Sikander Sabeer: 22nd Rotaract District Assembly kicks off

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

22nd Rotaract District Assembly kicks off

Click Here to get the online article - Ceylon Today 29-07-12

By Sikander Sabeer

More than 300 likeminded young leaders from all over the country, including Jaffna and Anuradhapura gathered for one of the biggest event in the calendar of the Rotaract Sri Lanka, that's the 22nd Rotaract District Assembly for RI District 3220, which was held on 30 June 2012, at the Taj Samudra, Colombo.

This colourful day was jointly organized by the Rotaract Clubs of Colombo Fort and the University of Colombo—Faculty of Arts on the theme “Inspire the Rotaractor in you.” The opening spark of the assembly was delivered by the Assembly Chairperson Rtr. Minoli Ranasinghe, where she thanked everyone for their participation and mentioned the importance of the event, "This is the moment to recognize you and your hard work of the past Rotaract Year."

A short time taken to refresh the memories of past journeys which summarized the services rendered by the district to those in need in the past emphasizing on how the ultimate beneficiaries gained from those efforts by the District Secretary for 2011/2012, Rtr. Umanga Settinayake.

District Rotaract Representative for 2011/2012 Rtr. P.P. Subramaniam Sudhakaran delivered a heartfelt address to the gathering before concluding his term of office and recognized the past District Committee of 2011/2012 for their invaluable dedication.

Then the most awaiting moment of the day, the Awards Ceremony which recognized many Rotaractors’ and their clubs for their efforts in bringing a change in the Sri Lankan community. One of the most significant awards was the Rotaract Paragon Award, an initiative by D.R.R. Rtr. P.P. Subramaniam Sudhakaran, to recognize the top five Rotaractors of District 3220, of whom the others can consider as role models in the movement.

The District Rotaract Committee Chairman for 2011/2012 and 2012/2013, Rtn.P.H.F. Yohan Kumarapperuma in his address, challenged all Rotaractors to come together and make a difference, while commending D.R.R Rtr. P.P. Subramaniam Sudhakaran on his effort for 2011/2012 and wishing D.R.R Elect Rtr. P.P. Dilhan Jayatilleke for the upcoming year.

Guest of Honour, new district generations chairperson for 2011/2012, Rtn. P.H.F. Dayani Panagoda and District Governor 2011/2012Rtn. P.H.F. Gehan Siribaddane, both spoke with high praise for DRR Rtr. PP. Subramaniam Sudhakaran for the discipline inculcated by him and his committee in the Rotaract District 3220.

The second session began at around 2:00 p.m. with the gracious presence of many more Rotarians. The Guest of Honour for the event’s second session was Rtn. PHF. Janaki Anandasundarem and the Chief Guest was Rtn.PHF. Darshan John. The welcome address for the second session was delivered by the Assembly Chairman Rtr. IPP. Hazeem Osman.

Installation of the District Rotaract Representative

The most awaited segment of the event, the Installation of the District Rotaract Representative for 2012/2013 Rtr. PP. Dr. Dilhan Jayatilleke was conducted by his predecessor IP. DRR. Rtr. PP. Subramaniam Sudhakaran. The DRR for 2012/2013, then briefed the gathering about his plans for the upcoming year while requesting the entire district to contribute their maximum to make 2012/2013 a success. He thanked his alma mater—Asoka Vidyalaya, his sponsor-Rotary Club of Colombo Fort and the other Rotarians who have supported him throughout his life as an Interactor and a Rotaractor.

DRR. Rtr. PP. Dr. Dilhan Jayatilleke, also installed the new District Committee with great pride and appreciation. The new District theme for 2012/2013, “Let’s unite to make dreams real” was launched by the DRR requesting all Rotaractors to brace themselves for a busy yet productive year ahead.

The District website, which intends to serve as a communication platform and an information provider for members and the public, was re-launched by Rtn. PHF. Darshan John.

Rtn. PHF. Janaki Anandasundarem, commended DRR. Dilhan Jayatilleke for the International Rotaract Exchange Programme, he has made as the flagship project for 2012/2013. Rtn. PHF. Darshan John, then went on to speak about the admirable work done by the District Committee for 2011/2012 and extended an invitation to all Rotaractors to join Rotary and to continue being a part of the great Rotary family. The event concluded the end of another Rotaract year and marked the beginning of another fresh journey.

Rotaract is a Rotary-sponsored service club for young men and women in the age category of 18-30 years. Rotaract District 3220 is one of the most vibrant youth movements in Sri Lanka comprising of more than 45 clubs with over one 1,500 active members dispersed in all provinces of the country. Rotaract District 3220 aims to promote peace and harmony, co-existence and tolerance, personal development and professional ethics among the Sri Lankan youth. Each year, Rotaract clubs of Sri Lanka organize a number of worthy projects addressing the four avenues of Rotaract services; Community Service; Professional Development; Club Services; and International Understanding.

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About Me

Sikander Sabeer is a product of Isipathana College and holding a first class with distinction Bachelors of Science (BSc) degree on Biotechnology, Biochemistry and Microbiology from Spectrum Institute of Science and Technology (Sri Lanka), an outreach campus of University of Mysore (India). Presently reading for his Masters of Science (MSc) on Business Management at National School of Business Management (Sri Lanka), an outreach post-graduate institute of University of Dublin (Ireland).

Sikanders’ development work can be categorized into three avenues, namely community service and community development; youth empowerment and professional development; climate change and sustainable development. Meanwhile his development work is two phased, firstly action oriented, secondly strategic and advocacy. In the action oriented phase, he gets in to the field and implements his ideas. He works very closely with multi-stakeholders such as children, school students, youth, corporates & business firms, UN agencies, non-governmental and government organizations on diversified projects at different levels and on different capacities. With his strong grass-root level initiatives and experience, he invests equal time on advocacy, mentorship and youth policy framework, which is a unique, and a strategic bottom up approach.

Sikanders’ voluntary action oriented initiatives and his strategic thinking has given him numerous opportunities to be a guest speaker and youth facilitator; to share his experiences, best practices to motivate and inspire youth at number of National and International youth conferences. He has represented his country and fellow youth (1/4th of Sri Lankan population) at high profile youth conferences and high level UN summits/conferences, at some of the UN meetings I have served as an ‘Official Youth Delegate’ of the National Delegation team headed by HE president. Half of the world’s population is made up of young people and as a youth representative and a major stakeholder he had made several interventions on behalf of Global Youth and Sri Lankan youth at some of the UN conferences.

He has held several key positions in organizing several national and international events/programmes and he is one of the co-creators of the YOUTH is the word –Guinness World Record, where 1500 Sri Lankan youth stood to gather to form the largest human mosaic in the world.

His local, national and international initiatives on youth led community development, Climate Change; youth empowerment and youth advocacy led him to earn the most prestigious “Commonwealth Youth Awards (CYA)” for Excellence in Development Work (2012), The CYA’s celebrate and recognize extraordinary young people among one billion audiences from 54 member states of Commonwealth who are making a positive difference to the lives of others through development initiatives ranging from poverty alleviation to education and protection of the environment. This is awarded by Commonwealth Secretariat (CYP) headed by HM Queen Elizabeth II. He earned the "Global Changemaker" title of British Council Youth Empowerment Programme on 2010 for outstanding contribution for Voluntary Activities. He serves as a Youth Ambassadorial role for climate change and serves as a Youth Facilitator for climate sustainability under British Council International Climate Champion program. Apart from these major recognitions his team earned U.S. Department of States Federal Assistant Award Grant for “Green the Home” project and Global Changemakers Community Action Project (CAP) and Regional Action Project (RAP) grants for Youth Empowerment Initiatives.

Presently Sikander is serving as an Assistant Manager for Business Development and Project Officer for recycling solutions for Neptune Recyclers (Neptune Papers [Pvt.] Ltd) in Sri Lanka, a member of multinational corporate Expolanka Holdings PLC. He works very closely with multi- stakeholders, especially with school students, Industries and Corporates on recycling solutions which create an additional income from the trash while minimizing the environmental pollution.

"Do as much as voluntary activities, because volunteers Inspire in Action, they make a real change in their community, they talk less and work a lot, but never expect any personal benefits from their action, Indeed one day they will earn the rewards, that’s confirmed; Install this in your mind “I will do the best I can”

-Sikander Sabeer-