BANGALORE, 4 July 2019: The 48th Skål Asia Congress concluded last week following the appointment of a new committee to represent Asian clubs.
The event was officially opened by Skål International president Lavonne Wittman and tourism officials from Bangalore the host city.
In her presentation, Wittman called on Asian members to “demonstrate strength through collaboration.
“Building a strong organisation that is focused on collaboration is a key element for success. A team that works together has a strong shared vision and continually searches for ways to improve and adds to the success,” she concluded.
Around 300 delegates attend the regional gathering featuring trending presentations, networking, cultural performances and a gala dinner.
At the annual awards ceremony during the gala dinner, Bangkok Skål received the Skål Asia’s Skål Club of the Year 2019 Award.
The Bangkok club was also linked to a second award presented to club member Khiri Travel/Yanna Venture’s Anurak Community Lodge in Surat Thani, Thailand. The lodge project impressed the seven judges who unanimously voted it the winner of the Skål Asia’s Area Environment Award 2019.
Skål Asia musters 2,500 members in 43 clubs and claims to be the most diverse region in the Skål, movement spanning Guam in the Pacific Ocean to Mauritius in the Indian Ocean with clubs in 19 countries in between.
During his opening address acting Asia area president, Jano Mouawad, announced that membership in Asia continues to grow with 2,525 members and new clubs are in the process of being formed.
A new committee has been elected for a two-year term.
SKÅL ASIA EXCO 2019-21
Sanjay Datta – President
INDIA
Andrew J Wood – VP Southeast Asia
THAILAND
Keethi Jayaweera – VP West Asia
SRI LANKA
Fabien Clerc – VP East Asia
JAPAN
Saravanan Palanivelu – Treasurer
INDIA
Shekhar Divadkar – Secretary
INDIA
Michelle Sandhu – International Councillor
SINGAPORE
P K Mohankumar – PR & Communications
INDIA
Dushy Jayaweera – Membership Development
SRI LANKA
Shalini Khanna Charles – Young Skal and Student Exchange
INDIA
Sunil Acharya – Senior Auditor
INDIA
Felix Fernandez – Junior Auditor
MALAYSIA
Next year’s 49th SKÅL Asia Area Congress will be hosted by Phuket, one of Thailand’s top holiday islands.
Scheduled for 25 to 28 June 2020, around 350 to 450 Skål members are expected to attend the congress according to the Skål vice president Southeast Asia Andrew Wood.
