“The Best Project You’ll Ever Work on is You”. Driven by this theme and an undeniable passion for continuing the journey of leadership and public speaking, the members of Bodhi Toastmasters Club celebrated it’s 100 meeting milestone on the evening of 3rd August, via video conferencing. The Club was chartered in January 2018 and comprised leaders from the educational ecosystem of Kathmandu in its initial days. Slowly the club opened its doors to a host of professionals from other walks of life and now supports a thriving body of 25 members that bring in a host of expertise to the weekly club meetings on Mondays.

Borrowing the overall philosophy of Toastmasters that creates a safe, non-threatening environment for its members to practice public speaking and leadership skills, Toastmasters clubs are present in over 143 countries around the world boasting around 400,000 members. A curated structure that is globally relevant and followed with devotion in all clubs, the Toastmasters experience is about augmented learning mixed with a generous dose of fun.

Special events such as the one that Bodhi organized take a break from the structured speaking and leadership mechanism at Toastmasters. The meeting that held over video conferencing was attended by more than 85 members and guests from Nepal and SE region and other parts of the world. The current pandemic has taken this platform truly global and Monday evening was no exception.

A host of stellar performances that celebrated the Body, Mind, and Soul, according to the theme, set this meeting apart. Kiran Nepali, who is the founder at Project Sarangi and one of Nepal’s foremost sarangi players, who plays with Kutumba, swayed the audience with his soulful music. Suvarna Shreshna Basnet, development practitioner and one of the more renowned and sought-after Art of Living faculty in Nepal, took participants on a meditative journey of self-discovery and realization. Amuda Mishra, Executive Director at Ujyalo Foundation, that empowers adolescent girls and young women across Nepal delivered her maiden performance in standup comedy and had the audience in splits. The finale was a superb dance session choreographed by Rohit Saud , who is a renowned dance and fitness instructor based out of Bangalore, India, and runs a super successful dance and fitness brand called BDFA BELLEZ.

Carrying on the Toastmasters legacy of public speaking there were two impromptu speaking opportunities in ‘Spin-a-Yarn’ and ‘Turncoat’. The better speakers Toastmaster Jenny Manandhar along with Toastmaster Anishka Shakya and Toastmaster Bibek Dutta were awarded with digital certificates and gift vouchers from Bhatbhateni Supermarket for ‘Spin-a-Yarn’ and ‘Turncoat’ sessions respectively. A successful online event, showcases such as these and more are helping grow the burgeoning Toastmasters movement in Nepal that already has 35 registered clubs and around 800 members around the country.

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