Programs
Programs we run and support
Most of what this club does for young people happens through Rotary’s own programs. We fund places, nominate candidates, and host students.
Youth
What we put young people through
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Secondary students · full yearRotary Youth Exchange
We host long-term inbound students and place them with families across northern New South Wales. Our most recent student spent his year at school in Tamworth, moving between three host families, and took part in the National Youth Science Forum before returning home in June 2026.
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13 to 17 · three daysRYPEN
The Rotary Youth Program of Enrichment: a three-day residential camp over a long weekend, Saturday to Monday. It is deliberately non-competitive, with no marks, no rankings and nothing to prepare, so everyone arrives on the same footing.
It runs twice a year, RYPEN North in June and RYPEN South in October, and is facilitated by RYLArians: young leaders who have been through RYLA themselves and are much closer in age to the participants than to the organisers.
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18 to 28 · one weekRYLA
The Rotary Youth Leadership Award: a week of workshops, team challenges and personal growth for young people aged 18 to 28. Its graduates go on to run RYPEN, which is the clearest sign it works. The people facilitating one program are the people who came through the other.
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Year 11 · residentialNational Youth Science Forum
A residential program for students heading into science, technology, engineering and maths. We sponsor places for students who would not otherwise get there, including our own exchange student in 2026.
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Primary schoolRotaKids
We sponsor the RotaKids club at Rous Public School, where primary students run their own service projects and publish their own newspaper. Their current campaign is koala conservation.
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Secondary schoolPublic Speaking
The district public speaking competition runs from club heats through to a grand final at Showcase. It is one of the few Rotary programs where a student’s own words are the entire point.
Inside a RYPEN weekend
Not a course. A weekend that shifts something.
We ask participants to step outside their comfort zone deliberately. A comfort zone is where you feel safe and unchallenged; it is also where growth stops. RYPEN builds a supportive environment where going past the familiar becomes possible, and even enjoyable.
The weekend balances challenge with support, and reflection with teamwork:
- Team building that needs communication, problem solving and creative thinking
- Personal development sessions on confidence, resilience and self-awareness
- Leadership challenges where participants find their strengths and learn to back others
- Wide games and outdoor activities that push physical and mental boundaries safely
- Reflection and goal setting, so the weekend turns into something lasting
- Friendships with peers from right across the district
Participants are expected to get involved, speak freely, stay positive, work as a team and have fun while being challenged. Activities run from early morning to lights out.
Safety and supervision
Rotary puts the safety of young people first. RYPEN runs a high staff-to-participant ratio, and every leader holds a Working With Children Check along with current CPR and First Aid qualifications.
Every member working with young people is screened
Members, partners and volunteers hold a current Working With Children Check and complete Rotary youth protection screening and annual training. We are committed to protecting the safety, participation and empowerment of every young person we come into contact with.
A club ritual
The International Toast
At every meeting a rostered member researches a Rotary club somewhere else in the world, its charter date, its size, something worth knowing, and we raise a glass to it. For a club with no town of its own, it is how we keep a sense of where we sit in Rotary.
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Birmingham, AlabamaUnited States
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Palermo, SicilyItaly
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The StrandSouth Africa
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SingaporeSingapore
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Heidelberg Sunrise, Cape TownSouth Africa · guest speaker
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e-Club District 1850Germany · joined their meeting
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Rotaract Osoba, District 9126Nigeria · friendship exchange
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Benoni van Ryn, District 9400South Africa · project partner
Nominate someone
Know a young person who should go?
You do not need to be a Rotarian to put a name forward. The club commits about $6,500 a year to youth programs, supported by district grants, so a place is rarely blocked by money. Tell us about them and we will explain how nomination works.