Interact District 3220, since its’ formation in the year of 1992 has made great strides to revolutionize the youth movement known as Interact in the tiny island nation of Sri Lanka. For over 27 revolutionary years, Interact has shaped the youth of Sri Lanka to become the leaders that they are today, serving society & making a difference. With each Interact year, comes the time to make way for the process of rebirth & rejuvenation in order to make way for new leadership to lead the movement the following year. The leader who is to lead the movement is selected in the event known as the Interact District Conference.
“The conference was excellent. What was different this year was from letter, time,follow -up and up to the arrival was well planned. Everything was good.”
~Quote from the Guestbook
The Interact year of 2017/2018 saw the 27th District Conference on Saturday February 24 at the Grand Auric Ballroom, Negombo and was organized by the Interact District Council alongside the Interact Clubs of Visakha Vidyalaya & Burhani Serandib School with the financial support of the Academy of Multimedia Design & Technology (AMDT)
The 27th Interact District Conference was an event unlike any the Interact movement had seen before. Under the theme “Blueprint for Change” the conference Chairperson, District Interact Secretary Int. PP Amaya Fernando & District Interact Editor Int. T. Vithurshan Sharma raised the curtain on the Man-made Optical Real-time Thought Yielder (M.O.R.T.Y), the conference’s very own Artificial Intelligence whose presence symbolized the main theme of the Conference.
With the advancement of technology from the early 1900’s to the present with globalization, industrialization, the district council decided to adopt a theme in relevance to the field of technology to better showcase the change. Thus was born the theme ‘Blueprint for Change’. The creation of M.O.R.T.Y. was a tribute to the theme which not only symbolized technology, but also symbolized the change that the interact movement has seen through reimagining & reinvigorating according to the 2017/2018 theme of ‘Rebuilding Service’
“While the Conference was a huge concern from the very beginning, we all wanted to see what we could throw in when the theme ‘Blueprint for Change’ came to mind. It had many layers of thought with concerning technology and the future. That’s when the idea for M.O.R.T.Y. came to be. While MORTY is simply a scripted character we built with smoke and mirrors along with some After Effects magic, In a sense, we did make an A.I, but not in the conventional manner. Think of the Conference as a trailer for the main movie to be. Think of it as a way to look forward to the District Assembly to finally understand what all this means.”
~T. Vithurshan Sharma
(District Interact Editor 2017/2018)
The conference was graced by many well-known dignitaries the Governor of the Rotary District 3220, Ven B. Somawansa Thero along with Rtn. PP Satyajit Senwvirathne, both as Chief Guests, and with a special appearance of Rtn. PDG Gowri Rajan as the Guest of Honour. Rtn. Samantha Rajapaksa, Dino Corera and Alagan Mahalingam also joined the Conference as the event’s Keynote Speakers to enlighten the audience with their years of experience within the business field and their view of life as a whole. Rtn. Fayaz Hudah, who is the Interact District Committee Chair, was also present as a special guest.
The dignitaries expressed various points with relevance to the theme of the conference.
They explained what it takes to achieve success & how to overcome challenges drawing from their own personal experience. Many took the time to state how the experience of interact helped them make the right choices. The words of the dignitaries proved to be motivational as well as educational to all present.
The conference also took privilege in being a platform for young home grown talent to shine in which the music group ‘BLAZE’, semifinalists at Live Lights alongside Vihan Udawala, 2nd place at Live Lights & performers of St. Joseph’s College took centre stage to tantalize the senses.
The performers also took the time to thank the organizing committee for the opportunity given to them.
“The Conference was good. The crowd was amazing & the concept and theme behind the event was amazing! The District Conference standards are getting higher and higher.”
~Sashwinth (BLAZE)
“This year’s Conference was well organized and went very smoothly on time and when it comes to the audience, they were supportive and it was a blast to perform. Talking about the organizers, they were supportive and cooperative. This Year’s Conference was the best!”
~VihanUdawella (Performer)
As the conference progressed, it moved on to its highlight & most critical moment, which was the election for the next District Interact Representative of ID 3220. The Interact Clubs who were eligible to vote took the chance to vote for their selected candidate who was Int. PP Asel Karannagoda of Ananda College, Int. PP Hilur Gazzali of Wesley College & Int. PP Mustafa Kaidjohar of Burhani Serendib School. The competition although fierce & intense was a friendly one among the candidates with mutual respect to one another, highlighting the true spirit of Interact.
With the conclusion of the voting procedure, the crowd was eagerly awaiting the results to bear witness to the event’s crowning moment. The individual who would receive the title of District Interact Representative for 2018/2019 was Int. PP Hilur Gazzali of Wesley College, who officially is on his way on officially taking reign from DIR Int. PP Mohammed Awoon at the end of the Interact Year.
With the felicitations from all parties present at Conference the 27th District Conference was drawn to its grand finale by the A.I. M.O.R.T.Y. with a promise to return at the 28th District Assembly.With memories of a Conference like no other, the event ended with the question of what the future would hold for the Interact District 3220 with the new DIR.
Int. ChaveendraDunuwille
Int. SherilMadampage
Int. KivindiKoralage