18th July 2021 was a beautiful Sunday. Everyone was looking forward for the moment which would turn a new page of their Rotaract journey. Determined to excel in whatever they do as a collective group, Rotaract Club of University Alumni, in collaboration with Rotaract Club of Imperial College of Business Studies was going to begin a new chapter in their Rotaract journey. As everyone cannot meet physically due to the COVID pandemic, the joint club orientation program was conducted through the zoom virtual conference platform. Being the first gathering for the year and the first step towards a long journey, everyone was a little nervous and excited about the proceedings.
The proceedings commenced exactly at 3pm with the delivery of the welcome speech by Rtr. Vinuri Nirodya to make a visible impression on all the newly joined members as well as on the potential members of the club. After the welcome speech, we came to the Rotaract Formalities presented by Rtr. Yashoda Amarasekara. To start off the new chapter of both the clubs, Rtr. IPP Praneeth Madusanka gave a brief overview on behalf of the Rotaract Club of University Alumni while Rtr. IPP Taalib Jayah gave an overview on behalf of the Rotaract Club of Imperial College of Business Studies.
The next up was addressing the whole gathering by one of our special guests for the day, Assistant Rotaract District Secretary and Coordinator for Membership, Rtr. Nishika Silva. She clearly explained the way how she started her journey in Rotaract, the milestones she passed throughout the journey, and the opportunities and privileges that she was able to gain through Rotaract.
After the guest speech, we moved on to one of the most anticipated events of everyone; Draft Day Quiz. There we tested participants’ knowledge of Rotaract history and what Rotaract is and at the end of the quiz, the first place went to participant Janith from RACUniAlumni, second place to Ineshka from RACICBS, and third place to Shivane from RACICBS.
Next, we moved on to the second guest speaker, Joint Director for International Service of Rotaract District Steering Committee 2021-22, Rtr. PP Mano Mudunkotuwa. He also very humbly emphasized the journey from the beginning of his Rotaract career to present. Through his speech, he highlighted how he was able to improve his qualities and the immense contribution he could make for society being part of the Rotaract movement for nearly 7 years.
Next up was the highlight of the agenda for the day, project idea pitching session. So, for the ease of continuing the session, everyone who participated in this event was divided into 5 groups by the event organizers. There the teams were firstly directed to specific break-out rooms and had to name their groups based on the Rotaract Avenues they were given. The Rotaract Avenues to which, ideas had to be developed were Community Service, Club Service, International Service, Professional Development, and Public Relations. Relevant groups submitted their team names and presented their project ideas by the respective group members when they were directed to the main session back at the end of the allocated time period for break-out rooms. The break-out rooms team responsibilities were as follows:
- Community Service: Rtr. Pansilu Kumaratunga and Rtr. Dileka Jayarathna
- Club Service: Rtr. Panchali Amanda and Rtr Hashan Siriwardana
- International Service: Rtr. IPP Praneeth Madusanka and Rtr. Pamindu Gallehewa
- Professional Development: Rtr. Chethana Rashmi and Rtr. Muhad Millath
- Public Relations: Rtr Chinthana Karunathilaka and Rtr. Pawantha Weerasingha
In order of themes, the team names were chosen as Smart Move, Stranger things, Robin Hood, Marketing Mania, and Zodiac.
Until our guest speakers Rtr. Nishika Silva and Rtr. PP. Mano Mudunkotuwa selected the best project idea, our very own talented team of club members performed a Mash-Up where the team consisted of the vocalists Rtr. Panchali Amanda, Rtr. Sihan Sankalpa, Rtr. Chanushi Pasquelge, Rtr. IPP Taalib Jayah and Rtr. Upuli Jayasundara, the instrumentalist Rtr. Pansilu Kumaratunga, and audio and video producer Rtr. Achintha Lakshan for everyone’s mind relaxation and amusement.
As announced by the judges, the winners of the project idea pitching session were the team Marketing Mania and all the ideas presented by the groups were highly appreciated, especially the creativity of the teams was brought into focus by the judges. We, the Rotaract Club of University Alumni is hoping to launch a project developed using the winning project idea, in collaboration with the Rotaract Club of Imperial College of Business Studies.
Finally, the Secretary for the year 2021-22 of RACUniAlumni, Rtr. Eshani Wickramasekara was invited to conclude this memorable unforgettable event through a Vote of thanks in a very pleasant and thankful manner by showing our gratitude to everyone who supported us to make this event a success.
The enthusiasm of the newly joined Rotaractors and our potential Rotaractors of both Rotaract clubs, Imperial College of Business Studies and University Alumni depicted that the upcoming year will be a prosperous year for our Rotaract family.
In the success of the draft day, a special thank must be offered to Rtr. Ineshka Fernando for hosting the event and maintaining the flow of the sessions throughout the event appropriately.
Written by,
Rtr. Navodi Samaranayake
Official Blog | Rotaract Club of University Alumni 