The biggest highlight of the month was the installation ceremony of our club that was held on the 14th of August at Royal Skills Centre. A lot of preparation and planning went into organizing the installation which enabled us to put up a good show where the whole ceremony went well as planned. Much to the leadership and hardwork of the project Chair, our Club Service Director Rtr. Mirangi Lanka Prasada, who worked tirelessly for weeks to ensure that all aspects were covered with absolute perfection so that we could hold a seamless installation ceremony.
We received many positive reviews about the installation ceremony from members of other Rotaract Clubs. One such heavily praised aspect of the installation was the hall decorations. This was handled by Rtr. Ruvini Nuwangi and team, who came up with fantastic art work and designs that made the hall look vibrant and colorful. All of this was done with a budget of just Rs. 2,000 allocated for decorations.
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| Board of Directors for 2015/16 (Source: Xtream Youth) |
This installation will also be remembered for the fact that the Chief Guest for the event was the Dean of our faculty Dr. R. Senathiraja, where this is the first time a Dean of our faculty is attending an installation ceremony of our club. The Dean has been very supportive to our club and ensures to continue her support in the future.
We were able to hold the installation as planned without any financial hassle thanks to our sponsors and donors, namely, Commercial Credit, Senadeera Company, Arpico, Sri Cabs and Mr. M.A.S. Peitersz.
Read more about our installation ceremony here.
Freedom Express Bulletin
For the 2nd consecutive year our club members contributed articles to the Freedom Express Bulletin that is published by the Rotaract Club of Bangalore Kalyan. This is an award winning initiative by the Rotaract Club of Bangalore Kalyan and is aimed at celebrating the diverse vernacular of the world. This year 3 of our members submitted articles to the Bulletin. To read these articles click below
- “Freedom changes the world”- Rtr. Isuri Weeraman
- “My Vision of Freedom”- Rtr. Hiruni Perera
- “Turn up the volume of your inner voice”- Rtr. Aqeela Najeeb
Workshops
During the month our club conducted 2 workshops. One such workshop was the Workshop on “Workplace psychology” conducted by Dr. Darshan Perera, the Founder of Colombo Institute of Research and Psychology (CIRP). From the avenue of Professional Development, Chaired by Rtr. Samuditha Ganepola, the purpose of the workshop was to provide an understanding of the necessary psychological aspects to look into when working in companies and also while seeking jobs. Dr. Darshan went on to elaborate on the different psychological traits each of us have and how these traits will determine how we perform in our respective workplaces. This workshop was very useful for our members since we specialize in the field of Management and thus will be working in the corporate sector in the near future. Read our blog post on “Workplace Psychology” here
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| Workshop on Workplace Psychology |
The second workshop conducted during the month was “Aspirar 2.0”. Organized with the partnership of International Youth Alliance for Peace (IYAP), the purpose of the workshop was to provide an understanding on print media as well as social media and on how to improve professionalism in writing articles and blogs. This workshop was chaired by our Sub-Editor Rtr. Bhashini Gamage and was held on the 21st of August at the faculty premises with the participation of not only our club members but also members of IYAP and other clubs. This workshop was useful and coincides with one of the objectives of the club this year which is to run an effective social media campaign. Read more on Aspirar 2.0 here
Blog update
Our club blog continued to grow during the month with publishing of more articles and gaining more views. The blog currently has about 2500 views with 25 articles being published since its launch in July. The blog is one of the most active and talked about blogs in the District, with a record of publishing a blog post every 2 days. Thanks to the increased number of members of the club who have come forward to write blog posts which has helped us to keep the blog active and running. During the month our club blog also reached global views after one of our blog posts was shared by the Executive Director of the UNFPA Babatunde Osotimehin.
The blog is also gearing up to improve its space by having features such as interviews, opinion columns and polls. In addition to this the blog will seek to act as a platform to carry social awareness and change campaigns by not only our club but also by guests and viewers.
Clean Up the World and “The Battle of the Greens”
Our club joined the Clean Up the World Campaign of the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP). This is a part of the Green-Life initiative which is a new avenue that our club took up with the objective of conservation and protection of the environment we live in. Thus by joining Clean Up the World we will be adhering to their guidelines and standards that will enable us to clean and conserve our environment, in line with the theme of the campaign “Our Place-Our planet-Our responsibility”
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| Clean Up the World membership certificate |
In line with this our club is conducting a competition called “The Battle of the Greens” where we invite other Rotaract Clubs as well as Interact Clubs to carry out a project that will help to make the environment greener. The competition opened on the 20th of August and closing date will be on the 30th of September. Click on the poster below for more info and to join the Battle
External Events
During the month our club took part in several external events. One such being the “100 Voices Youth Dialogue” conducted by the UNFPA. The purpose of this dialogue was to find ways to address youth issues such as “Sexual and Reproductive Health” (SRH) and “Gender Based Violence” (GBV). Read our detailed article on this dialogue here
Our club members also took part in several installation ceremonies that was held in August, namely, the Rotaract Clubs of Panadura, Achievers, Ibbagamuwa, Colombo West, Colombo, Cinnamon Gardens, Colombo Uptown, Colombo Regent, University of Sri Jayawardenapura, Faculty of Science UOC, Colombo Regency, Badulla, Nuwara Eliya and Beacon Hill. Do read our blog posts on these installation ceremonies.
