RI Year 2000/01

Subscription Fee

A subscription fee of Rs. 500 was charged from all clubs in this District, and clubs that failed to meet the deadline for this payment was charged a penalty fee of Rs. 250.

The subscription fee entitled the clubs to:

• A copy of the District Interact Hand Book

• Eligibility to vote the next DIR at the District Conference.

 

Citation Guidelines

A set of Citation guidelines for the clubs was dracon up for the year and distributed among Interact Presidents at the District Assembly. The guidelines were also included in the District Handbook.

 

Interact Handbook

An annual publication of the District Committee, the Interact Handbook was published and distributed to all subscribed clubs in the District.

The Directory contained contact details of the Club Presidents, Secretaries, Staff Advisors and Rotary Advisors. It also included a copy of the Interact Constitution and bye-law as well as the Citation Guidelines for the year. Also included in the Directory were the contact details of District Committee officials and Past DIRs.

 

The District Bulletins

The District Editor Int. PP. Shalini Rajapakse published two bulletins during the year. The bulletins, titles ‘The Interactor’ were distributed to all the clubs. They provided clubs with information on outgoing District Projects and details about outstanding club projects. 

 

District Interact Yearbook

The District Yearbook containing a summary of the years District activities as well as outstanding club projects was published by the District Editor Int. PP. Shalini Rajapakse to be distributed at the District Assembly. 

 

District Letters and Minutes

A monthly District letter, along with the previous months District Meeting minutes 3 was sent to all presidents of all the clubs in the District. 

 

• District Meetings

12 District Meetings were hold monthly during the year, hosted by the following schools:-

Ananda College, Colombo

Zahira College, Gampola

Visakha Vidyalaya, Colombo

St. Peter’s College, Colombo

Asoka Vidyalaya, Colombo

Isipathana College and Wesley College, Colombo

St. Sebastian’s College, Moratuwa

St. Thomas’ Prep. School, Colombo

St. Joseph’s Convent, Nugegoda

St. Aloysius College, Galle

Colombo International School

Nalanda College, Colombo

 

• Interaction 2000

Interaction, held for the 10th consecutive year was successfully conducted on the 28th & 29th of October 2000, at the Havelock Sports Grounds, Colombo. 

This annual sporting extravaganza is held with the objective of promoting fellowship among Interactors through sports and recreational activities. It is an ideal opportunity for Interactors to discover and display their talents, to get acquainted with Interactors from all over the island, and to compete in a spirit of unity and sportsmanship. 

The Interaction Organizing Committee, including project chairman Int. PP. Sanjika Perera and Int. Dulan Abeyratne planned to carry out the following sporting recreational events: -

Cricket

Rugger

Tennis

Song

Basket Ball

Drama

Volley Ball

Quiz

Net Ball

Debates

Badminton

Give-Us-A-Clue

Football

All the events (including Rugger!) were held for both boys and girls. The preliminaries of all these events were held in the respective zones, and the finals were worked off on the 28th & 29th of October, at Havelock Sports Grounds, BRC Grounds and Isipathana College, Colombo.

The finals held at Havelock Grounds were open to the public who were charged fee of Rs. 50.00  Interaction, being the main finance project for the year made a profit of Rs. 42,000. 

 

• AIDS Awareness Campaign and Aids Walk 

The Interact and Rotaract District Committees with the support of the Interact and Rotaract Clubs carried out a massive AIDS Awareness Campaign during the week prior to the World AIDS Day, which was on the 1st of December.  

As the 1st Phase of the Campaign we distributed red ribbons and car stickers with attractive and effective slogans on the prevention of the disease. The red ribbon, which symbolized awareness of the disease and on methods of preventing it, were distributed by the Interact Clubs to all the senior students in their respective schools. 

Posters and leaflets were also distributed to Interact Clubs. Several Interact Clubs conducted their own seminars on the prevention of the disease. 

As the final phase of the campaign the Interact District Committee along with the Rotaract Clubs of Wellawatta and Colombo Regent organized an AIDS Awareness Walk on the 2nd of December 2000. There were approx 600 participants at the walk, which comprised mainly of Interactors, Rotaractors and Girl Guides. 

This was a District Community Service Project, which involved all the clubs in the District. A special mention must be made of the support we received from the Interact Clubs in carrying out this project, since it was their enthusiasm and commitment that greatly contributed to the success of the campaign. 

 

• Printing and Sale of Christmas Cards in aid of Charity 

The District Community Service Project selling Christmas and New Year Cards in aide of Charity was carried during the months of November and December. The Project Chairperson was District Community Service Director Int. PP. Dhanushka Tennakoon and the Project Secretary was District Director Int. Durga Pulendran. 

A total of 12,000 cards were printed in a variety of 3 designs on the theme of “Freedom”. The designs were chosen out of entries sent in by Interactors. A card was priced at Rs. 12 each with discounts given for bulk purchases of 10 or more cards. The Cards were sold at Majestic City from the 26th of November to the 25th of December and at the McDonald’s Outlet in Union Place on the 12th & 13th of December. 

Interact Clubs were also responsible for selling a quota of cards among their members. 

The proceeds of the Card Sales amounted Rs. 82,000 with all 12000 cards being sold. This profit was in aide of limb donations to Ranaviru Sevana.

We deeply appreciate the support of all Interactors who volunteered to sell cards at Majestic City, and for all clubs that helped us with the project. 

 

• ILT - Interact Leadership Training Programme

The I.L.T. Programme was successfully conducted in the zones of Colombo, Kandy, Galle and Matale. The District I.L.T. Director Int. Amaya ellawala handled this project. 

The I.L.T. Programme was initiated by the District Committee in the year 95/96, and has since been extremely effective in training, motivating and guiding Interactors and preparing them for their future endeavors in Interact. The I.L.T. sessions commenced with the opening ceremony, which was held on the 6th of January at St. Peters’ College, Colombo. District Committee Members and past District Officials conducted the sessions. The sessions were conducted in the following schools: -

Colombo Zone - St. Peters’ College and Isipathana College.

Kandy Zone - Kandy Grammar School

Galle Zone - St. Aloysius College

Matale - St. Thomas’ College

The Interactors who participated in the I.L.T. Programme were chosen aster being interviewed by the District Committee members. In case to graduate, they were required to follow the sessions, pass a written and practical test. This practical test was introduced for the 1st time this year, where the participants were asked to conduct their own workshops in their respective schools based on what they had learnt through I.L.T. 

The ILT Programme was a resounding success with a total of 97 Interactors graduating from the 4 Zones. They will receive their certificates at the District Assembly. 

 

• 10th District Conference

The Conference was held on the 9th of March at the National Youth Services Center, Maharagama, under the theme of “Love, Joy, and Peace”. The opening ceremony commenced at 8:30 AM with District Governor Rtn. Krish Rajendran gracing the occasion as Chief Guest. The Guest of Honour was the New Generations Committee Chairman PDG. Rtn. Mangala Gunawardena. 

After the opening ceremony, Mr. Prasanthalal de Alwis conducted an extremely interesting and interactive workshop on ‘Personality Development’ emphasizing on body language. 

The closing ceremony commenced at 3:30 PM. The Chief Guest was District Governor Nominee Rtn. Dr. V. Vijayakumaran, and theguest of Guest of Honour was DICC 2001/2002 Rtn, Rihal Madugalle. Interactors Dulan Abeyratne and Sanjika Perera were the candidates at the DIR election from which Int. PP. Sanjika Perera elected the DIR for 2001/2002.

The Conference was organizing committee comprising of Interactors from all over the island, making it a truly District event. The District Committee would like to thank all clubs Presidents and their members for their support and co-operation in organizing the conference. 

 

• Youth Camp 2001

Youth Camp was organized for the 3rd consecutive year, and was held from the 17th to the 20th of April at the Pearu International Camping Site in Nuwara Eliya. The Project Chairman Int. Randika Dissanayake and his organizing committee, which comprised of 20 Interactors, did an excellent job inn organizing the camp. 

A total of 55 Interactors along with number of the District and organizing committees participated. We were also most fortunate to have with us, parents on the camping site on all four days. Past Interactor and former Project Chairman of Youth Camp, Bathiya Jayakody also joined the campers on all 4 days. 

The participants were given lectures on Field craft, Backwoodsman, First Aide and Pioneering. The lecture on Pioneering also included training sessions such as Commando Craw, Commando Bridge, Highwayman Hitch, Leopard Roll and Archery. 

Special features of the camp were the campfire on the 19th and the hike on the 20th. An awards ceremony was also held where 10 campers received an “Awards of Excellence”. All the participants were given a Youth Camp Badge. 

 

• Youth Summit

An International Understanding project, Youth Summit was held on the 2nd of June 2000 at the S. Thomas’ College Hall. The District International Understanding Project Chairman Int. Dulan Abeyratne organized the event along with a committee of 15 Interactors. 

Youth Summit started off with an “Ice Breaker” where all participants got to know each other. This followed by a very interactive workshop on the purpose of I-U, how it can be applied within schools, what kind of project could be done as I.U. projects etc. Past DIR Nishantha de Silva and Int. Dulan Abeyratne conducted this workshop. Thereafter, an exercise was carried out on negotiation skills and diplomacy. 

A break for refreshments was followed by debates on 3rd world debt and thereafter on Nuclear Proliferation, where all the participants got involved. Finally there was Feedback session where the participants gave their views on the project. Many were of the opinion that Youth Summit is a project with great potential that should be continued by future District Committees. 

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• IWE3220 - Interact Web Exchange 3220

IWE3220 the website for our District is scheduled to be launched at the District Assembly. Due to the in availability of funds, we have decided to host it on a free server. The site is being continually updated, and currently contains information on District projects well as on the history of Interact in Sri Lanka. You could visit it on 

www.geocities.com/iwe3220 

Int. Dulan Abeyratne along with Interactors Nuwan Gamage and Dharshana Warnasooriya handled the project. 

 

• ‘Colombo out of Control’

The final District project for the year. ‘Colombo out of Control’, a musical concert, was organized by District 3220 along with Shans Productions and Bathiya & Santhush. The organizing committee comprised of Project Chairperson Int. Durga Pulendran and Interactors, mostly incoming President’s of Clubs in Colombo Zone. 

Interactors were mainly responsible for ticket sales, and also took part in street promotions during the week prior to the concert was held on the 16th of June at the St. Joseph’s College Auditorium.