World Water Day is an international day of observance and action to draw attention to the plight of the more than 1 billion people world wide that lack access to clean and safe drinking water. World Water Day was designated in 1992 when the United Nations (UN) General Assembly passed a resolution. With each passing year, the observance has grown larger and stronger. In many ways though, World Water Day is still a relatively unknown event. Even with the support of the UN and efforts by leading non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and committed individuals, World Water Day is today at a similar stage as Earth Day was in the early 1970’s – important but relatively unknown.
I was one among a small group of Rotarians [Rotary Club Members] as a participant in a two day workshop conducted on 3rd and 4th March,2009 in Hyderabad,India. I went in as a participant and returned as a Certified Faculty. This orientation-cum-training programme was organised by Rotary Leadership Institute (RLI) aimed at organizing leadership development programs for Rotary members world over. Though RLI is not an official program of Rotary International, our Rotary International District 3150 [Andhra Pradesh, India] recently joined as a Member of RLI and initiated this programme to refine the Rotarians' leadership skills and increase their base of knowledge in Rotary. This course was devided into 3 sessions. I was a Discussion Leader presenting along with few other Rotarians on pre-designed topics: "Rotary Beyond the Club","Vocational Service" and "Public Relations". All the sessions were initiated and reviewed at the end by well trained and experienced honorary facilitators of RLI. You can see them in this blog photo [Left to Right] Rtn.Dr.Rekha Shetty-Chairperson,South India Division RLI-Past District Governor 3230,Chennai-India, Rtn.Tam Mustapha-Past District Governor 7210, NY, USA and [Far right end] Rtn. Bimal Khaitan-Regional Vice Chairman-RLI South Asia-Past President of Rotary Club of Central Calcutta,India. This course of RLI has imparted a significant "leadership" component, a more thorough insight into what leadership is , how to implement it effectively, how to "team-build", and how to carry those leadership concepts through Rotary service projects, committees & club meetings. I have attended similar training programmes earlier. But I found this Course content was contemporay, practical, interactive, and geared towards business and professional people who want to be effective leaders in their vocation and as knowledgeable Rotarians. The inputs have also helped me in self-evaluation and to rightly channelize the existing skills. The course material provided to us is a real resource for conducting any training / orientation programme as per RLI norms. 
In the concluding session, our District Governor Rtn. Dr.Sarat Babu [standing right to me in the photo] presented RLI Graduate Lapel Pin and a Certificate to every participant. This means that the attendees of this course are now fully equipped and qualified to serve as Faculty Members of the Rotary Leadership Institute courses conducted anywhere in the world. I am grateful to Rtn Dr Sarat for his initiative to bring RLI course [first of its kind I have experienced since my 13 years career in Rotary] with a view to develop quality leadership in Rotary Clubs.
World Water Day is an international day of observance and action to draw attention to the plight of the more than 1 billion people world wide that lack access to clean and safe drinking water. World Water Day was designated in 1992 when the United Nations (UN) General Assembly passed a resolution. With each passing year, the observance has grown larger and stronger. In many ways though, World Water Day is still a relatively unknown event. Even with the support of the UN and efforts by leading non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and committed individuals, World Water Day is today at a similar stage as Earth Day was in the early 1970’s – important but relatively unknown.
