Interact Leadership Program (ILP)

 

Interact Leadership Program  (ILP)

The Interact Leadership Program was initiated by the District Interact Committee in 2025, under the Leadership of Liliana Chocarro, Chair of District Interact Committee.
 
This leadership program is intended to recognize Interact club Presidents and Vice Presidents for their initiative and courage to lead their club. The objectives are designed to empower and equip these young leaders with leadership skills, an opportunity to engage with other Interact club leaders and strengthen the Interact community in District 7080.
 
With the success of the pilot program, it is planned to occur yearly on the final Saturday in September of each year. This year it will be hosted on September 26th, 2026, and welcome new Interact Presidents and Vice Presidents.
 
Program Delivery is structured in 3 main sessions: Rotary and Interact advocacy, effective meetings, and project management leadership.
 
Session 1: How to advocate for Rotary and Interact within the school and beyond
  • Interact leaders will learn about the Rotary and Interact Clubs. What it means to be a member of the Rotary family, the principles that drive Rotarians to devote their lives to make the world a better place.
  • Interact club members (Interactors) will learn how to communicate and share the value of Rotary and Interact club amongst their peers, teachers, school administrators, local charity organizations and others.
  • Conduct group exercises to realize the lessons from this session, practice the concepts and demonstrate skills.
 
Session 2: How to plan and lead effective meetings
  • Students will learn to organize and develop; presentation, public speaking, and time management skills.
  • Conduct group exercises to realize the lessons from this session, practice the concepts and demonstrate skills.
 
Session 3: Planning and execution of projects
  • Students will be introduced to basic project management concepts, project life-cycles, Gantt charts and how to use them to identify tasks, timelines, resources needed, roles and responsibilities, monitoring and evaluation of results.
  • Students will learn the skills of a project manager.
  • Break out sessions include exercises related to project management and project leadership skills.
 
Session 4: A final session involves group assignments involving real life Interact projects leading to put into practice the skills learned in previous lessons into single exercise.
Additionally, leaders will be able to share best-practices from other Interact Clubs.
 
 
The Interact Leadership Program is not intended solely as a recognition of interactor’s dedication and knowledge, but to inspire students to become Interact leaders and support their aspirations.
 
The first ILP took place in September 2025 and was attended by 21 students from 12 Interact clubs. With a growing number of Interact clubs in District 7080, we expect an increase in participation.
 
Note: Registration will open on September 8th and will close on September 22nd.