We Inspire and Believe - Rotaractors in District Interactors Conference (DIC) 2008.

By: Rtr VP Way Wen

Kompleks Rakan Muda Daerah Klang in Sementa was the venue of the recently concluded 40th District Interact Conference. The event was hosted by RC Port Klang and ably assisted by the members of their partner clubs, RC Klang and RC Shah Alam.

The conference was attended by more than 490 Interactors from all over D3300, including 2 exchange students named Chris Harvey and Linda Chen from Australia and Taiwan respectively.

Rtr. Chew Way Wen from RAC Port Klang Centennial spearheaded the 3-day program for the Interactors together with Rotaractors from various clubs around District 3300. A total of 30 Rotaractors were involved officially in activities such as the business challenge and also the various speakers’ sessions.

The day started as early as 5am for some Rotarians when Interactors who travelled from as far as Terengganu and Kedah arrived in Klang town and called up the Rotarians on duty. Most of the participants started to arrive in the afternoon and the last batch of Interactors safely arrived in the venue at 5pm on the same day. Interactors from various schools have already started to mingle around with each other since early in the morning and made good friends with each other. The official program commenced at 3pm on Friday with a brief welcome for the Interactors and the introduction of the Rotaractors who will be facilitating the conference as Group Discussion Leaders (GDLs) for the Interactors. After that, the Interactors who were already assigned into groups moved together with their Rotaractor GDLs for the ince-breaking session.

Here, the Interactors played some games arranged by the Rotaractors and even created their own group cheer.

Later that night, Rtn. John Low from RC Port Klang and Rtn. PP AR Peter from RC Klang gave their welcoming address and house rules briefing respectively. Next up, Rtr. President Yan Liang of RAC Taylors’ Business School and Rtr. PP Bernard Hor of RAC Penang City took helm as the emcees for the night and conducted the "Rotary, Rotaract & Interact Quiz" where a cash prize of RM50 was up for grabs. Interactors were frantically searching for answers from Rotarians and Rotaractors alike, but in the end the exchange student Chris Harvey from Australia managed to bag the cash prize.

The main highlight of the night was when Rtr. PP Ravinder Singh entertained all the participants with his light-hearted jokes and had everyone in stitches with his on-stage antics. And finally, the Rotaractors decided to play another round of games with the Interactors before proceeding for supper and bed.

At approximately 9am on Saturday, the official opening ceremony commenced with the arrival of the District Governor, Dr. Rajindar Singh and First Lady Surendra Kaur accompanied by several Rotarians and followed by Interactors who have volunteered to be the flag bearers for the opening ceremony. The opening ceremony was also graced by several district officers such as DGE Leslie Salehuddin, DGN Lim Kok Beng and District Secretary Dr. Joy Varughese.

The 1st Klang Boys’ Brigade Company led the singing of the "Negaraku" with their marching band rendition of the national anthem. Then, the Rotarian emcee invited DIC 2008 Organizing Chairperson Rtn. PP Eric Yap and Rtn. President Johnson Wey to give their welcoming speeches and followed by the guest-of-honor, DG Dr. Rajindar Singh.

The Interactors also had the privilege of listening to Rtn. Anant Kasibhatla’s talk on "Forget No More" from RC Bangsar. Next, several Interactors were chosen to debate on the topic "Co-curricular activities are more important than curricular activities in youth development" with Interactors from Klang Valley were picked to oppose the motion against Interactors from outside Klang Valley. The exchanges between the debaters were lively and kept the participants in their seats with their witty response and genuine opinions.

After lunch, a leadership talk on organizing events was given by a representative from Taylor’s College School of Communications for the participants. Next up on the schedule was Rtr. PP Bernard Hor’s talk on "Empowering Youth in today’s business" where he spoke about his experiences in the business world and encouraged the Interactors to be more proactive and participant in the businesses. Then, he personally led the business challenge activity where the Interactors were exposed to the various models in business and financial intelligence. Later in the night, the groups of Interactors were to present their business models to some Rotaractors who were role-playing as "Venture Capitalists".

Questions and answers were fielded as honest as possible and Rotarians were truly impressed with the knowledge and business acumen expressed by the Interactors. The night ended with more fellowship between Rotaractors and Interactors where they exchange contact numbers and name cards.

On Sunday morning, the Interactors gathered at the main hall for an impromptu talk on "Amazing opportunities in Rotaract" by Rtr. PDRR Chandrasegaran of RAC Damansara, Rtr. President James Ong of RAC Subang and Rtr. PP Bernard Hor. Here, Interactors gained first-hand experience on what is Rotaract all about and many Interactors were impressed with all 3 of them. Then, Rtr. PDRR Chandrasegaran moderated a forum on Interact in D3300 where the Interactors were encouraged to voice out their opinions on the improvements they would like to see in the Interact movement in the country and also to share the experiences with the other participants. Rtr. PDRR Chandra was also able to give some feedback together with several Rotaractors and noted the matters raised.

The closing address was given by Rtn. PP Kuah Leong Qui on behalf of Rtn. PP Ng Boon Su who was absent. Before that, the Rotaractors gave a birthday bash to all the Interactors who were born in November and even gave an impromptu performance on stage as a farewell gift to the participants. Right after the closing ceremony, everyone mixed around for one last time before departing for their respective hometowns with memories deeply etched in their minds.

This year’s District Interact Conference theme of "To Empower the Youth of Today for Tomorrow" was achieved with the help from all parties, especially the Rotarians and Rotaractors. Everyone voluntarily gave their support and time for the success of this conference and are looking forward to the next conference.