Rotary Edinburgh

19/08/2026

CONCERNED ABOUT AI?…MOST PEOPLE ARE!
A great speaker at our Evening Meeting last Monday, Hew Bruce-Gardyne.
Hew entitled his speech “The Humanity in the Loop” and it was all about the potential impact of AI!
Artificial Intelligence (to give AI its correct title) may be about to change work, wealth, and daily life faster than any technology before.
Hew highlighted how dramatic changes in society have occurred before - the agricultural revolution, the industrial revolution, and more recently, the digital revolution.
He took us through an exciting journey of what’s coming, what will change, what might not change, and what we might want to do about it all!
Hew is a founder of TVSquared, a technology company founded in Edinburgh that is now
part of MediaOcean, the company whose software helps run roughly a quarter of the world's total advertising spend. As Director of Operational Excellence, he is responsible for
overseeing the roll-out of AI initiatives as the organisation moves into the new world of AI-
enabled advertising.
Hew’s lively talk created a massive amount of questions and opinions, probably more than any other talk we had organised!
Thank you so much for enlightening us to this new emergent technology, Hew!
Want to hear inspiring speakers like this every week? Why not think about joining us? Come along to one of our meetings! Drop us an email on [email protected].

19/08/2026

AN INSPIRING DAY OUT!
Over the spring, summer and autumn months, The Rotary Club of Edinburgh organises day trips, for its members and friends, to various interesting locations.
The visit last Saturday was to the Japanese Garden at Cowden, near Dollar, an inspirational and serene horticultural delight!
The Japanese Garden - named “Sha Raku En, or “a place of pleasure and delight” by its founder - is a unique and utterly authentic bridge between Scottish and Japanese culture.
How it came about is an amazing story!
At the turn of the 20th Century, the Scottish adventurer Ella Christie returned home from a trip to Japan inspired to build her own Japanese Garden.
As might be expected from the first western woman to meet the Dalai Lama, Ella's approach to developing the garden was trailblazing. She chose a female designer – the gifted Taki Handa – to create the seven acre site in the grounds of Cowden Castle. In doing so, The Japanese Garden at Cowden became the first and only garden of its size and scale to be designed by a woman!
If you would enjoy visits to interesting places in the company of like-minded individuals, then why not consider joining Rotary! Come along to one of our events or meetings.
Email [email protected] for more details.

19/08/2026

16/08/2026

ROTARY HELPING TALENTED YOUNG PEOPLE!
For over 80 years Rotary has been quietly (but very effectively!) helping young people advance their knowledge and skills by studying abroad.
Rotary Global Grant Scholarships was just one initiative established as part of Rotary's broader mission to foster goodwill among nations following World War II.
Global Grant Scholarships are for graduate students who wish to further their studies abroad in one of Rotary’s areas of focus:
1. Promoting peace�2. Fighting disease�3. Providing clean water, sanitation, and hygiene�4. Improving maternal and child health�5. Supporting education�6. Growing local economies�7. Protecting the environment
The Rotary Club of Edinburgh hosts one Global Grant Scholar each year and it was great to receive an update, at last week’s meeting, from Ashton Knatz, our Global Grant Scholar for year 2025-26.
Ashton, who previously studied environmental sciences at the University of Iowa, has been studying at the University of Edinburgh for a Master of Science in Environmental Sustainability.
She has particularly focused on behavior change, believing this to be an area critical to society achieving meaningful environmental improvements. Ashton is now planning to make her career in this vitally important field.
Ashton has played a huge role in our club this year, where she has made many friends, and we wish her all the very best in the future!
If you would like to help young people achieve their full potential, then why not consider joining Rotary!
Email [email protected] for more details.

08/08/2026

ROTARY TRYING TO ELIMINATE CERVICAL CANCER!
Rotary has been engaged in Cervical Cancer elimination programmes for 12 years, with The Rotary Foundation having funded 150
Global Grants worth over $12 million in over 40 countries.
Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer among women worldwide, and is the leading cause of cancer death in women in 26 countries, primarily in sub-Saharan Africa and parts of South and Central America.
Yet an effective vaccine exists, along with a very cost effective treatment called thermal ablation treatment (developed in Scotland!).
Our main speaker last week, Dr Christine Campbell, is a Reader in Cancer and Primary Care at the University of Edinburgh and she took us through a highly interesting presentation on the efforts being made to provide Cervical Cancer Screening in Malawi. Cervical Cancer currently kills more than 3000 women each year in Malawi.
Christine highlighted that screening can lead to prompt, effective treatment for the women concerned.
Also speaking was Rotarian Denis Robson who is developing a project, involving Rotary Clubs in Malawi and Scotland, the University of Edinburgh and the Scotland Malawi Partnership, which will help address this issue.
Denis’ main message was - "Rotarians can lead the world on Cervical Cancer prevention as no woman should die from a preventable and treatable disease".
The presentation ended with a Q&A session lead by our Club President, Prasad Bollina. Joining for this was Rotarian Mary Ann Lumsden, currently an honorary professor at University of Glasgow.
Want to be part of an organisation that tackles major international problems? Want to hear inspiring speakers like this every week? Why not think about joining us? Come along to one of our meetings! Drop us an email on [email protected].

08/08/2026

The August issue of Rotary GB&I Magazine is out now! 🙌🎉

This month we take a closer look at the fight to end malaria, opening with our main story by Eve Conway, who witnessed first hand how Rotary's first Programme of Scale has transformed the mission to combat Malaria in Zambia 🦟

Closer to home, we bring you a selection of heart-warming stories from across Great Britain and Ireland that highlight the impact of this year's Rotary Children's Fun Day activities. More than 27,000 children who face every day challenges have enjoyed unforgettable days out this summer, thanks to participating Rotary clubs, Rotary volunteers and our valued project partner, Kids in Mind Charity 🎪

This month we also reveal the winners of this year's 🖌️Rotary Young Artist, 🖋️Rotary Young Writer, 📸Rotary Young Photographer and 🌳Rotary Young Environmentalist competitions and we celebrate the success of the Rotary Books4Home impact days that have taken place in schools across GB&I, which resulted in over 16,000 children receiving a book to take home to read and keep 📕

Catch up on these stories, plus all the latest news from Rotary, both here and all around world in the August edition of Rotary GB&I Magazine.

https://magazine.rotarygbi.org/august-2026

22/07/2026

THE FOUNDATION OF ROTARY IS FRIENDSHIP!
Our founder, Chicago lawyer Paul Harris, famously said that the foundation of Rotary is ‘Friendship’!
And there was never more such a fine example of this than last week when the Rotary Club of Edinburgh welcomed 17 guests from the Rotary Club of Washington DC for a friendship visit.
Four days of fun, fellowship and friendship, including trips to many of Edinburgh’s and Scotland’s most well-known historic attractions, culminated in a wonderful evening at the Royal Scots Club!
Thank you so much for travelling all this way to see us, dear Rotarian friends, it was wonderful to meet you!
We look forward to reciprocating and travelling to meet with your club in historic Washington DC!
If you would like to make new friends, from all around the world, why not think about joining us! Come along to one of our meetings! Drop us an email on [email protected].