Rotex is a society of past Rotary Youth Exchange (RYE) alumni that engages with current Inbounds and Outbounds to better their exchange experience overall. Rotex acts as a middleman between Rotary Clubs and exchange students through supporting Rotarians throughout the RYE program via mentoring students on proper etiquette while on exchange, organizing trips and events for Outbounds, Inbounds, and Rebounds, and ultimately being the voice for RYE exchange students in many cities, districts, and countries in the Rotary world. We see Rotex as potential future Rotarians and therefore aim to develop the next generation of Rotarians who have first-hand Rotary experience.
Terminology
Rotary Youth Exchange (RYE): Rotary International’s worldwide youth exchange program. The program is organized at the Rotary district or multidistrict level.
★ Outbound: An RYE student before and during exchange, from the perspective of their sponsoring district(s).
★ Inbound: An RYE student before and during exchange, from the perspective of their host district(s).
★ Rebound: An RYE student after they have completed their exchange year and returned to their home country.
★ RYE Alumni: All former Rotary Youth Exchange program participants.
★ Rotex: RYE alumni who actively support the RYE program and its participants.
★ Rotex Association: An organization of Rotex, usually covering the same area as its respective RYE program. This is most often organized at the district or multidistrict level.
Proper Usage
Rotex International recommends using the following pronunciation, terminology, pluralization, capitalization and abbreviation rules for the term “Rotex.” Please note that there may be other terms that are used which are not included in this list.
Rotex is pronounced as /ˈɹoːtɛks/ in English. Emphasis is placed on the first syllable (i.e., “ROtex”). Prononciation will differ slightly between languages.
Rotex is both a noun (i.e., a Rotex) and an adjective (i.e., a Rotex association). A Rotex refers to a person who identifies themselves as such. The term “Rotex” can also be used with other words (i.e., a Rotex event, a Rotex meeting, etc.)
The singular form for Rotex should be “Rotex.” The plural form for Rotex is “Rotex” (i.e., one Rotex, two Rotex, a group of Rotex, etc.)
Similar to the term “Rotarian,” the first letter in “Rotex” should be capitalized when written in English. Rotex should be capitalized in both its noun and adjective forms (i.e., a Rotex and a Rotex association). When writing in other languages, the term should match the capitalization rules of the term “Rotarian” and “Rotary” (i.e., if “Rotarian” is written in all lower case letters, then the same would apply to “Rotex”).
Rotex is not an acronym, meaning it is not an abbreviation of other words (e.g., RYLA stands for Rotary Youth Leadership Awards). Therefore, it should not be written with only capital letters or partially using capital letters (i.e., “ROTEX” or “RotEx”).
When abbreviating the names of Rotex associations, “Rotex” may be abbreviated as “RX.” Rotex should not be abbreviated with only the letter “R” as that typically stands for “Rotary” (i.e., Rotary International is abbreviated as “RI.”)
Rotex International currently recognizes the following abbreviations: RXI (Rotex International) and RXDE (Rotex Germany).
Frequently Asked Questions
Rotex are RYE program alumni. Rotex mainly focus on supporting the RYE program and its participants, but may also choose to participate in other community service projects.
Rotaractors are members of a Rotaract Club. Some Rotaractors are alumni of the RYE program, but it is not a prerequisite for becoming a Rotaractor. Rotaractors mainly focus on supporting a variety of community service projects (i.e., food drives, fundraisers, etc.)
Rotex and Rotaract both provide a sense of community to likeminded people. People may choose to be both a Rotex and a Rotaractor at the same time, or at different points in their life. Rotex and Rotaract are not intended to be competing organizations, as each has its own focus and target groups.
Rotex are not necessarily members of a Rotary Club, but this depends on the club and on the district. Some Rotex may choose to join a Rotary (or Rotaract Club) on their own. Some Rotary Clubs may choose to sponsor or reduce the membership fee for Rotex members.