Summit 2026
Programme
Wednesday, 2 September 2026
Special Events
| Time | Session | Presenter | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19:00 | End Polio Now Dinner | Sold out | Restaurant Vandenis. Birutės al. 47, Palanga Navigate |
Thursday, 3 September 2026
Forums - Listen, Learn & Share
| Time | Session | Presenter | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14:00-16:00 | Membership Forum | RID Christine Buering, Germany and PRID/Trustee Venky Venkatesh, India | Gabija Hotel. Vytauto g. 40, Palanga Navigate |
| 14:00-16:00 | Foundation Forum | PRIP/Trustee Stephanie Urchick, USA and PRID/Trustee Ann-Britt Åsebol, Sweden | Baltic Grand Dunes. Birutės al. 26, Palanga Navigate |
| 14:00-16:00 | Action Plan Planning Forum | PRID Suzan Stenberg, Sweden and PDG Claudia Hendry, Switzerland | Gabija Hotel. Vytauto g. 40, Palanga Navigate |
| 14:00-16:00 | Conflict Management and Prevention Forum | RID Jennifer Scott, Australia and PP Brian Rusch, USA/Spain | Baltic Grand Dunes. Birutės al. 26, Palanga Navigate |
| 14:00-16:00 | Investing in the Future — Creating Lasting Impact | RID Soffía Gísladóttir, Iceland and RIP Yinka Babalola, Nigeria. Our special event as a thanks to IPDG, DG, DGE, DGN | Kurhaus, Grafų Tiškevičių al. 1, Palanga Navigate |
Special Events
| Time | Session | Presenter | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16:30-17:30 | Interact & Rotaract Club Charter Ceremony | RI President Yinka Babalola, RI Directors and District Governor Andrius Barniškis | Youth center. Vytauto g. 110, Palanga Navigate |
| 18:00–22:00 | Evening Dinner — Individual | Enjoy Palanga's restaurants at your own pace | Various restaurants, Palanga |
| 19:00–22:00 | Sundown at the Pier and Beach | Get a drink at the beach bar Sun&Moon (on the left side of the pier) and meet lots of Rotarians | Palanga Beach Bar Sun&Moon Navigate |
Friday, 4 September 2026
House of Friendship
| Time | Session | Presenter | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 08:30–18:00 | House of Friendship — Exhibitions & Networking | Districts, Fellowships, and partners presenting projects and initiatives | Foyer, Palanga Concert Hall. Vytauto g. 43, Palanga Navigate |
Plenary Session
| Time | Session | Presenter | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 08:00–09:00 | Check-in for the day tickets | — | Palanga Concert Hall. Vytauto g. 43, Palanga Navigate |
| 09:00–16:45 | Action Summit General Plenary Sessions | — | Palanga Concert Hall. Vytauto g. 43, Palanga Navigate |
| 09:11–10:35 | Welcome & Introductions — Flags Ceremony and Greetings from the Mayor of Palanga | Conveners RID Christine Buering, Germany and Soffía Gísladóttir, Iceland, Chair Mingaile Scherer, Lithuania | Palanga Concert Hall. Vytauto g. 43, Palanga Navigate |
| 09:11–10:35 | Where We Are — History of the Baltic Region | Ambassador Argita Daudze, Latvia | Palanga Concert Hall. Vytauto g. 43, Palanga Navigate |
| 09:11–10:35 | Where We Are — The Baltics Today | Ambassador Arnoldas Pranckevičius, Lithuania | Palanga Concert Hall. Vytauto g. 43, Palanga Navigate |
| 09:11–10:35 | Where We Are: Security in the Baltic Region | General a.D. Jörg Vollmer, Germany | Palanga Concert Hall. Vytauto g. 43, Palanga Navigate |
| 09:11–10:35 | Conclusions | All speakers above | Palanga Concert Hall. Vytauto g. 43, Palanga Navigate |
| 09:11–10:35 | Investing in the Future | RI President Yinka Babalola, Nigeria | Palanga Concert Hall. Vytauto g. 43, Palanga Navigate |
| 10:35–11:00 | Coffee Break | — | Palanga Concert Hall Foyer Navigate |
| 11:00–12:15 | Our Rotary Peace Center in Uppsala University, Sweden | Prof. Magnus Öberg, Sweden and Rotary Peace Fellows Dorcas Tiwaa Addai, Ghana and Abigail Cawley | Palanga Concert Hall. Vytauto g. 43, Palanga Navigate |
| 11:00–12:15 | Panel: What means Peace today? | Anastasiia Klonova, Sweden/Ukraine and Natalia Sineaeva, Poland/Belarus | Palanga Concert Hall. Vytauto g. 43, Palanga Navigate |
| 11:00–12:15 | Connecting — Diversity as a Value and Attraction | Brian Rusch, USA/Spain | Palanga Concert Hall. Vytauto g. 43, Palanga Navigate |
| 12:15–14:00 | Lunch — included in your ticket | Don't forget your coupons | Indicated in the coupon you received in the Welcome center |
| 14:00–15:00 | SpeakUp! competition winner "Don't be stumm!" | Fiona Stumm, Rotaract Germany | Palanga Concert Hall. Vytauto g. 43, Palanga Navigate |
| 14:00–15:00 | Panel — Rotary tomorrow: unlocking potential together | Esi Otoo, Renatas Kandrotas, Marek Balschun and Viktoria Carazvec, Rotaract Sweden, Lithuania, Germany | Palanga Concert Hall. Vytauto g. 43, Palanga Navigate |
| 14:00–15:00 | Rotary as a national project | RI Director Emmanuel Katangole, Uganda | Palanga Concert Hall. Vytauto g. 43, Palanga Navigate |
| 14:00–15:00 | Rotary International — Financial Update | RI Director Jennifer Scott, Australia | Palanga Concert Hall. Vytauto g. 43, Palanga Navigate |
| 14:00–15:00 | Invitation to Rotary International Convention 2027 Barcelona and Europe/Middle East Action Summit 2027, Bari | Andrejus Geraščenko, Lithuania and RI Director Massimo Ballotta, Italy | Palanga Concert Hall. Vytauto g. 43, Palanga Navigate |
| 15:00–15:20 | Coffee Break | — | Palanga Concert Hall Foyer Navigate |
| 15:20–16:45 | Where we live. The Baltic Sea and the environment | Rüdiger Strempel, Finland | Palanga Concert Hall. Vytauto g. 43, Palanga Navigate |
| 15:20–16:45 | What can Rotary do for the Baltic Sea? The BASRAN Approach | BASRAN Network, Martin Weigel, Germany | Palanga Concert Hall. Vytauto g. 43, Palanga Navigate |
| 15:20–16:45 | Closing Remarks — Creating Lasting Impact | RI President Yinka Babalola, Nigeria | Palanga Concert Hall. Vytauto g. 43, Palanga Navigate |
| 15:20–16:45 | Sing-Along, Celebrations and Thank-Yous | Conveners and Chair | Palanga Concert Hall. Vytauto g. 43, Palanga Navigate |
Evening
| Time | Session | Presenter | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17:00-18:30 | Concert with Youth Orchestra Simfukai | Complimentary, make a donation. Collect the ticket you reserved in the Youth Center | Kurhaus, Grafų Tiškevičių al. 1, Palanga Navigate |
| 19:30-21:30 | White Dinner with Lottery | Dress in white! Celebrating life and fellowship - only for Summit participants. Tickets for partners available now in the Youth Center. | Exit Bar&Restaurant. S. Nėries g. 39, Palanga Navigate |
| 21:00–02:00 | Pre-Rotariada Party | Join in the party with all Rotariada participants. Entry included, drinks on your own expenses. | Club Exit Discotheque. S. Nėries g. 39, Palanga Navigate |
Saturday, 5 September 2026
Rotariada Summer Sports Games 2026
| Time | Session | Presenter | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 08:30-10:00 | Rotariada - Parade | Join the parade and compete in the Rotariada Summer Sports Games | Jūratė ir Kastytis Sculture. J. Basanavičiaus g., Palanga Navigate |
| 10:24-12:00 | End Polio Walk/Run and Darts | Join the Sports & Games | Palanga Stadium, Sporto St. 3, Palanga Navigate |
| 10:30-12:00 | Petanque and Darts | Join the Sports & Games | Jūratė ir Kastytis Sculture. J. Basanavičiaus g., Palanga Navigate |
| 12:00–14:00 | Lunch Break | Explore Palanga and connect with fellow participants | Buy your lunch next to the stadium or in Palanga town centre Navigate |
Impulse & Motivation Sessions / Interactive Workshops
| Time | Session | Presenter | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 14:00-15:00 | Update on Vaccination | Trustee Venky Venkatesh, India and Polio Team Lidun Hareide, Norway, Mikko Lindeman, Finland and Frank Intert, Germany | Gabija Hotel. Vytauto g. 40, Palanga Navigate |
| 14:00-15:30 | How to Create Continuity in Leadership | DG Elisabeth Norrby, Sweden and PDG Claudia Hendry, Switzerland | Gabija Hotel. Vytauto g. 40, Palanga Navigate |
| 14:00-15:30 | How to build projects with refugees that last | Peace Fellows Natalia Sineaeva, Poland/Belarus and Anastasija Klonova, Sweden/Ukraine | Baltic Grand Dunes. Birutės al. 26, Palanga Navigate |
| 14:00-15:00 | Afternoon Tea with Stephanie — Major Donor & Bequest Motivation | PRID Stephanie Urchick, USA in conversation with Lars Borgestrand, Norway | Restaurant Gras. Kęstučio g. 32, Palanga Navigate |
| 14:00-15:00 | High Five for Paul Harris Society (PHS) with Holger | PRIP Holger Knaack, Germany in conversation with Anette Løwert, Denmark | Restaurant Gras. Kęstučio g. 32, Palanga Navigate |
| 14:00-15:00 | Happify with Yinka | RIP Yinka Babalola, Nigeria interviewed by Venanzia Rizzi, Finland | Kurhaus (main hall), Grafų Tiškevičių al. 1, Palanga Navigate |
| 14:00-15:00 | How to Bring Peace to a (New) Club | PP Vinita Venkatesh, India and DG Elísabet S. Ólafsdóttir, Iceland | Kurhaus (Wedding Room), Grafų Tiškevičių al. 1, Palanga Navigate |
| 14:00-15:30 | How to Do Innovative Fundraising | Brian Rusch | Kurhaus (Cinema Room), Grafų Tiškevičių al. 1, Palanga Navigate |
| 14:00-15:30 | How to Plan a Global Grant and Its Communication | RPIC Ulrike Vogt and EMGA Ulf Bingsård | Kurhaus (Roof Room), Grafų Tiškevičių al. 1, Palanga Navigate |
| 14:00-16:30 | BASRAN Baltic Sea Walk - Networking on the Move | BASRAN Network | Departing from Restaurant Gras. Kęstučio g. 32, Palanga Navigate |
| 14:00–15:30 | How to build resiliance, peace and security? And use gaming. | Jörg Vollmer, Germany and Manouchehr Shamsrizi, Germany | Baltic Grand Dunes. Birutės al. 26, Palanga Navigate |
| 14:00-16:30 | How Do You Imagine the Rotary of the Future? | Esi Otoo, Sweden with fellow Rotaractors Marek Balschun, Fiona Stumm and others | Youth Centre Vytauto g. 110, Palanga Navigate |
| 14:00-16:30 | How to Live as a Peace Bringer in Our Society | Uppsala Peace Team, Prof. Magnus Öberg, Sweden and Rotary Peace Fellows Dorcas Tiwaa Addai, Ghana and Abigail Cawley | Mana Hotel. M. Valančiaus g. 1, Palanga Navigate |
Evening
| Time | Session | Presenter | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16:00-19:00 | Major Donor Cocktail & Dinner | On invitation only / drinks from 16:00–16:30 | Palanga Hotel |
| 20:00-23:00 | Rotariada Gala Concert - Awards, Music, Dance & Get-Together | Celebrating the Rotariada Summer Games and our community. | Palanga Concert Hall. Vytauto g. 43, Palanga Navigate |
| 23:00–02:00 | After Party | We still want to meet and dance together with You | Club Exit. S. Nėries g. 39, Palanga Navigate |
Sunday, 6 September 2026
Sunday Programme
| Time | Session | Presenter | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 08:30–09:30 | Optional: Yoga on the Beach or Guided Walking Tour | Please look up location in WhatsApp Group Palanga Rotary Action Summit. Yoga teacher - Viney Prakash Dubey | Palanga Beach / Town Centre Navigate |
| 10:00-12:00 | ICC Meeting | All participants are welcome | Kurhaus, Grafų Tiškevičių al. 1, Palanga Navigate |