Events

Navigating the Indo-Pacific: Canada's Strategy and the RIMPAC 2026 Experience

Canada’s presence in the Indo‑Pacific is growing, and the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) are playing a pivotal role. This presentation will provide a concise look at Canada’s Indo‑Pacific strategy, why the region matters to Canadians, and how the CAF is strengthening regional partnerships. In addition, our speaker will discuss his participation in RIMPAC 2026, the world's largest US-led naval exercises held around the Hawaiian islands in July.

Speaker: Dr. Chris Kilford is a member of the national board of the Canadian International Council (CIC), the former editor of CIC’s online foreign policy magazine Open Canada, and president of the CIC Victoria branch. He holds a PhD in history from Queen’s University and enjoyed a 36-year career in the Canadian Armed Forces including postings to Germany, Afghanistan and Turkiye. He retired from the armed forces in September 2014. Since retiring, and besides sessional teaching at the Canadian Forces College, his book chapters, articles and opinion pieces on defence and foreign policy have appeared in numerous Canadian and international publications.

Join in welcoming District Governor Linda Kaye Briggs to Victoria Harbourside Rotary Club. She will bring welcome from the District and insights into the growth and directions of Rotary in the District and the world. 

Building Resilience: How Supporting Young People Strengthens Our Community

Every young person deserves the opportunity to experience safety, stability, and hope. In this presentation, Julie-Ann Hunter, Executive Director of the Victoria Youth Empowerment Society (VYES), will share how VYES supports more than 1,000 youth and families each year through a continuum of prevention, early intervention, housing, mental health, family support, and crisis services. The presentation will explore how VYES's individualized, relationship-based approach helps young people build resilience, strengthens families, and creates healthier communities, while highlighting the partnerships that make this work possible

Speaker: Julie-Ann Hunter is the Executive Director of the Victoria Youth Empowerment Society (VYES), where she leads an organization supporting youth and families across Greater Victoria through prevention, early intervention, housing, mental health, and crisis services.

A Registered Social Worker with an MBA specializing in Social Enterprise, Julie-Ann has dedicated more than 20 years to working alongside young people and their families. She also serves as Co-Chair of the Collaborative to Prevent Youth Homelessness, bringing together community partners to develop long-term solutions that help young people thrive.

Julie-Ann is passionate about building strong communities by ensuring every young person has the opportunity to experience safety, stability, connection, and hope.

Fair Sailing - Rethink Cruise Tourism

Fair Sailing advocates for an approach to cruise tourism that prioritizes local communities and the environment of Victoria, Canada's busiest cruise ship port-of-call. The presentation provides an overview of local cruise tourism practices and offers feasible solutions to reduce impacts on the community. Our solutions are based on years of data-collection, research, and analysis of the local and global cruise industry.

Speaker: Vicki Küng is Executive Director and co-founder of Fair Sailing, an all-volunteer non-profit organization that documents cruise tourism impacts in Victoria, and advocates solutions. Küng co-owned a design and branding firm in California that specialized in international marketing, retail and manufacturing, and technology. Prior to that she spent a decade in the travel industry. A Victoria resident since 2018, she grew up on sailboats in Southern California.

Also presenting is Fair Sailing co-founder and Board Director Anke Bergner.

Keith will lead a presentation on what the international service committee does and how international service through the Rotary Foundation changes the world.