WORDSVILLE 2.0

The project Wordsville 2.0 was carried out to accomplish an interesting mission. We were exploring thoughtsලන්තய, a land where people with imaginative thoughts live, to discover the Top 20 masterpiece owners and crown 6 outstanding winners among them. In the process, we inspired passionate individuals to unleash the creativity within themselves. Part takers were free to raise their thoughts on any aspect and express them in any local language. This trilingual writing competition comprised of 2 categories namely creative content and descriptive articles. Interact Clubs of Ananda College, Gateway College and Wesley College joined hands with us to make this initiative worthwhile.

With the registrations being opened on 5th December 2021, Wordsville 2.0 officially commenced its journey to bring creative writers on board. We would have been blown away by the extraordinary submissions we received by our skilful writers. Fortunately, our panel of judges Rtn. Rtr. IPP. Aamina Ismail, Mr. Gayan Perera and Mr. Arushan Nithianandan helped us screen the showpieces that came our way. The top 20 nominees out of 144 submissions were announced via our official WhatsApp group whereas top 6 winners remained anonymous. We made sure not to spill the beans before the awards ceremony.

With the outbreak of the pandemic, many projects were restricted to virtual platforms and some physical events were even canceled. That’s why March 13th marked a special day on our calendar. The momentous awards ceremony was held successfully with the honourable presence of PDRR. PP Krishan Balaji as the chief guest. The guide club coordinator, Rtr. IPP. Kalna Hettikankanama and Rtr. IPP. Praneeth Madusanka also joined us to grace this occasion.

The host of the evening, our own club member Rtr.Gihini Gunawardena, added an elegant touch to the event in handling the proceedings smoothly. The gathering was then warmly welcomed by our club president Rtr.Arshad Ismail.

The top 20 nominees were brought to light through a magnificent video. The on point soundtrack resonated in the hall that even the non contestants felt as if they were competing. Indulging everyone’s curiosity the top 14 nominees were announced and presented with a certificate of participation. It was a close win, we should say.

Up next, on behalf of the judging panel Rtn. Rtr. IPP. Aamina Ismail shared her thoughts with the gathering. According to her, she was able to screen all these articles amidst of her ailments all because these marvellous writers had seen the world from a wider lens which in turn made the entries fascinating.

Afterwards, the audience was entertained by last year’s Voice Sri Lanka contestant Rtr. Kalani Athukorala who sang “හෙමින් සැරේ පියා විදා” with her mesmerising voice.

We then arrived at the most significant segment of the day. The top 3 masterpiece owners of both categories were awarded with a medal and a certificate where we wish all of us could witness their elated facial expressions behind those masks after hearing their own phenomenal achievements. That’s what pandemic has done to us.

Next up on the agenda was a small surprise. Lights went off, a fascinating video started playing, a stool was placed and a cake was brought. The audience must have wondered what we were upto. Being a project under the blog team, we took this occasion to celebrate yet another milestone we achieved recently. To mark our eminent RACUOCFMF blog hitting 900,000 blog views last month, a scrumptious cake was cut by the Co-Editors Rtr. Afkar and Rtr. Thirandi surrounding the warm applause of the audience.

Commenting on the celebration, our co-editor Rtr. Afkar Saleem emphasized the significance of featuring the top 20 masterpieces in such a renowned blog.

Afterwards, the chief guest of the event, PP. Krishan Balaji addressed the gathering reminding all of us about how challenging the blog team work is. He made it a point to congratulate all the proud owners of RACUOCFMF Blog for the achievement of 900k blog views, remarking it’s such a challenge to accomplish the milestone, that we FMFers have achieved.

To acknowledge the presence of dignitaries and the contribution of judges, a token of appreciation was presented by the co-chairpersons Rtr. Thilini and Rtr. Lumini. It was followed by the vote of thanks which was dedicated to each and every person who made the event glamorous and without whom such a remarkable occasion would not have been possible.

We couldn’t wrap up proceedings for the day without a spoiler video where we temporarily bid farewell to the gathering with the hope of meeting them back with a new episode, Wordsville 3.0.