District 20 Newsletter - Jan- Jun 2022 by District 20 Toastmasters

Memoirs 2021-22: A token of thanks from the District Office.

MEET THE TEAM CHIEF EDITOR

ALLEN PAUL

CHIEF DESIGNER

BRANDING

SURAIYA NOOR FATHIMA

SANA FATIMA

DESIGNER

PRABODHA SARANGI

COORDINATORS WRITER

TAWFIQ QADER

FARIAH FATIMA

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 District Director's Vision 4 Chief Editor's Address: District PR Manager 6 District PR Team 7 Design Team's - District Designer 10 Design Team's - PQD Designer 13 Design Team's - CGD Designer 15 Design Team's - Brand Consultant 17 Social Media Team's - Writer 19 Social Media Team's - Media Coordinator 20 IT Team's - Technical Head 21 IT Team's - Technical Consultant 23 Rewards Team's - Rewards manager 24 Rewards Team's - Rewards Analyst 25 District Logistics Manager's Message 26 District Head of Arabic Club Affair's Message 27 District Translator's Message 29 District Webmaster's Message 31 Meet Our Office 32 Marketing Events 34 Program Quality Events 40 Club Growth Events 44 VPPRS OF D20 59 MEMBERS OF D20

DISTRICT DIRECTOR

VISION FOR DISTRICT NEWSLETTER 2021-22

BY DISTRICT 20 DIRECTOR

ALIFIYA LAKDAWALA, DTM To my precious and beautiful members of District 20. It gives me a sense of love and pride to share this arena with you all again in this term. The achievements, the celebration and the accomplishment what we have done together as a District are commendable. The support and passion you members have demonstrated has made District 20 proud in Region 11 and beyond. With covid conditions being relaxed the district did its first hybrid event where we were fortunate to meet some members. This term was eventful we all witnessed the contest season followed by first of its kind candidate virtual corner and candidate showcase. Various marketing events were done to achieve the district mission.

147

CLUBS IN DISTRICT 20

MEMBERS 147 CLUBS 37 AREAS 9 DIVISIONS

DISTRICT 20

All timely appointments and notification were cascaded. Members of last term and current term were reimbursed. Awards of last and current term were sorted and distributed. A lot happened behind the scenes and I owe this victory of gaining members confidence and enthusiasm to my Knights in Shining Armor. District Admin Manager- TM Biji Gittens for that eagle eye to do things on time. District Finance Manger- TM Shabbir Kutbuddin – To take a mammoth task and do it so beautifully with the efficient support of our District Logistic Manager- TM Yaser Al Qashar. District Public Relation Manager- DTM Allen Paul- He was not here physically but was with us through spirits. The energy and life he put in this role has made me proud as a District Director. Webmaster- TM Faisal Jameel- A gentleman at heart, in his words and his work. DTM Allen and TM Faisal have made my vision “Creating Awareness “ a king-sized reality. Translator- TM Asma Al Enezi- A lady who works at the blink of an eye. Be it day or night she was ready to do any translation required. One thing I learnt, it’s not the experience or how much one knows in toastmasters which counts, it’s the passion to serve which matters. These beautiful members showcased their best, fulfilling every bit of their responsibility and leaving a lasting impression in our hearts. THANK YOU is just a word to express my love, gratitude and acknowledgment to this dynamic team. Last but not the least I express my gratitude to my mentors who have guided me through this journey of leadership.

The learnings of this year remain with me for a lifetime. Teaching me to be more patient, resilient, acknowledging and above all empathetic towards my personal and professional life. Each of us have joined toastmasters for a reason. Do find your reason as we all have a story to tell. Do find your passion as this is a self -development organization “Where more and more Leaders are made.” Find your niche at your club as they are our best ground for encouragement, a nudge or a mistake. We evolve at our clubs. Let’s enjoy this toastmaster’s development and let’s be a better version of ourselves. It’s been my honor to serve such dedicated and beautiful members of our District 20. Cheers to more. Happy toastmastering. “Be the Leader you want to follow” With lots of love In Service Yours District Director Alifiya Lakdawala

CHIEF EDITOR

MESSAGE FROM DISTRICT PR MANAGER

ALLEN PAUL, DTM that I thought I would never be able to take as I am moving from the country. As I took the role, I am probably the only PRM who doesn't reside in any of the countries of the District. Working with the district office, many had warned me that I may not have a pleasant experience, but they were wrong as we have a leader who takes care of you, empowers you and is always there to back you up! I would like to thank our DD Alifiya Lakdawala for this opportunity. And our amazing office team had a great camaraderie that I truly cherish. I can proudly say that I was living the dream this past year.

A message from across the continent…from the desk of D20 Public Relations Manager (20212022) With hardly any leadership experience in my career, Toastmasters has helped me unleash the leader within. I can proudly say that I am currently where I am thanks to our members in District 20. It's only with their support, encouragement and learning in moments of fun that this was possible. When I migrated to UK last year, I promised my toastmasters friends that I would be there for them as long as meetings are online, but never did I think I would be offered the role to serve as Public Relations Manager - a role that I always wanted! A role 4

‘I am not the smartest person in the World, but I sure can pick smart colleagues’ (Franklin Roosevelt) and I owe my success to my amazing PR team! I am so glad they accepted my request to be a part of the team. We learned and explored various PR strategies that had helped our District and our members. This year we had the most number of awards compared to any other year, our social media reached new heights, we explored various new tools, hosted events that benefited the members - personally and professionally. Thank you team for believing in me, encouraging me, and empowering me. Last but not the least, I hope that we are not just bound by our responsibilities in Toastmasters, but by the relations we made! Looking forward to staying in touch. 'True wealth is not a matter of Bank accounts and assets. It's in the values we live and share as well as the people we keep in touch and care.'

PR TEAM

DISTRICT PR TEAM SOCIAL MEDIA TEAM ‫فريق التواصل االجتماعي‬

IT AND EVENTS TEAM

ISA ISA AMAN, AMAN,

ALAA ALATEEQI, ALATEEQI, ALAA

FARIAH FARIAH FATIMA FATIMA

TM MEDIA MEDIA COORDINATOR COORDINATOR

TM TM

WRITER WRITER

‫والفعاليات‬ ‫المعلومات والفعاليات‬ ‫تقنية المعلومات‬ ‫فريق تقنية‬ ‫فريق‬

TM TM

ARABIC ARABIC CLUBS CLUBS COORDINATOR COORDINATOR AREEJ JAAFAR, DTM

VISHAL EDWARD EDWARD VISHAL KHAN, TM TM TECHNICAL HEAD HEAD TECHNICAL

PRABODHA, PRABODHA, TM TM

TECHNICAL TECHNICAL CONSULTANT CONSULTANT

AREEJ JAAFAR, DTM

ALLEN PAUL SURAIYA NOOR FATHIMA

DTM PUBLIC RELATIONS MANAGER ‫مدير العالقات العامة‬

DESIGN TEAM

‫التصميم‬ ‫فريق التصميم‬ ‫فريق‬

AREEJ JAAFAR, DTM

SURAIYA NOOR FATHIMA

SURAIYA NOOR, NOOR, SURAIYA

TM TM DISTRICT DESIGNER DESIGNER DISTRICT

AREEJ AREEJ JAAFAR, JAAFAR,

TAWFIQ TAWFIQ KADER, KADER,

PQD PQD DESIGNER DESIGNER

CGD CGD DESIGNER DESIGNER

D DTM TM

SANA FATIMA, TM TM

TM TM

BRAND BRAND CONSULTANT CONSULTANT

REWARDS TEAM ‫فريق الجوائز‬

AREEJ JAAFAR, DTM

ASHA ASHA RANI, RANI, TM TM

REWARDS REWARDS ANALYST ANALYST

PRIYADARSHAN PRIYADARSHAN

SAIRAM SAIRAM SMS, SMS,

REWARDS REWARDS ANALYST ANALYST

TM TM

JUNE SOARES, SOARES, JUNE TM

REWARDS REWARDS MANAGER MANAGER

DESIGN TEAM

DESIGN TEAM DESIGNERS

One Call, One Year, and One Team.

SURAIYA NOOR, NOOR, SURAIYA

TM TM DISTRICT DESIGNER DESIGNER DISTRICT

It was a sunny afternoon in June 2021 when my phone rang and caught my attention. On the screen was a familiar and unlikely face: DTM Allen Paul. Something’s not right… It felt like a radioactive spider bit me and left me with a 6th sense, Spidey Sense, to sense when someone comes to me with a quest or a challenge. But it was Allen Paul! One of my core mentors in Desert Pioneers! So I cheerfully picked up his call, and he cheerfully answered, before dropping the bomb: ‘Would you like to join my District PR Team as a designer?’ I blinked a few times, the gears in my head click click clicking into place by taking their own sweet time. So I did what any caughtoff-guard speaker would do: nervously chuckle. But whatever was left of my fried brain after 6 months of being a VPPR of my club could only dumbly say, ‘Sure!’ with no further questions of what the role entails. Was it poor planning or just my sleep deprived university student brain calling it a night? (Any doctors in the house?) Well, looks like I had a new volunteer job! Although I had some experience working as a Creative, taking small time commissions (one-off paid projects) here and there,

I was one of many amateur graphic designers who did design as a hobby. Something to do to unwind, something that calms you down, something that is the opposite of professional work. To me, the cocktail of professional work and creative work tasted bitter-sour, and the last thing I would do on my own free time. And had I had less of a fried brain, I wouldn’t be writing this article. Perhaps our to-be Public Relations Manager caught me at the most opportune moment, or perhaps I did run out of hobbies to do and took a split-second life-changing decision to take up this daunting role! (My long list of To-Read Books would disagree, if they could talk.) Jokes aside, being part of such a talented Public Relations team with a great leader as DTM Allen Paul was an experience unlike anything else. In the span of a year, this role taught me industrylevel design processes, negotiation skills, professional design skills, team collaboration skills, and quite unusually, self-evaluation skills.

They say that a team cannot function without a Good Leader, but with my experience in mind, I’d add a caveat to that. A team needs not only a Good Leader who empathizes, communicates, and delegates tasks efficiently, but also team members who empathize and communicate with each other, while being creative individually and as a team. Team members who are both creative and empathetic set the foundation for a harmonious and efficient team, one that the Team Leader can depend on and lead to achieve set goals. As a result of the great PR Team and of course, the ever-enthusiastic District 20 PRM, I’ve grown a lot over the year, while also gaining many unlikely friendships- ones that I cherish even now. I’ve been able to grow significantly as a designer, developing the skills of a professional designer through my design process with DTM Allen as our Big Boss (or so we would jokingly call him). I’ve learnt the true importance of a Brand Identity, and how it adds a sparkle of professionalism on any poster. 8

Most importantly, this experience has taught me not to limit myself based on what I assume to be a “dull” or “uninteresting” job, and to try it at least once; commit to it for a period before deciding that it won’t work out. The lessons I’ve experienced will guide me through my upcoming journeys in life, whether that be within Toastmasters or elsewhere. I’m certain that for many, this is the true essence of Toastmasters. A community dedicated on motivating each other to grow, plant their dreams as seeds, water them with motivation and opportunity, to eventually witness them bloom to their full potential. All I have left to say to any budding designers out there, Make Mistakes. Learn. Create. Make more mistakes. Fail. Learn. Create. Repeat until that spark in you catches the eye of someone who believes in you. And when they do, give it your all. Be Creative, Keep Dreaming, and Never Give Up. And remember, Everyone needs a rest every once in a while. Don’t let that spark fizzle out. Good luck!

DESIGNERS

DESIGN TEAM

DESIGN TEAM We Are A TEAM Because We Work Together!

AREEJ AREEJ JAAFAR, JAAFAR, D DTM TM

PQD PQD DESIGNER DESIGNER

It was Friday evening when my phone rang …. Trrrrn Trrrrn …. I answered and to my surprise, it was DTM Allen Paul! “Heeey Areej how is the weather in Kuwait?” Something deep inside me felt that my life will change for ever “Hey Allen !!! It’s hot! You okay ?!” … and I was right .. because what he said next … changed my whole life- “Areej .. I was appointed to be the District 20 PRM … what do you think ?!” I replied, ”Wow Allen that’s great! You will do an amazing job I believe in you … start preparing your team” he said ”yes and I want you to be part of my team, can you be a designer with me” I was jumping from Happiness… but I said …. ”mm let me think about it ..” well It was the longest 10 seconds in my life … until I sent him a message and said ”YES I WILL BE WITH YOU”

A A

j I made a lot of mistakes during that period but one of the biggest mistakes that I made is when Allen told me he wanted to assign TM Suraiya to work with DTM Khalid Abdulla as PQD designer. I told him, Suraiya is still young … she won’t know how to work with Khalid .. I worked with him last year at Active Minds & I know !!! & this was my mistake- DTM Allen thought I wanted to work with Khalid so he assigned me to his team. AREEJ JAAFAR, DTM

This term I have learned lots of things … working with both DTM Allen & DTM Khalid Abdulla at both PQD team & PR team, made me realize how great leaders we have around us!

DTM Allen Paul: his ways and attitude was super amazing. He always wants to give you the credit of inventing new ideas and always appreciate the team efforts and we never felt that we have a PR Manager with us but he was always like one of us, as a team member, who is ready to speak on our behalf and be always there to support us, I called him my best best best best friend ever and I will always call him now just best best best friend but my youngest brother too. DTM Khalid Abdulla: He is this leader who will always listen to you and understand you, he is a person with lots of dreams and visions and because of his sweet smile and great personality you can’t do anything but work hard so as to make his dreams comes true!! Even if you will have to stay up till 4 am in the morning to finish the work he wants you to finish. He is a person who will always be there for you and treat you as one of his brothers or sisters, but to be more specific, for me he was like a mom 😅🙏🏼

Working with the PR team made me realize one fact- that (We are not a TEAM because we work together, We are a TEAM because we RESPECT, TRUST & CARE for each other) And this how it was our relationship at the PR team … each one of the members made a special place in my heart and I have learned from each one of them a lot of different things.

TM Tawfik (I learned from him how to be positive regardless of the tough situations and how to keep smiling), TM Suraiya (I learned from her how to give your best and your efforts will always be shown at the end), TM Sana Fathima (I learned from her to respect the values of toastmasters and keep always ourselves up to date and follow instruction but in a sweet and lovely way),TM Prabodha (I will always call him the super hero .. He was there for me when I went through a crisis and he puts all his efforts to help both the PQD & PR teams. Hats off to this amazing gem 🎩), TM Priyadarshan (what can I say about him … a man who knows how to run the show smoothly from behind the scenes and not waiting for anything in return. I have learned from him how to be calm and enjoy all moments), TM Alaa Alateiqi (I learned from her that working in tough situations is possible, all you need is a big smile at the end that will give everyone a positive push to move forward), DTM Asha Rani, TM Vishal, TM June & TM Sairam (I didn’t work much with them this term but I know how much hard work they gave to the team & to our PRM .. even if it was from behind the scenes, I have still learned from them to be a great team member without any expectations)

A A

AREEJ JAAFAR, DTM

AREEJ JAAFAR

DTM PUBLIC RELATIONS MANAGER 2022-23 ‫مدير العالقات العامة‬

And just to add to all what I said previously- Working in District 20 PR Team was a great learning experience, it helped me to understand others points of view and learn how it is important to deliver the work in a specific time, & accept all the feedback I received from everyone as it helped me to move forward. Thank you to all the members of the PR team for being an amazing family to me during this term and Thank you so much District 20 PRM DTM Allen Paul for giving me this opportunity to work with you and because of you I wanted to continue what you have started to keep up with your hard work and be the next District 20 PR Manager 2022/ 2023.

DESIGN TEAM

DESIGN TEAM DESIGNERS

Would you like to have a leadership role ?

TAWFIQ TAWFIQ KADER, KADER, TM TM CGD CGD DESIGNER DESIGNER

I am passionate about creative and innovative ideas on Posters that promote community members. I started my journey as a Toastmaster with Leaders Worldwide District 57 serving as sub committee of VPPR, then became VP PR, My friend and mentor part of District 57 & District 20 was working with PQD quality / marketing and he offered the opportunity to be part of PQD award compilation team and become member of Bahrain IT Professionals Toastmasters Club term 2021-2022 serving as VPPR. Everyone feels that when you have a leadership role, you are on top of the mountain. I was feeling the same until I myself wore those shoes. Last year had the opportunity to work with PQD DTM Alifiya Lakdawala, and prepared all PQD awards, with respective categories, summarising them, and recognising the members with their awards. Somehow, I didn’t know it would put me in the big league and I'd be made the PR Head of the CGD Office. It was a challenging role. I was pushed into a totally new environment, didn’t know the people, including my own club member DTM Khalid Jalal (CGD), and District 20 Public Relations Team. Working with deadlines, Membership Marketing Drive campaigns.

It looks exciting to begin with, but if not used to it, it’s gets tougher. Somehow I have this personal experience which helped me, when the going gets tougher, the tougher gets it going. When I had to start from zero, I was lost to begin with, but then had to ask for support and the District 20 PR team lead by TM Sana Fathima, DTM Areej Jaffar and DPRM DTM Allen Paul, came to my rescue. They were the guiding force in ensuring I would have the amazing posters / flyers / at the same time have brand compliance in place. Beauty lies in simplicity and glamour too. During the membership campaign, for the CGD office I got to know an amazing dignified personality, DTM Khalid Rashid Moh’d Jalal, a very humble and gem of a person who loves to offer coffee anytime. With Club Officer Trainings, met lots of District Leaders, DTM Khalid Abdulla, DTM Mona Aloqab, DTM Yasser Al Qasher, DTM Roshan Lewis (mentoring me with assigned roles) and it was an awesome and interesting experience working with them all, in understanding how things can be kept simple and yet look amazing. I enjoyed this amazing term (2021-2022) with lots of passionate work with sheer dedication, filled with enthusiasm and the mentor who was the first person to push me as a Toastmaster in District 20 (TM Mohammed Viqaruddin) Thank you all in helping me, in shining bright, doing things differently and brilliantly. Being your true servant leader, would you like to join this leadership journey too ?

DESIGN TEAM

DESIGN TEAM BRAND

Throughout this year, I have perhaps played the Brand Police, by advising and persuading VPPRs to mould their designs in accordance with the Brand Toastmasters. Here’s my chance to

SANA FATIMA, FATIMA, SANA TM TM

BRAND CONSULTANT CONSULTANT BRAND

defend myself 😉 It is imperative that we understand Branding as an integral to the Toastmasters identity.

Most of us take the role of a VPPR to tickle our creative bone, to learn designing or simply to try out a new role! But when we dive into the waves, we see this unforeseen hindrance called “Branding”. We perceive branding as an unnecessary censorship to our creative freedom. Why only few colors? Why fewer fonts? Why can’t I use the images of my choice? This might be you, when you come across the Brand and you are not alone. I would like to make an attempt to address a few of the questions nagging you for long.

Most of us are amateurs, not professional designers. Hence, it becomes all the more necessary to stick to the principles. The brand color palette is the first thing that is noticed about a brand and hence, we have a mix of colors that are both attractive and pleasant to the eye. It’s true that colors light up the designs, but when you overdo it, they are capable of creating chaos! On the other hand, the uniformity that the Palette brings about, invokes a sense of identity and belonging quickly bringing your design under the shade of Toastmasters.

We define Brand as a Promise, an Identity that we create for our beautiful organization. The stuff we design has an impression on the world about Toastmasters. So the impression needs to be positive, inspiring and engaging. 15

The typography of Toastmasters is characterized by fonts that are clear and readable. It might not look fancy but we prioritize clarity and readability over decoration, ain’t it? In words of the leading brand designer, Lindon Leader: “ A great design is born out of two things, simplicity and clarity.” Let’s leave it at that. My most favorite queries would be concerning the use of images. I once had a designer question me that her meeting theme was “Time to take off” and she would like to use the image of an airplane in the design. How else could she depict this theme? Sounds legit? My answer was, “When a prospective member sees this design, what impression would he get? Are we discussing airplanes in this meeting? Are we travel advisors?” We are Toastmasters and we focus on communication and leadership.

I can name numerous VPPRs who have surpassed their creative boundaries and

Our meetings are all about public speaking and empowering individuals through

have designed such marvelous PR materials staying under the umbrella of Toastmasters brand. Kudos to each one of them! The

personal and professional growth. We need to create that very impression with each and every design of ours and nothing else. That’s the Brand promise.

District PR team this year has gone 100% brand compliant thanks to the diligent efforts of our PRM, DTM Allen Paul and each PR team member to understand and uphold the brand identity. What more, we have nonchalantly and consistently advised each club to make their designs inline with the Brand. It’s time to challenge yourself by capturing the essence of Toastmasters, by invoking your creativity and sticking to the brand. Everything you design, look at it again. This time as a person unaware of Toastmasters and ask yourself, “ Is this what Toastmasters is? Is this what you have for her in store?” If the answer is yes, go for it! 16

SOCIAL MEDIA TEAM

SOCIAL MEDIA TEAM WRITER

The Road Taken FARIAH FARIAH FATIMA, FATIMA, TM TM

WRITER WRITER

As you move through life, there are some paths that you cross out of compulsion, there is no other way around it. You have to, so you will. On the other hand, there are those that you go through just due to your sheer passion and love. You go through them to quench your artistic or creative

Being part of the District 20 PR team was one such path that I chose to take. It was something that was offered to me on a silver platter by none other than the DPRM DTM Allen Paul. He offered to appoint me as the writer for the team. Since I always had that itch to write but was never able to get down to it, when this opportunity arose, I didn’t hesitate to accept it. The other reason for accepting this challenge was of course, DTM Allen. This is one relationship I cherish the most from the Toastmasters family and if a brother like him asks me to do something for him, there was no way I would have said no. Being part of the PR team has been a once in a lifetime kind of experience this year. The team was a trove of extremely talented members that there was no way I would have returned empty handed. My learning curve kept going up throughout the year.

thirst. You do it voluntarily and not due to any obligation or coercion. These are the paths that truly help you to see your true self and worth.

Fariah is able to paint a picture with her words I express my thoughts to her, and she crafts them into a beautiful writeup If I were to write a book, I would ask Fariah to write it for me

To be honest though, as compared to all the work done by the District PR team, I felt my tasks were the easiest. Everything done by the entire team the entire year has been incredible and an eye opener for me. Apart from my own tasks of writing the writeups for important events and posters, I was privy to the internal workings of the PR team. The creative bursts of ideas and their implementations was like watching a roller coaster ride. It was full of excitement, with highs and lows, some thrills and lulls but never a moment that I felt was a waste of time. Apart from the PR team, I would say I was one of the first few fortunate people who had 1st class seats to peep into the windows of many of the great Toastmasters of our district. This opportunity came by when we were preparing to publish our newsletters. All articles submitted by all members went through me for proofreading and this gave me an opportunity that very few people get. I may or may not have read each and every article of the newsletter if I were just another Toastmaster. But being part of this team, my task as a proofreader gave me this exclusive chance to read every precious word written by amazing Toastmasters and my knowledge about it expanded exponentially. As a person who aspires to be a writer someday, seeing the title of “Writer” in the posters of the PR team next to my picture has brought me immense happiness. Even though this might seem like a tiny step in that direction, it is a step. How many can boast that they have been a writer? My thoughts can be clearly summarized by Robert Frost’s last lines from the poem “The Road Not Taken”- I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less travelled by, And that has made all the difference.

SOCIAL MEDIA TEAM

SOCIAL MEDIA TEAM SOCIAL MEDIA

It was a very great year working with you Allen, our PR manager and it was a successful year. We had a very hardworking and perfect team. The team was almost like a second family for me.

ALAA ALATEEQI, ALATEEQI, ALAA TM TM

MEDIA COORDINATOR COORDINATOR MEDIA

We shared everything together. We shared our happiness; we shared our birthday wishes and everything about our life just as you would with your own family. Everybody helped everyone. Even if I was

They were very hardworking and understood each other. We laughed together. We cried together, we shared

not able to complete a task before the deadline, I always had someone who would follow up with me and completed

everything together. I think I wouldn’t have found anything better than this. It was a very

the work instead of me.

happy year for me, and everyone was always very understanding. I faced no problems.

So, I loved working with the PR group of the year 2021-2022 and I'm thankful to

I am thankful to all the members, and I am so happy that I was chosen to be a part of this team. You were always there for me and

have this special team in District 20. In my

have helped me in difficult situations and understood me. Even if I tried to escape a few times, you have been always there for me to keep me strong.

opinion, in the 4 years that I have been in Toastmasters, I haven’t seen any PR group like the one we had this year. It's a very successful and a helpful group and I'm grateful to all its members.

Thank you very much.

TECHNICAL HEAD It’s all about Teamwork VISHAL EDWARD EDWARD KHAN, KHAN, VISHAL TM TM TECHNICAL HEAD HEAD TECHNICAL

District Toastmasters Annual Conference (DTAC) is the biggest event of any District in Toastmasters International. District 20 Annual Toastmasters Conference 2022-2023 which was organized for 9 consecutive days. It is the culmination of our efforts and preparation as contestant and role players. I would like to thank the District 20 Trio for their trust and giving me this opportunity to serve this district. My journey during this DTAC has been an opportunity to learn and motivate. As the DTAC Chair my primary objective was to conduct a well-organized conference, along with educational sessions that will enhance the experience for every participant. Secondly, use DTAC as a medium to increase awareness of Toastmasters and its benefit in our society. Achieving these was only possible because of the excellent coordination within our team, support from the District 20 Leaders and the encouragement from all Toastmasters Members.

The most valuable learning which has reinforced my belief during this journey is so genuinely said in the quote be Hellen Keller "Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much." 20

IT TEAM

TECHNICAL CONSULTANT Inspiration We all desire to be a successful leader in our lives and thus we make continuous efforts for the same. When I joined Toastmaster, I had no idea if it would help me in my life. In the first one year in Toastmastering, I came

PRABODHA, PRABODHA, TM TM

TECHNICAL TECHNICAL CONSULTANT CONSULTANT

across many positive and also negative people.

There are people who are continuously providing support to their own clubs ever since they found it, also, supporting many clubs and members, but, at the same time there are people who are simply running behind the distinguished certificate, and once they get it, they are simply silent afterwards. I have always been inspired by the positive people, and to explore myself and test my strength I took up various leadership roles. To my surprise, after 4 and half years, I found myself in another sphere. I couldn't believe the changes in me- no fear to speak out in front of any kind of audience and no fear to take leadership roles. Inspiration is something that energizes us in the path of success. It motivates us and helps us in doing our best. Everybody has someone in their life that is the greatest inspiration for them.

In my life, one more person added, who is a veteran Toastmaster called Dr. Babu Ramachandran. His characteristics and outstanding qualities inspired me to follow his path. Inspiration helps in enhancing our creativity that makes us different from others. It inculcates motivation in us that keeps us reminding about our aim in life. As I come across a lot of positive and negative people in my personal, professional and toastmaster's life, I myself being a positive thinker, I always go with the positivity. Positive people will inspire you with their positive thinking. They will always guide you in your personal or professional life. Here, toastmaster’s environment is full of positivity, if we keep aside those very few negative energies in the corner. In conclusion, I learnt the lesson that we too always inspire others, create positive atmosphere in our surroundings that not only help us to grow, but also helps the entire community to grow with us. Keep inspiring to bring light into our dark lives.

REWARDS TEAM

REWARDS TEAM REWARDS MANAGER

The year 2021-2022 was an eventful one for the PR team under the leadership of DPRM DTM Allen Paul. Being part of such a dynamic team was not only a rewarding and learning experience but also fun, truly

JUNE SOARES, SOARES, JUNE TM TM

REWARDS MANAGER MANAGER REWARDS

living up to the words of Dr Ralph Smedley, the founder of Toastmasters. “We learn best in moments of enjoyment.” The rewards team with its enthusiastic team members had a challenging yet exciting year, right from brainstorming ideas to execution to announcing the winners at DTAC! This year District 20 had an array of awards ranging from Member Level, Club Level to Open for All (Club, Area, Division) Level. We also had a diverse international panel of judges consisting of past and present DPRMs and experienced Toastmasters excelling in Public Relations. Our team’s main goal was to encourage maximum participation from our members. To help us achieve this we had a total of 20 awards allowing members to explore their creativity alongside promoting Toastmasters to a wider audience on social media platforms.

ASHA ASHA RANI, RANI, TM TM

REWARDS REWARDS ANALYST ANALYST

All members, clubs, areas and divisions of District 20 were welcome to participate. We included some unique awards this year across all levels. The PR Team Spirit Award, was initiated to encourage all clubs to have a PR Team working and collaborating together. The Brand Compliant Award; The purpose of this award was to encourage all clubs to follow the branding guidelines set by Toastmasters International. We had 8 clubs winning this award. This year we had more than 140 winners across all three levels. We received submissions from 21 clubs and many members throughout the year. We would like to thank all members, VPPRs and PR Teams for all their dedication and hard work. Congratulations to all the welldeserved winners! AREEJ JAAFAR, DTM

PRIYADARSHAN PRIYADARSHAN

SAIRAM SAIRAM SMS, SMS,

REWARDS REWARDS ANALYST ANALYST

TM TM

REWARDS ANALYST My Journey as a PR Team Member

PRIYADARSHAN, PRIYADARSHAN, TM TM

REWARDS REWARDS ANALYST ANALYST

I believe Toastmasters is a Platform where there is an endless scope to learn, to evolve, and all you need to do is to challenge yourself. As a part of PR Member for 2021-2022, I was very hesitant to take up the role, but I would like to thank my Mentor DTM Allen Paul and TM Sairam in persuading me and I am really glad, I took up the

During my journey as a PR Member, I have not just learned new things, I was also encouraged to teach others by which my anxiety stigma and social complexness has gone away. Knowledge Transfer is one of the Core parts of Toastmasters Journey. If I see back, what I have been able to achieve today is something which I hadn't even dreamt about back in time, and yet, here I am today. Thanks to my Mentor for pushing me and giving me all the challenges which helped to evolve myself. Toastmasters Journey is not just about speaking skills, instead, there is a lot more. All you need to do is Challenge yourself.

role.

REWARDS TEAM

DISTRICT LOGISTICS MANAGER

MESSAGE FROM DISTRICT LOGISTICS MANAGER

YASSER AL QASHAR, DTM Respected leaders of district 20. As always, I believe the leader is one who "LEARN WITH ENJOYMENT, SHARE WITH PASSION & LEAD BY EXAMPLE”. It was my pleasure to serve District 20 as District logistic manager for the term 20212022. First, I would like to thank and appreciate the District Director DTM Alifiya Lakdawala for appointing me for this position and all the support given to me along with her time. I learned a lot from this experience, and it has added a lot to my journey in Toastmasters. My main role and responsibility were all the logistic work related to district events. Arrangement of good accommodation for District leaders pertaining to the above meetings with food and transfers. Build a contact database of prequalified venues for district events. Moderate District online/hybrid meetings and arrange Timers. 25

All these jobs were carried out with the help of my amazing team who supported me to complete all the work assigned to me. I would like to take this opportunity to thank my teams for their continuous support. 1234-

TM Alwin Sevi TM Diasy Paburian TM Evangeline Mooc TM Xavier Yesudas

Also, my Special Appreciation to our , Program Quality Director DTM Khalid Abdulla and Club Growth Director DTM Khalid Jalal, for all the support. My humble thanks to all the district officers for a great year who worked as a team to help our district.

DISTRICT 20 ADMIN MANAGER

MESSAGE FROM OUR HEAD OF ARABIC CLUB AFFAIRS

YUNUS ABDULAAL, DTM Leadership Means Giving During this term, as the Head of Arab Club Affairs, and through my continuous communication with the Arab club presidents in District 20, I witnessed their continuous giving and outstanding service as they took the initiative to attend all workshops that had been coordinated with the District 20 office. They also organized several events and training workshops that were offered to them. This confirms that we are committed to achieve our goal at Toastmasters International. This means that Leadership is simply a process of giving and continuing to give. With regards to giving, the first thing that comes to mind is financial gift or material gift. But, in Toastmasters, it is completely different. In fact, we give gifts that have no financial value but are priceless. It means, basically, to give people opportunities, to believe that they are able to accomplish the established goals, and to trust them to do so. It also means to take action to make them willingly achieve these goals.

The main goals set by the Committee of Arab Club Affairs are to give people an opportunity to innovate and shine in public speaking and leadership, to allow them to learn, and to give them the required information to carry out the task entrusted to them. In other words, this means "giving with passion", which is the trait that we, as leaders, seek to have. In conclusion, I would like to thank those who gave me the opportunity to learn a new leadership skill, like DTM Alifiya Lakdawala, District 20 Director, and special thanks to my brilliant team including DTM Sahar al-Wardaji, TM Amna Al-Mail, TM Ahmed Al-Enezi, DTM Nashwa Nagy, and TM Zuhair Mirza, who contributed towards accomplishing all the goals set by Arab club affairs. They followed what Albert Camus said, “Real generosity toward the future lies in giving all to the present”. As leaders, we should not over-focus on future achievements and ignore those who contributed to make past achievements, as we should support each other in order to make Toastmasters International Organization a good example to follow. 26

DISTRICT TRANSLATOR

MESSAGE FROM DISTRICT TRANSLATOR

ASMAA AL ENEZI, TM THE MORNINGS OF TOASTMASTERS Every day, the morning breaks its light, reflects its form through the window, and lays soft upon everything around. Ah! How eyes dance watching its grace! And how its form lays gently in tenderness! It moves and stretches its glow everywhere to make the world a bright and beautiful place.

These mornings are not for lights flash and tell. They easily become my guide to the

This is exactly the light I keep watching in toastmasters’ platform where its grace wraps my heart and kisses my soul. It reaches out and touches every fine curve within. I feel its warmth there upon my hungering mind to extend its fresh sweet blessings upon my life.

At toastmasters’ platform, there is a journey I take beyond expectations that I embrace, where I project inward faith. There is a path I tread between myself and that inner me, where everything seeks a way. That is the way where I thrive to craft my being to be anew upon every membrane of my soul.

change. I rise seeing clearly who I am, understanding the depths of every fine line inside. Every step in my toastmasters’ journey acknowledged upon my past endeavors. It helps me walk boldly forth.

My vision opens like a beautiful rose. Toastmasters’ fresh breeze gently crosses my soul. And my smile brightly shines of this visionary delight. Ah! How sweet and warm these mornings of toastmasters! 27

At that platform, there are possibilities that flood between reasons, where a cheerful light shines to guide my wayward self out across the world wherein we live to make a difference. Its here in this platform where I can exceed my horizons and pen my own story. In toastmasters, we are but a novel. Each chapter is a story of what rests deep within. And no matter the outcome where our tale runs its course, we scribe our own reality upon the pages of change we thrive. We craft how we want to be addressed. As toastmasters, we are the heroes within our own story dressed to be the leader that we want to follow. It is a journey that we partake upon the depth of our souls. It is a journey that we trace to be the full moon of change that we want to see in the world. In my humble words here I do address everyone in this world. There is a common bond there to impress, the delicate need to the seed that bears within us all, that needs to grow. Here, within our minds and souls, the best love that we can find is to share our promised dream, that goal that ever haunts us to an ideal. That we can be finally set free to be man to man, hand to hand, building the promised tomorrow for us and our next generations.

DISTRICT 20 ADMIN MANAGER

MESSAGE FROM OUR WEBMASTER

FAISAL JAMEEL, TM THE NEW ME Especially by fulfilling the branding guidelines criterion. Additionally, it was a collective effort with the help, guidance, and putting ideas together from the District Office and members' suggestions to be live on World Wide Web.

Toastmasters is the home of learning, opportunities, transformation, new ideas, sharing knowledge, and lifelong growth. It is my great pleasure as District Webmaster for the term 2021-2022 to share my experience with District-20 esteemed members through the district’s newsletter. Most of the Toastmasters' journey starts with Table Topics as a guest and with an Icebreaker speech as a member. I joined Toastmasters back in October 2017 and started my journey as a Vice President of Public Relations. Exciting, isn’t it? That’s the beauty of this amazing family where you challenge yourself with opportunities. Hence, before starting the current term I was offered this astonishing service opportunity, that I accepted wholeheartedly, which was to be the custodian of District Website.

Our District website is a class by itself. It comprises 40+ web pages covering basics to detailed information about Toastmasters to encourage visitors to be the guest at one of the clubs, District Trio messages, District Excom leaders area, list of Clubs and their details, PQD awards, CGD awards, PRM awards, District Media (Workshops, Training Videos and Newsletter), District Business (Call for Nominations, Candidate Corner and District Realignment), TI Resources, Information about Online meetings, Social Media handles, FAQs, and Contact us page make a complete package to spread the word globally through our webpages.

As a curator of the District Website, I know clicking on any web link or typing through the browser to see the front-end of a landing page looks simple but the backend of any website requires a thorough knowledge about the complete ideology & philosophy to meet the requirements.

I am delighted to share that we all must be proud to have a great asset of District 20 in the form of a comprehensive Website. Nevertheless, the baton would be handed over shortly as this term will end but the journey of learning and sharing will continue. 29

Today, the New Me is more confident because of the great learning opportunity to serve as a Webmaster. I encourage everyone reading this article, never drop an opportunity. It’s okay to start small while thinking big. Last but not least, I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to District Director DTM. Alifiya Lakdawala, District PQD DTM. Khalid Abdulla, District CGD DTM Khalid Jalal, District PRM DTM Allen Paul, TM Abdul Waheed, and all those members who contributed to updating the website with their vivid ideas. Kindly give it a try if you haven’t visited yet our District 20 Website. Click on the link or copy & paste it into the browser www.district20toastmasters.org Please do not hesitate to share your suggestions and feedback at: Faisal Jameel, DTM Email: itsfaisaljameel@gmail.com Contact: +965-6636 9768

DISTRICT 20 OFFICE

MEET OUR OFFICE DISTRICT 20 OFFICE

ALIFIYA LAKDAWALA

KHALID ABDULLAH DTM PROGRAM QUALITY DIRECTOR

DTM DISTRICT DIRECTOR

KHALID JALAL DTM CLUB GROWTH DIRECTOR

MOHAMED SALEEM ALLEN PAUL

DTM PUBLIC RELATIONS MANAGER

SHABBIR KUTBUDDIN BIJI GITTENS

TM ADMIN MANAGER

TM FINANCE MANAGER

DTM IMMEDIATE PAST DISTRICT DIRECTOR

YUNUS ABDULAAL

YASSER AL QASHAR TM LOGISTICS MANAGER

ASMAA AL ENEZI

FAISAL JAMEEL TM WEBMASTER

TM OFFICIAL TRANSLATOR

DTM HEAD OF ARABIC CLUB AFFAIRS

MARKETING EVENTS Under the leadership of DD Alifiya Lakdawala and CGD Khalid Jalal and in collaboration with the district PR team, this year we organized various events by the District to promote Toastmasters. Our District Open House featured the famous Kuwaiti Singer- Mubarak Al Rashed and popular RJ from Bahrain RJ Mirchi Juhi. "Your Growth in Toastmasters" is another series of marketing events that were planned this year to bring together different professionals from various fields and understand what they look for in a candidate. In this pandemic with many loosing their jobs, this initiative by District 20 was to learn how to Ace your job interview, understand their perspective and write a Professional CV. In our first event we were able to hear from Top professionals in the HR field, in the upcoming events we will be bringing from various other fields - IT, Finance, and so on. This event also had a meetup of Club Growth Directors for other Districts to discuss about the current Membership as well as various strategies to succeed.

Follow our social media to find out more.

MARKETING EVENTS

DISTRICT 20

MARKETING EVENTS

ADVANCE

During these challenging times where many lost their jobs, District 20 presented a life changing opportunity with experienced professionals in the HR, IT, Health, Safety and Environment industry to help our members with their professional career.

YOUR

CAREER

CONNECT CONNECT TO TO IMPACT IMPACT

Int. Award-winning and "Accredited Speaker" Safety Expert and Consultant

Founder of Createit Director of Bahrain Writers Circle Founded ‘Ignite the Speaker in You’

LEARN TO TAP INTO OPPORTUNITIES & GROWTH

Entrepreneur Managing Director

SUCCESS SUCCESS SECRETS SECRETS

THE THE ART ART OF OF COMMUNICATION COMMUNICATION

FOR SAFETY SPEAKERS

IS THE LANGUAGE OF LEADERSHIP

Webinar Featuring Keynote Speakers

at ThinkSmart

RAISING

ESSENTIAL

SKILLS TO SUCCEED AT INTERVIEWS

TO ENHANCE YOUR IT CAREER

SOFT SKILLS

YOUR YOUR BAR BAR

Solutions Engineer at VisionRT, UK D20 Public Relations Manager.

Group Manager Al-Sayer, Kuwait

Programme Coordinator at The University of Strathclyde TEDx Speaker Past District 20 Director

EXCEL AT LEADING PROJECTS

Certified Associate Trainer from ISTD-USA Technical Analyst

General Manager

WORK FROM HOME

LEVEL UP YOUR

TO MAKE YOU SUCCESSFUL

AND HUNT JOBS LIKE A PRO!

TIPS

RESUME

PQD EVENTS This year under the leadership of PQD Khalid Abdullah, DTM, the District organized various events starting with the Club Officer Training. These PQD events were hosted by the Division Directors of District 20. This was followed by New Member Orientation Program for new members to know about Toastmasters, its various leaders as well as some terminologies used within Toastmasters. This was conducted once again in the month of December. We had the Speech contest training that included Judges, Chief Judge, contestants and role players before the Contest season in order to have quality contests in the District. Other workshops to improve the quality of our clubs included the Parliamentary Procedures workshop, Pathways workshop, AD Election workshop, 'call for Action' as well as workshops like 'crafting a great speech' by inviting World Champion finalist speakers like Aditya Maheswaran.

PROGRAM QUALITY EVENTS

DISTRICT 20

PQD EVENTS

DISTRICT 20

PQD EVENTS

DISTRICT 20

PQD EVENTS

DISTRICT 20

PQD EVENTS

DISTRICT 20

PQD EVENTS

CGD EVENTS This year under the leadership of CGD Khalid Jalal, DTM, the District organized various events to promote Toastmasters, attract new members as well as retain our existing members. Our District Open House featured famous Kuwaiti Singer Mubarak Al Rashed and popular RJ from Bahrain RJ Mirchi Juhi. Apart from organizing workshops on Club and Membership growth, Team CGD lead by CGD Khalid Jalal organized a Cricket Tournament as well as many other activities to go out to the public and promote Toastmasters. These unique ideas were unlike anything we have ever done before. Speaking about unique events, CGD Khalid conducted a LinkedIn workshop where he revealed his secrets of attracting more than 100+ members to our District as well as chartering a lot of clubs. The attending audience found it to be very valuable especially since they were able to implement some of the techniques to help attract members.

CLUB GROWTH EVENTS

DISTRICT 20

CGD EVENTS

DISTRICT 20

CGD EVENTS

DISTRICT 20

CGD EVENTS

World Diabetes Day with Doctors / Medical Fraternity from American Mission Hospital, Toastmasters International with Lions Club, Bahrain

With CEO of Corporate Club (ACME)

Montserrat Montserrat Thin Montserrat Extra-Light Montserrat Classic Montserrat Semi-Bold Montserrat Extra-Bold

Source Sans Pro Source Sans Pro Light Source Sans Pro Semi-Bold Source Sans Pro Bold Source Sans Pro Black

Gotham Gotham Book Gotham Thin Gotham Light Gotham Medium Gotham Ultra

Myriad Pro Myriad Pro Light Myriad Pro Semi-Bold Myriad Pro Bold Myriad Pro Black

VICE PRESIDENT PUBLIC RELATIONS

DISTRICT 20 Have an exclusive read through the experiences of the VPPRs of District 20

VPPRS OF D20

PAST DISTRICT 20 PR MANAGER VP PR YOUNG ADULTS TOASTMASTERS CLUB

Mahatma Gandhi once said, “Be the change you wish to see in the world” and that is how my mission in Toastmasters branding came to life.

TM MARAM AL ARADI

They say the first step is always the hardest and, in our case, it is to understand why Branding is important. To ensure Toastmasters is known by all the people around you and the world, it must be recognized on the spot. Toastmasters does not belong to one individual or a club but the whole world and we must understand the branding guidelines set forth in the Brand Manual and follow them. Of course, online workshops and tutorials through District 20 YouTube channel are always available for first-timers or those who need to refresh their branding knowledge. Trust me when I say, it is not that difficult at all and anyone can tackle the role of a PR officer. Here are some of my personal insights on how to make your promotional materials in your club stand out: 1. Club Meeting Photos: ensures your posters are always personalized and reflects the happy and positive meeting environment your club possess which will attract guests. Otherwise, Toastmasters International offers high quality meeting photos which you can find Here! 2. Variety and Diversity: your social media page should not only contain meeting materials, but you can make it energetic by adding members’ educational achievements, members quotes, birthday wishes, testimonials, media feature in TV, or newspapers, etc. 3. Hashtags: learn what trending hashtags are there to get more coverage through your social platforms. I personally use an App called “Hashtag Expert” which generates trending hashtags about a specific topic such as “Father’s Day” or “Empowerment”. 45

4. Boosting: expands your social platform followers by reaching new people can always be helpful. Your budget should depend on the Club’s treasury but even USD 5.00 will make a difference. The only thing you need to do is to select the right poster to boost which should promote your club’s energy, environment, and members. Something simple yet powerful – not too detailed –, just enough to get people hooked. Perhaps, an attractive catchphrase like “Want a Promotion?” or “Be the Next BIG THING!”. 5. Consistency: Fully complying with the Brand Manual and its guidelines makes identifying your posters easy. I strongly recommend following these guidelines regardless of what other clubs or other districts or even Toastmasters International themselves on their website or magazine are doing. You can be the reason to inspire others to change their incompliance to compliance and paving the way for the clubs in your area or your fellow PR officers to do the same. Remember! Toastmasters International is not just an organization, it is a family and we as PR officers must protect our family. Our responsibility is to preserve the Toastmasters Brand, protect its copyright and infuse the sense of pride in belonging to a worldwide organization that has helped millions of people with diverse backgrounds, experiences, and ethnicities. “BE THE CHANGE TO LEAD THE CHANGE”.

VPPRS OF D20

VP PUBLIC RELATIONS ANGELS TOASTMASTERS CLUB

From No Where to Now Here

TM NEYAS FATHIMA

When there is no door for opportunity to knock, we have to build a door. One such door, I chose 2 years ago was joining Toastmasters. Indeed, It has numerous opportunities, all we need is Passion to learn, spark to grow and commitment to work.

My expectations to join Toastmasters was to improve my communication skills, to boost my confidence and to find a way to revive my career. I never knew I was going to reinvent myself and discover the skills within me. Taking up leadership roles in Area and Division Speech contests gave me an opportunity to exhibit my IT and PR skills. It also increased my visibility beyond my club. Angels Toastmasters Club has already set a benchmark in creating leaders, Champion speakers and PRs. Being in the ExCom as a VPPR was really a challenge for me. I had to keep up the expectations. Our club already had 2 social media accounts on Facebook and Instagram. We informed our members and general audience about our club activities by designing flyers, creating videos, newsletter, spotlighting and celebrating our members milestones and accolades. Other than managing social media, PR campaigns were developed to broaden the network in existing accounts and also creating awareness on other social media platforms.

2021-22

One such good choice is Stepping foot on LinkedIn platform. The mission of our club is to empower women in personal and professional growth. I believe LinkedIn will play a vital role to envision our mission. By publishing our members achievements and milestones on LinkedIn, it surely will pave the way for our talented members to connect with likeminded people to flourish their career. Another challenge, we VPPRs faced (I believe, most of the VPPRs will agree with me ), was applying for monthly PR awards. Our District 20 PR Team has announced many awards in different categories to appreciate the hard work of all the PRs. Applying for these awards needed strategic planning and time. We never disappointed our club to bag the PR awards whenever nominated. We are humbled to receive the awards in most of the categories. It's a great feeling to be acknowledged and appreciated for the efforts we have put in. Personally, the transition I had in my 2 years of toastmasters journey has been tremendous. From a person who could hardly give an introduction, to a person with a good profile with lots of learning and experience. We never know what destiny has in store for us. Until then, Believe in yourself, set your goal higher, develop your skills, work diligently towards it and when the opportunity knocks, be ready to grab it. Believe it, The distance to chase the dream isn’t very far. -TM Neyas Fathima, VPPR, Angels Toastmasters Club

VPPRS OF D20

VPPR KUWAIT CHALLENGERS TOASTMASTERS

Two Things Happened

DTM PRISCILLA DIAS

Election Chair: Secretary, kindly cast a single vote on behalf of Kuwait Challengers club for Vice President Public Relations, Priscilla Dias, DTM. Me: Yeah!!! Finally, I am the VPPR of my club. I waited long and while waiting I groomed myself for the role. So, what exactly is my role as VPPR??? As VPPR I must build and keep a positive image of my club in the eyes of the public.

And how did I do that? Simple!!! Follow the guidelines of Toastmasters International listed at www.toastmaster.org. It is that easy. Everything on how to perform your role as VPPR is listed in the Club Leadership Handbook 1310. Pages 30 to 34 (if you don’t want to go through the entire handbook) and browsing through pages 17 to 21 will help you create your own (minimum) calendar for the year (you can always be more creative). Look for number 4 in blue, that is where your responsibility lies. For myself, I got to work even before my term and thought the best way to expose my toastmasters club to the public was to expose its products, I mean its MEMBERS, so I requested members to send me their experiences being toastmasters and how it had helped them. Now, we toastmasters love to exaggerate and so I had members of our club pour in their experiences. All it took me was to create a template labelled “Member Spotlight” and place a member in the spotlight with their accomplishments each month then post it on our club social media (Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn).

Two things happened. 1. Our members reminisced their journey in toastmasters; and they were motivated. 2. Our followers on social media got to know the benefits of Toastmasters. Motivated by the President of our club, I plunged into creating a YouTube video featuring our Champion member through the Public Speaking series, giving an insight into how Toastmasters enhances public speaking skills. With the support of our club members, we are creating more such video series to build the image of our club. Two things happened. 1. Our Champion member shared her experiences and motivated our You-Tube subscribers to join our toastmasters club to learn public speaking skills. 2. Though challenging, I learnt how to create, edit and upload videos to our You-Tube Channel. The very essence of the role of the VPPR is to create interesting, interpreting and inviting communication that will captivate the curiosity of the public, to learn more about toastmasters. This was the best thing to happen to me. I got creative with every poster I made for our club, in line with the theme or event, and most importantly in line with the Branding Guidelines of Toastmasters International, all well tucked in their Brand Portal link on their website, for our learning and application.

This role also came with immense support from the district 20 PR team and fellow VPPR’s in the district. It was a learning experience creating posters, posting them on District 20 VPPR WhatsApp group, taking feedback and areas of improvement and applying them to the posters to create Brand Compliant promotional material, which enhanced the image of Toastmasters International and of course the image of our club. Not forgetting the workshops and awards hosted by District 20 PR Team which not only educated VPPRs but also encouraged us to perform our role beyond our capabilities.

Two things happened: 1. I learnt a new skill, creating Brand Compliant posters using Canva for PR activity, and thus being awarded one of the Brand Champion for this term. 2. Toastmasters around the globe and the public were made aware of our club activities, meetings, member profiles, contest, contest winners, and everything in between. Leaving no stone unturned, our club made it to the newspapers on its 20th anniversary with an article showcasing the birth, high notes, struggles and achievements of the club and its members. To maximize the outcome of that advertisement in the newspaper, club members blew their trumpets about the leadership skills they had developed at toastmasters which made for enticing communication through posters on our social media.

Two things happened: 1. Once again members and the club were exposed to the public on a large scale. 2. Our club had 2 guest, prospect members, joining our 20th Anniversary meeting.

To sum it up the VPPR role is the most interesting and colorful one, though Toastmasters International has only 6 colors as its brand colors, getting creative is all up to you and your club members. I appreciate the support and enthusiasm I received from my club members. Performing this vital role in promoting our club and Toastmasters International has helped me develop communication, leadership, designing, podcast hosting and public relations skills. Given the opportunity I would love to assume the VPPR role once again to brush upon the areas I did not touch upon, and that I believe will take me to a whole new level in Public Relations. Thinking of taking up the VPPR position in your club. Two things will happen: 1. You will learn numerous new skills. 2. You will take pride in promoting your club and Toastmasters International. Priscilla Dias, DTM VPPR Kuwait Challengers Club Club #2865, Area 22, Div. F, District 20.

VPPRS OF D20

VPPR LEADING LADIES TOASTMASTERS

TM MAIMUNA PANKHAWALA

If someone offers you an amazing opportunity & you are unsure about it, believe in yourself and say thatyou can do it. Instead of being afraid of the unknown, believe in yourself and conquer that unknown. Say Yes and embrace the opportunity with open arms and learn how to do it later. Saying yes is your first step towards success.

My very first meeting at the Leading Ladies Toastmasters club was actually my very first meeting as well that I had participated in. It was all very new to me. During the role player distribution, DTM Kaneez asked me if I wanted to take the role of VPPR. Not knowing what it actually meant, with a bit of hesitation, I accepted and said yes. Slowly and gradually, I started learning about the duties and responsibilities that a VPPR is entrusted with. One such inclusion was how to create meaningful posters and flyers that impart valuable information to the audience at large. I had no idea before my joining Toastmasters on how to create any of these but through the various club officers’ sessions in many meetings I was able to learn about Canva ‐ an app used to design flyers and posters. At home when my husband saw my zestful approach, he encouraged me to learn and design such posters and flyers in a much better way using Adobe Illustrator which is a programme that most professionals work in to create attractive artworks.

Another Major responsibility of mine as VPPR was to make sure that we are able to reach a large audience with the information and this is when I truly understood the power of social media. To support me with the same I had my wonderful club members DTM Tabassum and TM Laxmi who helped me overcome my inexperience related to these platforms. This is how I was introduced to the actual power of Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn and still many others remain untapped by me. My main aim for joining the Toastmasters club was primarily to improve my communication skills but it helped me towards my overall development as a confident individual. I ended up exploring a hidden talent in me – creating designs in the form of flyers and posters. With this newly accquired talent of mine, I got an opportunity to work with the PQD team and as PR of Div F contest & PR of Speech Craft. Currently, I am working as a part of D20PR team. None of this would’ve happened if back then I had not decided to grab the opportunity of being a VPPR of Leading Ladies Toastmasters Club. Moral of the story here is- when an opportunity is made available to you, don’t let go of it and make the most of what you’ve been provided and you will definitely be surprised at the positive outcome and the way it leads you to.

VPPRS OF D20

VP PUBLIC RELATIONS C2A TOASTMASTERS CLUB

Wonderstruck

TM VARUNICA KASINATH

I looked back in “amazement”, the journey I had travelled with the C2A Toastmasters since I joined 3 years ago. Well, indeed it has been an astounding transformation for me from a ‘shy girl’ who shivered with stage fear to a competent and confident toastmaster competing with other seasoned veterans in the District 20 Annual Conference 2022! It has also been a terrific transformation of a girl terrified to face public to rise to perform as Vice President – Public Relations for the club!

My work as VP-PR has enriched my knowledge and taught me new skills. The district workshops provided me the canvas for learning poster design through ‘CANVA’ software. I profusely used this skill to effectively share the club’s promotional content and leverage on the power of social media. Of course, It has been challenging not to get tempted to use a wide variety of flashy colours while creating the posters, but to stay disciplined with the TMI colours. But this disciplined approach has helped me comply with the unique TMI brand and create captivating posters with relative ease.I am pleased that my work helped motivate fellow toastmasters in their paths. Not only the VP-PR journey helped me learn new skills but also provided ample scope for honing them and to win district PR awards! All this was possible only with the cheerful cooperation, help and support from my fellow executive officers led by President TM Anjali Gupta, my club members, and District 20 toastmasters. I am still basking in amazement. Total transformation of anyone is possible in Toastmasters!

Fun with Puns

TM ARUN KOTWANI

At times if you find it difficult to be funny, try to be pun-ny. When used judiciously, puns can punch up your language and flavor your speeches with witty wordplay. A pun can be called a 'play of words' or a 'game of words' that are similar in spelling, sound or meaning to make their listener laugh whereas jokes are narrative structures intended to create humor and laughter.

However be cognizant that audience sense of cleverness and intelligence plays an important part if they will understand the pun joke or not. Here's some different types of punch lines - your level of intelligence will determine if it will make your belly hurt or just want to call it a dull moment: Reading while sunbathing makes you well-red Every calendar's days are numbered Jungle animals are very fair. Cheetahs are always spotted She had a photographic memory but never developed it The best way to communicate with a fish is to drop them a line It's no fun telling jokes to cattle, they've herd it all Do you want to Ketchup? A pessimist blood type is always B-negative An elephant opinion carries a lot of weight I used to disapprove of organ transplants, but now I've had a change of heart If you don't C sharp before crossing the street, you'll B flat Don't annoy a pediatrician. They have little patients The road to success is always under construction It is pointless to write with a broken pencil. The next time you give a humorous speech display your brain power with a well placed pun or two. You might be convinced that at times "The pun is mightier than the sword"

VPPRS OF D20

VP PUBLIC RELATIONS ICAB TOASTMASTERS CLUB

VPPRS OF D20

VP PUBLIC RELATIONS SIMS TOASTMASTERS CLUB

A Journey of Vice President Public Relations In A Nutshell.

TM KHULOUD NAVEED

This is Khuloud Naveed, The Current Vice president of SIMS Toastmasters Club. I have been a Toastmaster since November 2020. I grew up watching Public Speaking videos and always dreamt of being a public speaker. Being a toastmaster was a dream come true for me. Toastmasters not only made me a speaker but I have experienced and learned a lot of things as a by-product.

This Platform not only helps you enhance your public speaking skills but also helps you in your overall growth. Practicing different roles like Grammarian, Ah-counter, Evaluator, table topics, each and every role is a new opportunity towards growth. In the term 2021-2022, I had the opportunity to become a Vice President of Public Relations of our club. It was a wonderful journey with toppings of a rollercoaster life but the fear of the jump-scares of a roller coaster were overcome by my team being by my side each moment. My team has been my greatest strength in achieving our PR goals. For goals to be achieved we need to have a strategy, together we worked on our strategies which I would like to put a light on.

Our strategy: • To increase the motivation of our members, we worked on the member level awards: we asked our members to post their achievements on their social media platforms. As their success is our success, also Our Club’s purpose is met only if our members are satisfied and keep striving for their personal growth. • We planned our OPEN HOUSE: we encouraged people to join the meeting and since it was online, people could join from all around the globe. We had a maximum of 74 attendees joining. We encouraged our new members the most to boost their morale. This open house was organized by one of our new members Tm Karima. • We focused on promotional videos: this year we focused more upon promoting different events through our club, to highlight a few were: o Mentor vs mentee. o Sims Toastmasters club members promotion video. o Open House Promotion o Our 75th meeting video

The last but not the least DTAC promotion video. (The DTAC promoting video scored first position). • The Posters: My PR team consisted of 5 members, TM Fariah, TM Faiza, TM Karima, TM Rimzan & myself. I got constant support and guidance from my entire team; thus, we were able to publish and post creative posters timely. • Our YLP programs which we conducted in the month of August won the PR award. This program required a lot of poster making and Tm Fariah took the lead for PR for youth leadership program. • For the joint meeting TM Rimzan with his creative and innovative ideas brought accolades to Sims Toastmasters club by getting best joint meeting poster award in the first quarter of the year. • In the second quarter of the year, we again bagged the joint meeting award. Here the credit goes to Tm Faiza. • In total, we bagged Eleven PR awards This Year with the help of our team. Thus, I truly believe team work is the dream work.

MEMBERS OF DISTRICT 20

Read what does it mean to be part of District 20 as a Member from various Members from the District

SS E RR BB E M EEM M M

“It’s the simple things in life that are most extraordinary” -Paulo Coelho Ants don't just leave their “fellow ants" alone when carrying huge objects, they help each other, making it possible for them to achieve their goals. I felt the same here in Toastmasters. We are blessed with such amazing mentors and leaders who continuously support and encourage us to take a lead and help us to be a good speaker and a leader.

The central idea is that when we truly understand that each of our lives is intertwined with so many others, kindness, compassion, and collaboration flow much more naturally. Although we are unique individuals, our lives are part of a dynamic and vibrant larger network. I am very blessed and fortunate to become a part of such an amazing platform which has so many dedicated leaders working together as a District 20 Toastmasters family. I joined Toastmasters, just to polish my public speaking and leadership skills. It’s rightly said, “Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other. “Absolutely, I myself know, how this platform has encouraged and supported me in many ways, each meeting and leadership roles gave me a lot of learning experience and still in the process of learning more. I just got so addicted to the warm and friendly atmosphere of Toastmasters; I just never want to leave toastmasters. Leaders must communicate and facilitate healthy collaboration. As a leader you should never be afraid, always move forward, you have to be willing to take the steps necessary for self-growth even if it scares you. Always go with the choice that scares you the most, because that’s the one that’s going to help you grow. Always remember that sometimes teaming up with others who have more skills than you could build and grow from is always a good step to take. Also when you are with like-minded people, you can learn from them and they can learn from you. You can become who you surround yourself with. Being a toastmaster not only makes you a good speaker and leader but at the same time it makes you explore other things too. Ample of leadership opportunities has encouraged me to grow into an efficient leader in my professional and personal life, it has also motivated me to read more books and observe things differently and very confidently without giving up. There is a saying that you cannot do business tomorrow with the same tools you use today. Commit to continuous improvement by learning new things over time, and for that we are at the best place, Toastmasters – “Where leaders are made.” “Magic is believing in yourself… 60

MEMBERS OF D20

F O

T IC R T IS D

MEMBERS OF D20

F O

SS EERR BB M EEM M M

T IC R T IS D

Tic-tock-two Adult life by and large is consumed at “work”. We start working within two-five years after gaining adulthood. Depending on how we succeeded in our years at school we go on to establish our “careers” working away from 9 AM to 5 PM for the next forty years or so!

We stretch the boundaries because we must “fit-in”, “grow”, “learn” etc…and before we know it, we actively give away another hour or two to our eight hour routine and somewhere it becomes a norm to work for nine-ten hours. Without us realizing, an hour prior and an hour after adds to this “routine”, as we get ready in the morning and unwind in the evening. Depending on where we live, we also transit to and fro from our “routine”. By and large, we spend 54% of our time “working”. An average human spends seven-eight hours sleeping which when added-up is 21 hours gone. If we add other essential activities such as eating, we lose another hour. A whopping 22 hours in a day is already spent and we have not even started with the time that we need to spend with our life partner, kids, parents, friends, our near and dear, our passions, self-development, exercise...it is them and those moments we spend with them or doing them which makes our other 22 hours happen effortlessly in the long run! If our family, near and dear, self-development and passions are not addressed first we will lose both sleep and peace! Yet, in all practicality we only have that much time to allocate to the most important people and things who put our life right on-track. Fellow District20 Toastmasters, let's take a moment and reflect! How can we make those two hours better? How can we improve the two hours that matter for the rest of our day and make our lives more effective? I leave you with the thought… PS: People who run their own business would only work an hour or two longer so that subset of people are covered as well!

SS EERR BB M EEM M M

VIJI KRISHNAN

A pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Dear Toastmasters, It takes sunshine and rain to make a rainbow. Around 2 years back, when I was given the mike to talk about breast cancer awareness, I was at a loss of words. The fear and shyness of public speaking was appalling... so to learn public speaking I joined Toastmasters.

As a child every person dreams of holding a mike and either sing or speak into the mike. I was no different...but the shyness to talk in front of others was always appalling. At every stage I felt at a loss of words and could not communicate my thoughts in a proper fashion. My mind would be racing to tell so many things but I would merely blurt out a "yes, No or thank you" and keep quiet. Finally, I found the light at the end of this dark tunnel of shyness when I came to know about an all Ladies Toastmasters Club that too with a name "Communicate to Achieve" . I could relate to the name as I could not communicate to achieve. I had thought a tutor will be teaching us how to speak. So maybe it was group mentoring. Imagine, a gaggle of geese waiting for instructions from their chief, "Come on team, this is your instructions and flight manual. We are flying tomorrow morning at 6 am. No one asks questions. Meeting over." But I was assigned a mentor. So I wondered...how would he be? A formal mentor.... Would he give me a questionnaire and forms and ask me fill up my educational qualification, analyze my strengths and weaknesses... But instead my mentor walked alongside me to show me what I can do in an extremely interactive manner. And at the toastmasters meeting, when I started giving speeches, I realised something precious when I saw the faces of all of you sitting in front of me in the zoom meetings.... Your eyes encouraged me, eagerly waiting to hear from me. I saw that all of you at C2A wanted me to succeed at my attempt to speak confidently. So indirectly all of you too are my mentors as you give me evaluation and feedback on how I should improve. The fortnightly Toastmasters meetings have built in me confidence to speak up and voice my thoughts. As a first timer, I was very scared to participate but the encouragement given by our VPE and President to every member to participate in contests in an unabashed manner was heart warming. With this Triple Crown Award, I have achieved a small pot of gold under the rainbow but I still have many more rainbows to go to. 62

MEMBERS OF D20

F O

T IC R T IS D

MEMBERS OF D20

F O

T IC R T IS D

SS EERR BB M EEM M M

DEEPA PARTHIBAN

MUNDANE YET EXTRAORDINARY “Mundane” conjures up images of everything dull, boring, routine and ordinary. The exact opposite of extraordinary!! Yet mundane can be extraordinary, if one could only open up one’s mind and soul to the simplest of things.

A routine evening walk can turn into a beautiful and exciting experience, if one could just take the time to stop and look up at the sky. Lo and behold the largest canvas in the world, with it’s myriad hues. A kaleidoscope of colours, from the brightest of orange to the deepest of blue. The ever changing shapes of the clouds, testing the limits of one’s imagination, as if someone out there with a giant paint brush was making one master stroke after another. Then by nightfall, millions of stars twinkling all over the vast expanse of the midnight blue sky, as if it was Diwali, Christmas and Eid all rolled into one. The moon, sometimes glowing bright and radiant in her own inner beauty, or at times a crescent smiling down upon you. The same mundane and routine walk, now if one could just look down, one would notice the green grass with the tiniest of beautiful flowers peeping out, basking in the sun’s energy, radiating warmth and positivity. The beautiful bougainvillea along the sidewalk, dressed in the prettiest of ball gowns, swaying and dancing hand in hand with the breeze. Enticing indeed if you would take the time to stop and notice. The bees and the butterflies sampling from the buffet of flowers, Mother Nature has spread out for them to feast on. A little birdie hopping around happily, seemingly oblivious to the passer by. One would find that each and everything in nature radiates with a positive energy if one could just clear our minds of all the clutter and take a deep breath and look around at the extraordinary world around us. Deepa’s Musings

F O

T IC R T IS D

SS EERR BB M EEM M M

DEEPA PARTHIBAN

THE WORLD OF TOASTMASTERS Enter the world of Toastmasters, A world like no other Beautiful and Unique I say But you question and wonder May be a tad bit overrated you ponder? Just step within and See for yourself I say An Enchanted world indeed, Filled with trees of confidence, Vibrant flowers of Joy you’ll see, Fruits of self-confidence you’ll taste, Butterflies of happiness aflutter you’ll find, And feel the breeze of positivity you will, A Magical world you ask? Disbelief on your face, Bewitching I answer, A smile on my face, Once you set foot inside You’ll never be the same again, Transformed to the best version of yourself ! Magical indeed I say . -Deepa Parthiban

DISTRICT DISTRICT 20 20

SOCIAL MEDIA YOUTUBE YOUTUBE

INSTAGRAM INSTAGRAM

LINKEDIN LINKEDIN

FACEBOOK FACEBOOK

g .orrg errss.o a asstte ttm s m a s o a t o 0 t 2 t 0 2 ic t r d isttric dis

DISCLAIMER District 20 is part of the non-profit organization of Toastmasters International. Toastmasters International and all other Toastmasters International trademarks and copyrights are the sole property of Toastmasters International. The District 20 Newsletter (January-June, 2022) was created and distributed by The District 20 Public Relations Office, and therefore is independent of Toastmasters International. It is not authorized by, endorsed by, sponsored by, affiliated with, or otherwise approved by Toastmasters International. All images are rightfully owned by District 20 Toastmasters, the clubs under District 20 (2021-22). and members of the District (2021-22).

DISTRICT 20

TOASTMASTERS REGION 11 | TOASTMASTERS INTERNATIONAL

pr.district20@gmail.com @district20toastmasters district20toastmasters district20toastmasters district20toastmasters district20toastmasters.org

District 20 Newsletter - Jan- Jun 2022

Articles inside

DIVISIONS

AREAS

DISTRICT