Ever wanted to attend a TED talk?

The Rotaract Club of SLIIT brought a version right to your doorstep with RotaTED on August 29th, with the theme “Empower Your Mind.”

The event made pit stops in Sri Lanka, Nepal and India, gathering Rotaractors and participants to exchange cultures in order to empower and inspire young minds. This event was all about providing a stage for ideas to echo through and hopefully resonate with the audience.

The welcome address by Rtr. Raju Sharma from Rotaract Club of Rudramati (RID 3292 – Nepal) kicked off the event for over 70 participants. Following that, the host, our very own Rtr. Suvasthiga Suveendran from Rotaract Club of SLIIT, RID 3220 – Sri Lanka & Maldives enlightened us on what our evening together will look like.

Cleverly, the name of this event wasn’t just a coincidence. It reaps of meaning and purpose.

ROTA represents Rotaract and TED was redefined to stand for Transform, Empower, and Develop.

Throughout this event, the aim was to transform, empower and develop minds of the audience.

To do just that, the event was divided into three sessions, each featuring a guest speaker from one of the countries involved which was a fun discovery since it’s a great way for the clubs to share a bit of their home with the diverse audience present.

Session 1: Entrepreneurship & Innovation

Rtr. Safal Karki Chettri from the Rotaract Club of Rotaract Club of Rudramati, (RID 3292 – Nepal) introduced the first guest speaker of the evening, Mr. Nirajan Shrestha. He spoke about how innovation and entrepreneurship have become prominent in today’s rapidly changing world. For better or worse, it seems as though everyone has picked up this trend of innovation and entrepreneurship, out of a fear of being left behind.

Given this rise, Mr. Shrestha emphasized that the ability to be creative, take risks and adapt to any sort of scenario or obstacle is exactly what will lead you to success. He further delved into these topics and following a Q & A session, the participants were able to better grasp his perspective.

Session 2: The Use of Artificial Intelligence

The Rotaract Club of Bengaluru United (RID 3191 – India) excitedly introduced the second guest speaker, Mr. Prashant Bhapkar. He dived deeper into how AI has seeped through every moment and opportunity in our lives, both now and in the future. Not only individually but also how AI has reshaped industries and the way they operate.

Mr. Bhapkar encouraged everyone to ride this wave of AI by being curious and open to these technological changes. His speech was very insightful and proved to be relevant to this very day with the recent news of Albania appointing an AI prime minister to fight corruption.

Session 3: Work-Life Balance

This session was taken up by the Rotaract Club of SLIIT (RID 3220 – Sri Lanka & Maldives) to introduce the final guest speaker of the evening, Ms. Madhuka Jayasekara.

She covered an important topic that many students and working professionals face: maintaining a healthy balance between professional and personal life. While it’s definitely easier said than done, she shared some incredible essentials that leads to long-term growth and happiness. She emphasised that a great start is to master some level of mindfulness and when blended that with top-notch time management and self care, it will carry you to success.

Coming to a close with her session was the perfect way to end the session as it allowed us to sit with her words and deeply reflect on our lifestyles.

You don’t always get to interact with this diverse kind of crowds, so they took this opportunity to display short videos that showcased the beautiful heritage, cultures and tourist attractions of Nepal, Sri Lanka and India. This was a heartwarming moment that proudly celebrated the international Rotaract community’s kaleidoscope of cultures and, more importantly, their spirit of friendship.

To conclude the event, Rtr. Vignesh (Rotaract Club of SLIIT, RID 3220 – Sri Lanka & Maldives) delivered a vote of thanks expressing his gratitude to the speakers, participants, and organizing teams for making RotaTED 2025 such a worthwhile event.

The wise only possess ideas; the great part of mankind are possessed by them
– Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Penned By:

Rtr. Rana Rilwan

Editor 25-26