WORLD INTERACT WEEK 2026
As Rotary celebrates 64 years of Interact, Uganda's young leaders continue to demonstrate the power of service and leadership.
For the Rotary Club of Kampala North, however, this year's celebration also invites some honest reflection. Our Club once sponsored four Interact Clubs, but those relationships were not sustained.
As we celebrate World Interact Week, perhaps the most important question is not how many Interact Clubs we have sponsored, but how well we have supported them.
On 5 November 1962, the world's first Interact Club was established at Melbourne High School in Florida, USA.
Sixty-four years later, Interact continues to provide young people aged 12–18 with opportunities to develop leadership skills, build friendships and serve their communities.
World Interact Week, celebrated from 2–8 November 2026, recognises these young leaders and the Rotary Clubs that support them.
In Uganda, Interact continues to provide opportunities for young people to discover leadership through service.
Rotary District 9213 recently welcomed new Interact Clubs at Seeta High School Mukono (Mbalala Campus), Mpoma School Satellite Campus and Forest Hill College Mukono.
Date: Saturday, 7 November 2026
Venue: St Kizito High School, Namugongo
These developments demonstrate that the Interact movement continues to attract young people and sponsoring Rotary Clubs.
The Rotary Club of Kampala North has its own history of supporting Interact.
Over the years, our Club sponsored four school-based Interact Clubs:
1. Greenhill Academy
2. Taibah Schools
3. Makerere College School
4. Caltec Academy
These were important investments in the next generation of leaders.
Unfortunately, the Club did not sustain the mentorship and engagement required to keep these relationships strong.
Some of the clubs were subsequently terminated by Rotary International, while others came under the sponsorship of other Rotary Clubs.
This is a part of our Club's history that deserves acknowledgement.
It also provides an important lesson:
Chartering an Interact Club is an achievement. Sustaining it is a responsibility.
An Interact Club needs more than a charter certificate and an occasional visit from its sponsoring Rotary Club.
Young people need mentors who remain interested in their progress, provide encouragement, help them organise meaningful service activities and create opportunities for them to interact with the wider Rotary family.
Without sustained engagement, the enthusiasm surrounding a new club's formation can gradually fade.
For Kampala North, the experience of these four clubs reminds us that youth mentorship must be a continuing commitment rather than a one-time activity.
Our success in sponsoring Interact Clubs should not be measured only by how many we establish, but by how many we help to thrive.
World Interact Week gives Kampala North an opportunity to revisit its relationship with the schools it once supported.
Could we reconnect with their administrations, establish the current status of the Interact Clubs and explore opportunities for renewed collaboration?
Could we develop a more structured mentorship arrangement, with designated Rotarians responsible for maintaining relationships with Interactors?
And could we make youth mentorship a regular part of our Club's service activities rather than an occasional initiative?
These are questions worth considering.
As we join Rotarians worldwide in celebrating World Interact Week, we should remember that the future of Rotary depends partly on the investment we make in young people today.
For Kampala North, perhaps the most meaningful way to celebrate would be to turn the lessons of our past into a renewed commitment to youth leadership.