Rotary International Convention - Taipei

RI President Francesco Arezzo will speak at both the opening and the closing sessions.  He hails from the Rotary Club of Ragusa, Italy.  Francesco Arezzo is an orthodontist in private practice and owns an agricultural enterprise that produces extra virgin olive oil in Sicily. He is a graduate of the University of Padua and a member of the Italian, European, and American orthodontics associations, as well as the Italian and European lingual orthodontics associations. He has been vice president of the administrative council of the consortium controlling and regulating quality production of olive oil in that region. He owns two boutique hotel settlements there. He enjoys modern art and opera.

 

The 2026 International Convention Committee Chair is Andreas von Molier, Rotary Club of Hamburg-Lombardcrucke, Germany.  Andreas von Möller was born in Hamburg, Germany, and went to schools in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and Hamburg. He studied Business Administration at LMU Munich and received his diploma in 1975. He has held various marketing and management positions in foreign trade companies such as Continental Grain, Geneva and Hamburg, and Müller & Sohn AG, Hamburg. Since 1984, he has been managing director and a major shareholder in Jacob Jürgensen Forest products, Hamburg, an international marketing and distribution company. Von Möller has been a Rotary member since 2002.

The featured speaker will be Malala Yousafzai, Co-founder of Malala Fund; Founder of Extracurricular Nobel Peace Laureate, Best-Selling author & producer.  

Malala Yousafzai began her activism at age 11 when she anonymously blogged about life under the Taliban in Pakistan’s Swat Valley, particularly the ban on girls’ education. Over the next few years, she advocated publicly, giving speeches and interviews, and attracting media attention and awards.

At age 15, she was shot in the head by the Taliban for speaking out. After months of surgery and rehabilitation in the United Kingdom, she founded Malala Fund to continue her campaign to see all girls in school. A year later, Malala received the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of her work for education and equality. Malala graduated from Oxford University with a degree in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics in 2020.

She is the best-selling author of three books and an investor in women's sports.

 

The House of Friendship is always most popular and you will witness frequent Rotary reunions, meeting up with Rotarians encountered through service projects, Friendship Exchanges, youth exchange activities,  Rotaract, and more.  

The House of Friendship is the ultimate destination for attendees to gather, network, and learn about your product, program, or service. In addition to exploring the tools and resources needed to make an impact around the world, the House of Friendship offers concessions and entertainment, drawing thousands of visitors daily. Rotary and non-Rotary entities are welcome to secure booth space, where they will interact with enthusiastic convention-goers.  Access is included in the full convention registration fee. Nearly 95% of convention attendees make their way through the aisles of this exciting exhibition hall, connecting with leaders, activists, and People of Action.

Next year the 2027 Rotary International Convention will be held in Barcelona and tickets will be on sale in September, 2026.