Inaugural Ceremony on April 2nd 2010
Generally it was thought that this was one of the best conferences of District 3270 ever held with a record number of participants from all over Pakistan and Afghanistan.
District Conference 2010 began with an inaugural ceremony – a visit to the House of Friendship headed by PP Tasneem Bandukwala, Chief Guest Senate Chairman Farook Naik, RI President’s Rep PDG Mohammad Awwal, DG Usman Masud and Conference Chairman PDG Aziz Memon.
As the conference got under way, Dr Sabiha Khan took the stage as master of ceremonies and introduced Qari Waheed Zafar for the recitation and translation of the Holy Quran.
This was followed by the National Anthems of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.
DG Usman Masud’s address focused on the motto, ‘The future of Rotary is in your hands’. He emphasized on humanitarian projects, infant mortality rates, access to clean water, orphanages and building a brighter future for all.
RIPR PDG Mohammad Awwal from RI District 4280 conveyed greetings from RI President John Kenny and First Lady June. Priorities he laid out included – polio eradication, literacy and education, access to clean water and health & hunger projects. In his speech he mentioned world leaders such as Mohammad Younus of Grameen Bank and spoke about their success stories. Rotarians were urged to keep their ethics high as ‘The Future of Rotary is in your hands.’
The Chief Guest, Senator Farook Naik was impressed with Rotary’s selfless efforts and reiterated the focus on polio eradication, access to clean water, social ills, and the suffering of the less fortunate.
The Chief Guest was made an honorary Rotarian and the DG pinned him with a Rotary lapel button. Both the Chief Guest and RIPR were presented with mementos.
Vote of thanks was proposed by PDG AQ Alavi
Major Donor Level 2 Mir Arif Ali and Major Donor Level 3 PDG Shakeel Ansari were recognized
After dinner, singer Anjum from Kuwait entertained the crowd.
2nd Day’s Highlights
The day began with Paul Harris Breakfast hosted by Rotary Club of Karachi Continental and was attended by 85 members including RIPR PDG Muhammad Awwal, DG Usman Masud, PDGs, Major Donors and Paul Harris Fellows.
The morning session commenced with PDG Faiz Kidwai announcing a minute of silence for those Rotarians and their dear ones who had passed away recently – in particular, PDG Riazul Hasan Ghouri and JoanWilkinson. DG Usman Masud later dedicated the session to ‘The Mother’ in memory of Joan and all mothers.
This was followed by a presentation of district awards.
The next session was on Polio conducted by PDG Aziz Memon. Dr. Naima, the country head of WHO, and Inhessa Corehum from UNICEF were the speakers. Dr. Naima stressed on Pakistan Afghanistan to both work hand in hand to eradicate polio. She stressed that ownership and accountability had to be improved. She concluded with the statement, “Light up the world with end Polio now” and that every Rotarian should join the challenge to put an end to Polio in 2010.
This was followed by an address by RIPR PDG Muhammad Awwal.
Later the water management program was addressed by PDG Ronald Denham introduced by PDG Akhtar Alavi District Chair – Water and Sanitation Rotarian Action Group (WASRAG). WASRAG requested the support of Rotary wide network, reporting successes and becoming a member to support WASRAG.
Water “A source of Life” was the topic of PDG John Cheah, RI Zone 6, water resource Coordinator. He gave goals to encourage and facilitate three pilot projects to demonstrate Rotary’s capability to mobilise local resources and to work with international agencies.
After lunch, DGEs gave a presentation on our year together while DGNs gave their acceptance speeches. PDG Saeed Shamsi presented the District Accounts for the previous year which were adopted. Then the candidates for DG 2012-2013 gave short speeches.
Just before breaking for lunch, DG Usman Masud thanked and congratulated the DISCON Committee and team members for their hard work and the success of the conference.
The session on Higher Education was addressed by the former Federal Minister for Science and Technology, Dr. Atta-ur-Rehman and panelists were Dr. Abdul Wahab, ex dean of IBA and the Muhammad Ali Jinnah University and Professor Lt. General Azhar of Baqai University.
Dr. Atta-ur-Rehman underlined the requirement for rapid progress, giving facts and fiction and spoke on key challenges in Higher Education. A note of thanks was proposed by PDG A.A.M. Mohsin.
The evening session continued with the award giving ceremony with PP Anis Younus making the announcements and awards handed out by DG Usman Masud and RIPR PDG Muhammad Awwal.
A musical program followed dinner. After a few local Rotarians showcasing their skills, Ms. Romana Aslam from Bangladesh entertained all till midnight, with the crowd enjoying her Bangladeshi, Indian and Pakistani songs. She took the crowd away with her first number, a Bangladeshi song followed by Madam Noor Jehan’s songs.
3rd and final day’s highlights
The session began with presentation of District Awards.
This was followed by a discussion on District Affairs, the session being chaired by PDG A.Q. Alavi.
District Governor Usman Masud Khan honoured Indian High Commissioner Mr. R.K. Sharma for his services.
A documentary on Memon Medical Institute, a mammoth project providing accessible and affordable quality healthcare, was shown. Chairman, MMI, Peermohammad Diwan was recognized. DG Usman Masud announced an award in appreciation of his tremendous services in setting up this state of the art hospital and the first award was presented to Dr. Gaffar Billoo in recognition of his sevices in the field of medicine and in particular, his contribution in setting up of MMI.
Address by keynote speaker Mr. Shaukat Tarin, Ex Federal Finance Minister, on State of the Economy – Reviving the Business and Economy. The panelists were PP Rafiq Habib and PP Miftah Ismail. Mr. Shaukat Tarin stressed that revival of economy is vital for revival of business. He spoke on various reforms that were introduced while he was in the government. He mentioned that rating agencies had upgraded Pakistan’s rating and outlook was stable despite many challenges; however, inflation had to be brought down. He said that reforms were largely on track but needed to be accelerated. He further said that 50 million were living below poverty line and growth rate was going down each year. Mr. Tarin underscored the need for austerity, good governance, corporate restructuring, strengthening of institutions and focusing on areas that would create jobs.
RIPR Mohammed Awwal presented his closing remarks. He commented that he was the Awwal and Akhir of RID 3270 since he came for the first and the last time to this district – now new districts had been formed. He appreciated the efforts of the DG and the Conference Committee Chairman and the team for a very successful Conference – as far as content, fellowship and entertainment was concerned. He thanked the DG and the Conference team for the warm hospitality that was extended to him and to his gracious spouse Khalida Awwal.
Later, results of elections for DG 2012-13 were announced. The Conference was then declared closed and was followed by sumptuous lunch.
