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Renew and Revive – One Positive Step
Forward
Inaugural speech of the
Incoming Australian Region President, Vera Tibbertsma
The
international theme for the next term is “Renew and Revive”. Divisions,
Regions, Councils and Clubs across the world have been invited to adopt the
theme and to share a vision for the future of ITC.
The theme
was introduced by Mary Marshall, incoming international president, as a
positive step forward towards the unveiling of a global new marketing
strategy, developed by the international team and to be introduced to the
members at convention on Sunday.
As I
reflected on how to present a vision for the coming term without knowing
what Sunday might bring for ITC internationally, I thought of what Renew and
Revive in a general sense might mean for us.
Renewal is
a consistent theme in today’s world. It is embedded in a world that is used
to constant change. Constant change is not a new concept though. It is a
fundamental understanding of philosophies as Buddhism, which teaches that
our world by its nature is impermanent.
Alvin
Toffler speaks of change in a more contemporary context when he said that,
“the illiterate of the future is not the person who cannot read and write,
but the person who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn.”
It can be
said that many of us are exhausted by the rate of change, the direction of
globalisation, and the personal cost of constantly having our comfort zones
threatened by yet more change.
But is all
change by nature to be feared or bad? Change expressed as renewal is
positive. Renewal brings visions of progress and, yes, revival!
ITC has
been renewing itself consistently and persistently for a number of years at
all levels and we should pat ourselves on the back for the dedicated and
positive steps forward we all individually and collectively have taken to
achieve that renewal to date.
In this
region alone in the last 5 years we have:
-
combined the
Flinders and Australian Pacific Regions to form a united Australian Region;
-
restructured the
region board, and streamlined our administrative and financial processes to
be optimally efficient and effective;
-
changed the way
we communicate, increasingly using new technologies to enhance and enable
360 degree communication;
-
developed new
methods of delivering quality education, once again using the same new and
constantly evolving technology;
Not the least of our successes
has been the development and use of the Region website – this tool of
communication is increasingly the primary tool of business, governments,
NGOs and other community groups to communicate with their members and the
world.
I am
confident that if I were to ask you all to add to this list in the Region,
Council or Club context, the list would lengthen considerably.
This
success is the result of all members across those years, taking up the
challenges that ITC offers, learning on the job, working together, and
taking positive steps forward in this renewal.
Every
theme used in the last few years has had the concept of renewal as an
underlying subtext to the primary theme.
In the
coming year, we will continue to renew and revive. ITC will launch its
global marketing strategy, and as a region we will do our part in the
process, all the while maintaining our focus our primary function as an
organization, training and education, communication and growth.
A new team
of region officers, both elected and appointed will work together to allow
all members to take one or more positive steps forward towards their own
personal goals and our collective goals.
These will
include:
-
All members accepting assignments with enthusiasm at all levels;
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More of our members joining in the ITC accreditation programme at all
levels, using the new Master Manual to effect;
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Participate in the implementation of International’s global marketing
strategy, strengthening the organization through expanding membership brand
recognition;
-
A continued improvement to the 360 degree communication using the CLO
to forward information to and from ITC, region, council and members;
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A continued presentation of Club and Council management training, as
well as quality resources that can be posted to the Region website;
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Members will be updated regularly via the Australian Connections and
the region Gazette;
-
A diligent administration of the region by both the elected and
appointed officers;
A positive
or negative attitude is a thought habit, one that develops over time, and
with practice. What is your thought habit? Positive people have thought
positively for so long it’s a natural habit for them to be positive. It’s a
habit for them to be optimistic.
We can all
become positive members of a successful organization by taking positive
steps forward towards our goals, by practicing the habit of renewed thinking
– one positive thought, one positive step at a time.
I would
like to invite you all to join in the journey with me, all region officer
and your colleagues. One positive step forward we could all set for
ourselves is of one new member per member for the coming term.
Our
positive steps forward this term will be our personal and collective renewal
and will lead us into a revived future.
Vera
Tibbertsma
July 2007
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