Rotary District 9510Membership HubLegendary Clubs PackageE-042

E-042 · A 90-day try-out

A club plan for Intercultural Dialogue Circles

Use this as a starting point. Cross out what does not fit, add what is missing and make it your club's own.

Where this idea came from

Playbook entry
E-042 · Intercultural Dialogue Circles
Theme
Theme 2: Engagement & Belonging · Subtheme 3: Cultural Inclusion & Belonging
Source material
Current playbook index title and category plus an internally authored detailed-guide draft

Initiative-specific development wave

How this draft was developed

These sources support general principles for belonging, culturally safe facilitation, participant choice, anti-racism conversation, support and minimal information collection; they do not constitute Rotary International, Australian Human Rights Commission or OAIC endorsement of the named Intercultural Dialogue Circles initiative or this locally designed delivery model.

Primary references consulted

  • Enhancing Belonging and Engagement at Rotary (Rotary International)
    Used for: Rotary describes connection, respect, accessibility and equitable opportunity as foundations for belonging and engagement.; Rotary commits to honesty, transparency, continued learning and improvement in its inclusion journey.
  • Let's Talk Race: A Guide on How to Conduct Conversations About Racism (Australian Human Rights Commission)
    Used for: The guide supports organisations and community groups to conduct meaningful conversations using clear purpose, respectful language and culturally safe facilitation.; It distinguishes a structured conversation from more advanced training and provides guidance for keeping harmful or derailing commentary on track.
  • National Anti-Racism Framework Conversation and Consultation Guide (Australian Human Rights Commission)
    Used for: The guide recommends participant and facilitator safety, confidentiality norms, equitable participation and the freedom not to answer or to leave.; It recognises that conversations about racism can raise personal or vicarious trauma and that facilitators may need debriefing and support.
  • Chapter 3: APP 3 Collection of Solicited Personal Information (Office of the Australian Information Commissioner)
    Used for: APP 3 supports collecting personal information only where it is reasonably necessary for the stated function or activity.; Reducing collection and avoiding transcripts or identity profiles lowers privacy risk for a dialogue process.

Candidate District material consulted

These records remain draft evidence and still need a human source decision.

  • Club Playbook - Theme 2
    Related record 30 Story Swap Circle – Cultures & Journeys supports the broad idea of a facilitated cultural story circle. It is not a literal Intercultural Dialogue Circles record and does not provide this guide's scope screening, anti-racism facilitation, participant safety, complaint separation, privacy or action-closeout controls.

Theme 2 source-assurance wave

What has been checked

  • 4 current primary pages used by this guide were reopened on 9 August 2026.
  • 8 attributed source claim(s) were mapped to their bounded use in this initiative.
  • Candidate District material remains separate and does not establish this result.
See each source's scope and limit
  • Enhancing Belonging and Engagement at Rotary
    Supports: Belonging, accessibility, respectful participation and equitable access principles for renewal and club experience.
    Does not establish: That a particular meeting model, membership pathway, leadership process or club culture is inclusive without testing with affected people.
  • Let's Talk Race: A Guide on How to Conduct Conversations About Racism
    Supports: The 8 attributed Theme 2 claims attached to this source, limited to the implementation elements and supporting documents named in each initiative-level claim mapping.
    Does not establish: Accessibility or inclusion conformance, the needs or preferences of any person or community, cultural authority to act, the suitability of a format or venue, or local approval.
  • National Anti-Racism Framework Conversation and Consultation Guide
    Supports: The 4 attributed Theme 2 claims attached to this source, limited to the implementation elements and supporting documents named in each initiative-level claim mapping.
    Does not establish: Accessibility or inclusion conformance, the needs or preferences of any person or community, cultural authority to act, the suitability of a format or venue, or local approval.
  • Chapter 3: APP 3 Collection of solicited personal information
    Supports: Data-minimisation, collection-purpose, proportionality and consent safeguards where the Privacy Act and APP 3 apply.
    Does not establish: Whether a particular Rotary club is an APP entity or whether a proposed renewal survey, diagnostic or member record is lawful in its actual circumstances.

What still needs a person to confirm

  • Confirm the member, prospective-member, past-member and community needs, preferences and consent that the local design assumes.
  • Confirm which privacy, safeguarding, incorporated-association, charity, work health and safety, food, liquor, copyright, licensing, screening and other duties apply to the club and the activity.
  • Test accessibility, cultural safety, belonging, language and alternative participation routes with affected people and recognise First Nations cultural authority rather than inferring suitability from the guide.
  • Confirm every local fact, starting point, cost, role, current service contact, measure, stopping condition and platform capability before the club decides to proceed.
  • Confirm the authority and current scope of each primary source, resolve login-gated or moved-page references and keep any candidate District material attributed and unapproved until its source decision is made.

The source-verification release gate remains closed.

Checks still on hold

Still an internal draft: source interpretation, local suitability, accessibility, governance and editorial approval remain open checks.

1. Is this worth trying here?

What we hope will change: Members practice respectful curiosity and surface inclusion needs safely.

2. Our 90-day try-out

What our club will do for Intercultural Dialogue Circles
StepWhat we will doWho could lead itOur dateHow we will know it is done
1Speak privately with a small range of members about the proposed question, check whether a dialogue circle is appropriate and define the decision, scope, likely risks and matters requiring another process.Club sponsor and inclusion leadFour to six weeks before the circleA purpose, scope and appropriateness brief
2Appoint and brief the facilitator and co-facilitator, agree how to interrupt harm, respond to distress, handle a disclosure and connect someone to the club's complaint, safeguarding or support route.Club sponsorAt least three weeks before the circleA facilitator brief and escalation plan
3Invite a manageable, varied group without assigning identity representatives, explain participation and confidentiality choices and offer a private pre-conversation, adjustment or alternative way to contribute.Participation coordinatorTwo to three weeks before the circleA voluntary participant group and access plan
4Open with the purpose, limits and engagement norms; use structured turns and prompts, let anyone pass, ask people to speak from their own experience and interrupt stereotypes, personal attacks or demands for disclosure.Facilitator and co-facilitatorDuring the circleA bounded conversation with active safety and participation controls
5Close with grounding, private support reminders and no more than three de-identified themes; do not create a transcript, attribute comments or resolve a live complaint in the room.FacilitatorAt the close and immediately afterwardA de-identified themes note and private concern handoffs
6Check with participants, complete referrals, ask the board or sponsor to choose one practical response and report back within 30 days on what will change, what will not and why.Club sponsor and inclusion leadWithin seven days and again within 30 daysParticipant follow-up, action decision and feedback closeout

3. Checks before we start

Things our club needs to check
QuestionWhat it means for usWho will checkDone?
Check the selected approach against the club's actual needs, capacity and responsibilities before putting it into use.
Protect member choice and privacy, make participation accessible, and do not infer belonging or satisfaction from attendance alone.
People with lived experience carry the burden of educating others or feel pressured to disclose racism, migration, faith, family or trauma experiences. — Make participation and every response voluntary, avoid assigning representatives, provide alternative evidence and let people pass, pause, leave or speak privately without explanation.
The circle becomes a debate, denial exercise or space for stereotypes, personal attacks and harmful commentary. — Use a skilled facilitator, clear norms and structured turns; interrupt harm, recentre the purpose and end or pause the circle when safety cannot be restored.
Participants assume confidentiality is guaranteed or de-identified notes still reveal people in a close group. — Explain confidentiality limits honestly, prohibit recording, collect only necessary themes, test for indirect identification and remove detail rather than promise anonymity the club cannot deliver.
A dialogue circle is used instead of a complaint, investigation, mediation, safeguarding or professional support process. — Screen suitability before invitations, publish exclusion criteria and referral routes, and transfer any live matter without examining evidence, naming parties or seeking resolution in the circle.
The club must approve the question, decision purpose, facilitator capability, participant choices, accessibility, safety plan, confidentiality limits and referral routes before invitations.
The circle must not compel attendance or disclosure, assign identity representatives, record or transcribe discussion, promise absolute confidentiality or attribute themes without fresh specific consent.
Racism, complaints, conflict, trauma, safeguarding, legal or mental-health matters must be transferred to an appropriate process, and the facilitator must be authorised to pause or end the circle.
The board or sponsor must report an action decision back to participants and must not imply consensus, representative findings, therapeutic benefit or Rotary International endorsement.

4. What changed?

What we will keep an eye on
What mattersWhere we are nowWhat we hope to seeHow we will checkWho
After 90 days, review Intercultural Dialogue Circles. Look for a broader range of voices being heard, identified barriers being addressed and voluntary feedback showing a stronger sense of belonging.
Participants who received the scope and choices in advance and reported that they could pass, leave, seek support or contribute in another way.
Harmful-commentary, distress, confidentiality, access or complaint issues raised and transferred to the agreed pathway promptly.
De-identified themes that are specific enough to inform a club practice without profiling a person or group.
One action decided and reported within 30 days, followed by a check on whether the relevant club experience improved.

After 30 days

Is it reaching the right people? Is anything unsafe, unfair or harder than expected?

After 60 days

Make one useful change based on what people have told you.

After 90 days

Compare with where you started. Decide whether to change it, continue it or stop.

Made for this initiative

Tailored supporting documents

These working documents use the decisions, safeguards and evidence needs of this initiative. Complete them with the people affected and keep the agreed version with the club's project record.

01

Circle Invitation and Participation Choices

Let people decide freely whether and how to participate with a realistic understanding of scope and confidentiality.

Open supporting document
02

Intercultural Dialogue Facilitator Guide

Give the facilitator a safe sequence and clear authority to interrupt harm or transfer a matter.

Open supporting document
03

Themes, Action and Closeout Record

Turn the circle into accountable club action without creating a transcript or identifying participants.

Open supporting document

Before your club says yes

Does the idea fit?

Talk with the people it is meant to serve and check that the need is real.

Who can say yes?

Name the person or group that can approve the work, spending and any safety arrangements.

Are people protected?

Check privacy, consent and safety. Collect only the information you genuinely need.

Can everyone take part?

Check the language, format, place, technology and cost for barriers.

Are the facts and permissions right?

Check names, claims, images, quotations, partner references and Rotary branding.

How will we learn?

Note where things stand now, check in at 30, 60 and 90 days, and decide what to do next.

Worksheets for your club

Open them online, print them or change them to suit the way your club works.

01

Facilitation guide

Use this worksheet to hold a respectful conversation, hear different views and tell people what happens next.

Open worksheet
02

Implementation and budget plan

Use this worksheet to turn the idea into a short list of actions, dates, costs and responsibilities.

Open worksheet