10/05/2023
Rotary International Magazine Month of May 2023
INTERACT AT 60
Forever Young
Interact is 60 going on 16 — or is it the other way around? Join us as we examine Rotary’s leadership and service program for teens through the lens of yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
To change the world, start young
Since 1962, generations of young people have discovered the power of Service Above Self and — judging from the pages of this magazine over the decades — had some serious fun along the way. From the White House to Pisa, Italy, and beyond, we chart Interact’s perpetual growth and eternal youth.
1962
December: An article in the magazine entitled "The blueprint’s ready for Interact" introduces Rotary’s "new youth group," whose purpose, the article explains, is "to provide opportunity for young men [ages 15 to 18] to work together in a world fellowship dedicated to service and international understanding." The article goes on to outline the program’s goals, which include developing constructive leadership and personal integrity, and encourage interested Rotary clubs to obtain an Interact Club Organizing Kit. As for the group’s name, Interact — an amalgam of "international" and "action" — was selected from more than 200 suggestions, and "linguists agree, [it] translates clearly in almost every language spoken by Rotarians."
1963
January: The magazine article "Interact’s in orbit" introduces the Interact Club of Melbourne High School in Florida; certified 5
November 1962, it is Rotary’s first Interact club. Previously established as a campus service club by the Rotary Club of Melbourne, its 39 members already had 35 "helpful activities" to their credit, including collecting toys for poor children, painting gymnasium bleachers, and buying a class ring for "one of their number," exchange student Katsutoshi Shintani, of Hiroshima, Japan. "The club cut across all kinds of socioeconomic barriers," member Woody Bowden recalled 25 years later. "We came from different backgrounds and cliques, but Interact brought the many groups together. We always looked forward to Monday nights when we got together."
February: In a letter to the magazine, Mississippi Rotarian Frank E. Cotton Jr. writes: "If Interact is as good as it appears, I wonder if there is any justification for our seriously limiting its potential value by restricting it to young men. The article indicated no principle of Interact which would not apply as well, perhaps better, to clubs of boys and girls."
November: On its first anniversary, Interact numbers 177 clubs in 24 countries. That includes a club in Thanjavur, India, the first Interact club outside of the United States, with certification two months after the Melbourne club.
1964
September: With "deep satisfaction," RI President Charles W. Pettengill announces the first Interact Week, a forerunner of World Interact Week. "It is my hope that every Rotary club in the world will take advantage of the unique opportunity," he says, "… to focus attention on this dynamic youth program." The same issue reports that, in its most recent meetings, Rotary’s Board of Directors requested district governors "to appoint district Interact advisory committees … to assist the district governor in publicizing the Interact program, promoting the organization of new Interact clubs, and administering the program of Interact within the district."
1965
October: A series of articles, including a profile of a club in San Luis Potosí, Mexico, recognizes Interact’s "booming, boyful success."
November: Interact celebrates the arrival of its 1,000th club, this one in Rio de Janeiro.
1966
March: At the White House, U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson greets Peter Arroyo, president of the Interact Club of Bridgeport, Connecticut. An honor student, class president, and co-captain of the football team at Warren Harding High School, Arroyo had been chosen Boy of the Year by the Boys’ Clubs of America.
October: Ahead of Interact’s fourth anniversary, RI President Richard L. Evans declares it "a Rotary success." With some 34,000 members in nearly 1,400 clubs and 51 countries, Interact, he says, "has enlisted the energy of youth in service and in international understanding."
1967
October: "Interact, just five years old, is one of [Rotary’s] newer efforts, but it could prove to be what Winston Churchill might have described as your ‘finest hour,’" writes Tom Lawrence, president of the Interact Club of Meridian High School, Mississippi. "I say thanks from our Interact club for giving us faith in a better tomorrow."
1968
January: Rotary’s Board of Directors expands Interact’s horizons. "Should local circumstances indicate to the sponsoring Rotary club that good cause would be served by the admission of girls, the sponsoring Rotary club is at liberty to use its discretion accordingly. Should the sponsoring club decide on a mixed membership, at least half should be boys."
1970
October: In a special issue of the magazine that addresses the conflicts and challenges confronting young people in a turbulent era, an article entitled "Alternatives to anger" recommends both Interact and Rotaract as a way of fostering "community builders today, world leaders tomorrow."
1982
October: After 20 years, Interact’s 90,000-plus members serve in 4,100 clubs situated in 78 countries. "Everyone is aware of problems in the world," says Diane Mezzich, a member of the Interact club at St. Mary’s High School in Manhasset, New York. "It is a good feeling to know that we can do something positive through Interact."
2002
November: A youthful 40 years old, Interact now has about 8,600 clubs in 107 countries. For this year’s World Interact Week, those clubs and their Rotary sponsors are asked to give an inspiring presentation about Interact to a Rotary club that does not sponsor an Interact club or conduct a joint Rotary-Interact project to increase awareness of Interact.
2009
The Interact Video Awards are introduced. The grand prize winner is the Interact Club of Communities-in-Schools at the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice with a video entitled Giving Back Through Interact. In a surprise, two videos each win first prize: What Interact Means to Us from the Interact Club of Shoumen in Bulgaria and The World We Live In from the Interact Club of Edmonton Centennial, Alberta. In 2020, the video prize becomes a component of the more broadly themed Interact Awards, which also honor photos and essays.
2010
The minimum age for participation in Interact changes from 14 to 12.
2013
2020
Rotary International approves an Interact Advisory Council; it will merge in July 2023 with a reimagined Youth Advisory Council.
2022
For Interact’s 60th anniversary — when it has more than 437,000 members in about 19,000 clubs — Rotary International President Jennifer Jones looks to the past and the future. "For 60 years," she says, "Interactors have been changing the world. … This year, I challenge you to Imagine Rotary. Imagine a Rotary where, in the next 60 years, youth voices and youth perspective lead the way."
