Our club president has been very active on different fronts to help Toastmasters gain more visibility . Recently she visited Peshawar on the invitation of several interested folks who want to start a club in Peshawar as well. Here is what round up of that trip from the president
“DTM Mazhar and I went to Peshawar to introduce Toastmasters, conduct a Demo meeting and form a potential club in Peshawar. The meeting was attended by 20 participants from various NGOs and academia and was sponsored by SPO-NWFP. We are grateful to Ijaz Qasim and Zohra Jabeenof SPO who had arranged for the demo meeting and are interested in taking it forward.
I have a few photos that I have put up, and will out up more and better photos when I receive them from Peshawar.
Ms Zohra started the meeting with invocation, then Ijaz Qasim welcomed all after which TM Maliha gave a brief intro about the meeting and handed over the proceedings to DTM Mazhar after a brief introduction.
DTM Mazhar asked all participants to introduce themselves within 30 sec, this was followed by a motivational speech about communication and leadership skills and its role in our lives. After this the participants were given a talk about what Toastmasters is in general and toastmasters clubs in Pakistan in Particular. after a short tea break we continued with a well participated table topic session. The participants mostly spoke in English while few found it challenging and spoke in Urdu. tension and excitement filled the air which was already a little bit humid. the participatory approach and learn by doing was enjoyed by all, voting was another part of the meeting that was well received. Walayat Shah was voted the best Table Topic Speaker and Muhammad Sher the Best Speaker. DTM Mazhar encouraged the participants and the winners alike, but had 2 lovely ribbons for the voted best speakers.
All 20 participants were keen to know what will be the next step, when they will meet next and how soon can they start learning on the Toastmasters Path.
We will need volunteers to help in establishing the Peshawar Club with guided sessions for meetings. tentatively they set Friday 4pm as their meeting time and SPO office (House 3, Sector K 5, Phase III, Hayatabad) as their club office and meeting place.
Congratulations Islamabad Toastmasters Club, we will be successful in setting up a club in Peshawar soon.
And no – we did not have time for shopping nor for Chapli Kebab, themeeting started at 10:30am and went till 2:00pm”
Congratulations on this wonderful effort. I started a club specifically for people of a progressive persuasion in my town, where most of the clubs were pretty conservative and it’s been an amazing experience. We’ve trained several political candidates who’ve gone on to be elected to public office, as well as the rest of us who are now more effective activists, speaking up for the causes we believe in.
http://www.progressivetoastmasters.org
Joy O, DTM
PS. I’m going to write about you on my blog, 365 words that begin with P because I love Toastmasters and because Peshawar and Pakistan begin with P!
http://365pwords.wordpress.com/
Comment by 365pwords — July 21, 2008 @ 3:52 am
[...] with clubs in 92 countries around the world. Apparently a new club is being birthed as we speak in Peshawar Pakistan. Map [...]
Pingback by Peshewar Pakistan learns public speaking with Toastmasters « 365 Words Beginning with P — July 21, 2008 @ 4:19 am
Great to have you on our blog Joy. And I do agree, Toastmasters is more of a way of life. It silently works on different aspects of your lifestyle and after a few attendances you are a totally different person. It’s recommended for anyone who wants to add value to their life especially for better listening, for better speaking and for better thinking.
Please do keep visiting us , and we would be really happy to have you visit us on one of our live meetings some day.
Comment by toastmastersislamabad — July 21, 2008 @ 4:21 am