Rotary International is a worldwide network comprising 1.2 million corporate leaders in over 200 countries, dedicated to causes that improve the quality of lives and create a better world. Rotary educates and equips communities to stop the spread of life-threatening diseases like polio, HIV/AIDS, and malaria, whilst also improving and expanding access to low-cost and free health care in developing areas around the world and is the only service organization in the world to be afforded a permanent seat in the United Nations for its role in promoting peace and goodwill among nations.
Rotary International District 3220 Sri Lanka and Maldives is a network comprising over 2,100 Rotarians, 8,000 Rotaractors, and 7,000 Interactors. Since its inception in 1929, Rotary International District 3220 Sri Lanka and Maldives has worked on several key community, social, and economic development projects including the successful eradication of polio in Sri Lanka, the rebuilding of 24 schools following the 2004 tsunami, the provision of the Human Heart Valve Bank at Lady Ridgeway Hospital, the development of the Centre for Handicapped in Kandy, the provision of Reverse Osmosis (RO) plants in the dry zone, and the gifting of the digital mammography system to the Cancer Early Detection Centre in Narahenpita to name a few.
The Rotary International District 3220 Conference 2024, a key event in the Rotary calendar, brought together over 400 Rotarians from Sri Lanka and overseas, together with several distinguished invitees and speakers. The opening ceremony of the conference was held at the BMICH on the evening of 26th April, in the presence of the Chief Guest, President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, His Excellency President Ranil Wickremesinghe, and Keynote Speaker, Hon. Dr Palanivel Thiaga Rajan, Minister of Information Technology and Digital Services, Government. of Tamil Nadu. Guest of Honour, Rotary International President’s Representative Per Hoyen also addressed the august gathering.
The opening ceremony was followed by the technical sessions which were conducted at the Monarch Imperial on the 27th of April. The technical sessions comprised of several key addresses and discussions around Rotary’s core areas of focus, such as the empowerment of women, community and economic development, peacebuilding and conflict prevention, and the environment. The distinguished line-up of speakers, panellists and moderators included Former UN Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Ms Radhika Coomaraswamy, Executive Director, National Peace Council of Sri Lanka, Mr Jehan Perera, Chair, Women’s International Foundation, Ms Seroshi D Nandasiri, Co-Producer, Kaleidoscope, Ms Savithri Rodrigo, Director, Centre for Law and Security Studies, Mr Nilanthan Niruthan, Founder, Daham Pahana, Bro. Charles Thomas, Past District Governor, Rotary International District 3300 Malaysia, Dato Bindi Rajasegaran, Past District Governor, Rotary International District 1470 Denmark, Helge Andersen, CEO, JB Securities Ltd, Mr Murtaza Jafferjee, Managing Director/CEO, Commercial Bank Mr Sanath Manatunge, and Deputy Chairman, Cargills Bank Ltd, Mr Asoka Pieris. Speaking on the eve of the event, District Governor 2023/2024 Jerome Rajendram stated that the conference was an occasion for all Rotarians to celebrate the good that Rotary as an organisation has done to benefit communities and create hope for Sri Lanka over the past 95 years.