Rotary leaders from across Africa convened in Accra for the 2025 edition of the Regional Team Learning Seminar (RTLS), a key annual event aimed at strengthening leadership capacity and enhancing service delivery across the continent.

Speaking to the media at the opening of the event on Thursday, May 8, Trustee of the Rotary Foundation, Ijeoma Pearl Okoro, outlined the purpose of the seminar.

“It's a Regional Team Learning Seminar. In a nutshell, the people you have here are called Regional Leaders,” she explained.

“Every year, we gather together in one country to train them for the services ahead. And you have those people who represent the foundation, those who represent membership and those pushing off our public image. So those are the people that I gathered in for this weekend to ensure that we unite for good to learn how to move Africa and the brotherhood before us.”

Highlighting the importance of consistency, she noted that the seminar is held annually across different countries in Africa.

“From the 54 countries that make up our zone, we have it every year, annually. Last year we were in Ethiopia... Africa has been growing every year. It's been a progressive, not a repressive [effort]... Every year we come together, we look at our numbers, we look at our figures for the foundation…and we improve on it. We’re not competing among ourselves, we are only trying to do better than we did the previous year.”

She also expressed excitement about the presence of Rotary International's President-Elect, Mário César Martins de Camargo, who will assume office on July 1.

“It’s so apt that the president who’s here starts from the first of July… he’s going to be sharing his vision and his strategies… and that will be the main force of our training here.”

President-Elect Mário de Camargo spoke on the theme “Unite for Good,” describing it as a call for unity in diversity.

“‘Unite for good’ is a call for action to find common ground where most people find different grounds. It's a difference of mindset. I'm very suspicious of this action towards dividing people. We are all the same race. We all belong to the human race,” he said.

“We are separated... geographically, mentally, we have different cultures, different religions, different colours of skin, different sexual orientations... But that's not an excuse to divide people.”

He encouraged collaboration through respectful discourse and compromise.

“Whenever you have a discussion, you can either end up in a fight or you can end up with a negotiated solution... When you unite people around a common objective, you're trying to unite for good.”

Mr. Camargo also addressed Rotary’s ongoing challenge with member retention.

“Rotary loses 150,000 members every single year. We have to stop this... What is within our control is the club environment. If your club is not welcoming, if your club is not attractive, if your club is not decisive in your life, you're going to leave.”

He advocated for forming new clubs tailored to younger generations and common causes.

“If you are 35 years of age, a successful doctor here in Ghana... and the club will reject you because they are 70, 65... So we have to create new opportunities for people to exercise Rotary in different ways.”

“Satellite clubs, corporate clubs, cause-based clubs... Unite people around a common cause and form a club of your own age.”

Rotary International Director Daniel Tanase echoed the importance of the seminar.

“I'm here to meet all the regional leaders from Zone 22 Africa with responsibilities in membership, public image and Rotary Foundation programs. This is a very important event... and we address the most pressing issues that we have in Rotary.”

He praised Africa’s progress in growing membership.

“Zone 22 has the greatest net increase in membership from all the 34 zones. Africa is doing well… but of course, we expect this increase to accelerate.”

Mr. Tanase encouraged African clubs to connect globally for greater impact.

“Rotary clubs from Africa are not alone... They can connect with other Rotary clubs across the world and get support... to make their projects more impactful and more beneficial for their communities.”

Rotary Director Nominee for 2025–2026, Emmanuel Katongole, also expressed enthusiasm about the training sessions.

“I'm very delighted to be here. It is a requirement that regional leaders undergo learning every year... and it's a great thing to do.”

He highlighted Africa’s potential and the continent’s growing youth population.

“Africa has never been better than it is today... We’re talking of 1.5 billion people. Out of this, 65% are young people of 35 years and under. Economies that are growing this is a huge opportunity.”

Looking ahead, Mr. Katongole shared Rotary Africa's membership target for next year:

“Our target next year is to make sure that we add another 15,000 Rotarians so that Africa moves from the current 46,000 to 60,000. And it is these people, the coordinators, who will help to get this done.”

The seminar is expected to conclude with actionable strategies focused on growing Rotary’s presence, improving public image, and increasing impact across African communities.