Ladies Circle International concludes successful APAC Mid-Term Meeting 2023 in Colombo

From left: Ladies Circle International President 2022/23 Martina Santoro (Italy), Ladies Circle International APAC Regional Chairperson 2021/23 Arti Agarwal (Nepal), Round Table International President 2022/23 Jayant Agrawal (Nepal), and Round Table International Secretary 2022/23 Nadeen Kumarasinghe (Sri Lanka)  

From left: Ladies Circle Philippines President 2022/23 Karynn Coll, Ladies Circle Nepal President 2022/23 Mansi Agarwal, Ladies Circle International President 2022/23 Martina Santoro (Italy), Ladies Circle International APAC Regional Chairperson 2021/23 Arti Agarwal (Nepal), Ladies Circle Sri Lanka President 2022/23 Sanjana Selvarajah, Ladies Circle India President 2022/23 Anchal Khullar, and Ladies Circle UAE President 2022/23 Deepti Mehta 

From left: Ladies Circle International President 2022/23 Martina Santoro (Italy), Ladies Circle Sri Lanka President 2022/23 Sanjana Selvarajah, Ladies Circle International APAC Regional Chairperson 2021/23 Arti Agarwal (Nepal) 

From left: Round Table Sri Lanka President 2022/23 Shamaal Panagoda, Round Table Sri Lanka Immediate Past President 2022/23 Sabir Esufali, Round Table International Secretary 2022/23 Nadeen Kumarasinghe (Sri Lanka), and Round Table International President 2022/23 Jayant Agrawal (Nepal)  

Arti Agarwal from Ladies Circle Nepal chairing the meeting as APAC Regional Chairperson for the year 2022/23 for Ladies Circle International in Colombo – Sri Lanka

Ladies from around the world who arrived for the APAC Mid-Term Meeting of Ladies Circle International (LCI) was enjoying Sri Lanka’s sunshine, beaches, wildlife and history as they successfully discussed on how to make a difference in their communities and to those less fortunate by supporting community projects and raising funds for the needy, both locally and internationally recently. The meeting was held at the Cinnamon Lakeside, Colombo, 24 to 25 February.

LCI is currently a community of 13,000 women across five regions, globally. A community of 2,032 women in the Asia Pacific across seven countries, LCI defines friendship as a remarkable experience sharing a bond with ladies from different parts of the globe with different cultures and upbringing, and yet share a common goal and language in friendship and service. Every Circler endeavours to make a difference to those less fortunate than them by supporting community projects and raising funds for the needy, locally and internationally.

Speaking at the event, Arti Agarwal from Ladies Circle Nepal and the current APAC Chairperson for 2021/23 – Ladies Circle International said: “As Ladies Circle International Asia Pacific Regional Chair, this is my second term in this portfolio. At the beginning of my two-year journey, I shared my vision, “To be a Strong Woman, who has the vision and the ability to create awareness and make a difference to society.” The key objective was to inspire stronger national associations through collaboration and friendship. With the theme “We Can We Will,” we achieved our goals. I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to Ladies Circle Sri Lanka and Round Table Sri Lanka for their incredible hospitality during the APAC Mid Term Meeting (MTM) 2023 event. Your dedication, professionalism, and attention to detail made our experience truly unforgettable. Thank you for making us feel at home and for going above and beyond to ensure that we had everything we needed.”

“In my 12 years as a Circler, I have learned that “a circle of women may be the most powerful force known to humanity.” If you have one, embrace it. If you need one, seek it. If you find one, for the love of all that is good and holy, dive in. Hold on. Love it up. Let them see you. Let them hold you. Let your reluctant tears fall. Let yourself rise fiercely and love gently. You will be changed. The very fabric of your being will be altered by this, if you allow it. Please, please allow it,” she added.

Further speaking, Ladies Circle International (LCI) President Martina Santoro said, “Our aim is to promote international friendship, understanding and goodwill by encouraging members to extend their knowledge of each other and other people. We are non-political and non-sectarian. We promote, co-ordinate and develop working relationships with Round Table International, Tangent International, Agora Club International and Club 41 International, wherever possible.”

“Having been given the opportunity to host the Ladies Circle international APAC Mid-term meeting, we have helped bring tourism back into Sri Lanka and show the internationals what our beautiful country has to offer,” said Ladies Circle Sri Lanka President Sanjana Selvarajah. For us it is an opportunity to bring awareness about circling and the opportunity to build friendships and bonds with others from around the region and the rest of the world. It is also an opportunity to bring about international exposure for our country. We are very grateful to our sponsors for helping us to make this event a possibility, particularly our main sponsors Nippon Paint Lanka for the tremendous strength they have given us.”

Ladies Circle works closely with Round Table International, a similar organisation for men. Round Table Sri Lanka (RTSL) is an organisation of non-political and non-sectarian young men between the age group of 18 and 40/45 with an aim to promote service, fellowship and goodwill in national and international affairs. It carries out multiple projects and initiatives for fellowship and community service as well as to build competency and capacity of its members. Affiliated to The Round Table International (RTI), the international organisation that was founded by Louis Marchesi in 1927, in Norwich, England, the organisation by itself is very dynamic, young and active. Members, comprising businessmen, entrepreneurs, technocrats and professionals who can rise above personal concerns to seek and serve the larger needs of the community with an aim to promote service, fellowship and goodwill in national and international affairs through RTI.

“There’s an old favourite saying in Round Table that goes: There are no strangers here, just old friends you haven’t met yet,” said Round Table International President Jayant Agrawal. “This statement cannot ring truer once you get to explore Round Table and explore the world. Currently, our network reach extends over 60+ countries and approximately 30,000 of friendship-driven individuals from every corner of the world. In the name of parity, we are a non-political, non-denominational association and we share with mutual respect.”

“Our motto Adopt, Adapt, Improve, signifies our pursuit of adopting the practices received from predecessors, adapting them to best serve our community and network, and improve ourselves and others in the name of excellence,” Agrawal added.

“The best practices agreement emphasises that each organisation respects each other as distinctly separate organisations with equal rights under one single identity as part of the Round Table Family, whose international boards have agreed to work together on various activities without compromising the individual status and the identity of the organisation,” said Round Table Sri Lanka President 2022/23 Shamaal Panagoda.

“For a woman between the ages of 18 and 40, Ladies Circle is one of the best platforms to serve the community,” Selvarajah continued. “It is certainly no easy task for a woman; what with trying to make something of her career, starting her family life, taking care of her children, running her home and being a corporate wizard, there are plenty of sacrifices and compromises she has to do. But we are a group of business people, entrepreneurs, corporate executives, housewives and women from various backgrounds, working towards the upliftment of the community. The good feeling Circlers experience when they help others is something indescribable.”