held from Oct. 28 to 29 at Taiwan Medical University, and its theme was “Increase our impact, expand our reach, enhance participant engagement, and increase our ability to adapt.”
A Taiwanese news source said there were a total of 46 participants from 20 countries, including Taiwan, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Denmark, Argentina, Turkey and Japan.
Keynote addresses were delivered by Dan Silver, general manager of Boston Scientific in Taiwan; Patrick Lin, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan; Jiann Chyuan-Wang, vice president of the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research; Davy Liu, founder of Kendu Films and a former Disney animator; Frances Milnes, president of Novartis Taiwan; and Leo Seewald, chairman of New Green Energy Taiwan.
Baleares said the presentations of Silver and Lin were unforgettable.
“They presented on adaptability and impact respectively,” Baleares said. “After their presentations, there was a panel discussion, and [Lin] talked about his professional career and how he has worked at many different places — from a startup company to Ford in China, to the White House and NASA. What leads him to where he is at the moment comes down to purposeful impact.”
Baleares said he was inspired to share the keynote addresses with his fellow Rotaract Club of Saipan members.
During a breakout session at the forum, he said he used his experience during Super Typhoon Yutu to help conceptualize a project related to a recent catastrophic earthquake in Turkey.
“My Turkish group mate shared a plan about helping the kids affected by the February earthquake in Turkey overcome their trauma, but she was having a hard time connecting her idea to the four main concepts of the forum, which were adaptability, impact, engagement, and reach,” he said. “I was able to help tie her idea into those four categories as it was something that hit close to home as it reminded me of how, after Yutu, I saw people, including children, traumatized by the wind and rain.”
He said the breakout group showed him how “the power of collaboration, cooperation and connecting ideas and different perspectives from different people from different parts of the world can help new ideas flourish.”
He hopes that more young people will be part of the Rotaract Club of Saipan and avail themselves of the opportunity to connect with service-minded individuals locally and internationally.
“Because of Rotaract, I was blessed to have these opportunities,” he said. “I think that when it comes to being passionate about helping out the community or contributing in helping other people succeed, things like this [trip] follow.”
Richard Baleares welcomes the opportunity to connect with other service-oriented youth from other countries.
