E-RYLA is an online version of RYLA which stands for Rotary Youth Leadership Awards. It is an intensive training program that brings together youth and young adults, ages 14-30, to further develop character and have fun. Rotary clubs and districts select participants and facilitate the event’s curriculum. For participants, this recognition offers the opportunity to build self-confidence, gain exposure to a variety of issues and people, meet active community leaders, and learn valuable information and develop career skills.
The format of the event vary from district to district, but commonly take the form of a seminar, or workshop, generally 7 days in length, where young adults meet and develop their leadership skills by listening to motivational speakers and participating in leadership and team-building exercises organized by the Rotarians at the club, district under the guidance of Rotaract South Asia Multi District Information Organization known as RSAMDIO. This year’s E-RYLA was hosted by District 3131 with DRR Akshay More and Rtr. Pushparaj Patel at the helm.
The event kicked off on the 19th of April with over 200 participants representing 15 districts from 4 countries. Representatives from India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh had registered for the 7 day event, prepared to do challenging team bonding and morale building tasks. All participants were randomly split into WhatsApp groups of approximately 25 per group. Members in each group were guided by group moderators, who took every step to make the experience as rewarding as possible, while maintaining a certain propriety expected of Rotaractors. As the first task, participants were asked to introduce themselves to the other group members with details such as their names, locality, Rotaract experience and other general information. This simple team building task, was meant to “break ground” and acquaint members with each other.
All groups were given a name that was generated prior to the tasks. The group I was a part of was named team 1B and I was assigned as the Group leader and Team coordinator over the length and breadth of the first two days. These roles alone gave me a unique perspective on leadership, and was considered an invaluable experience.
The next 6 days involved many creative challenges, such as cookery, literature, spiritual and ascetic discipline, handcrafts, travel vlog, performing art, fashion and style assessment, ethics workshop, team building, inspiring PD sessions, fellowship hour etc. Having participated in all activities, being able to win two tasks consecutively in a row was just icing on the cake.
As we progressed further into the week, the groups were divided and assembled into one WhatsApp group, edging towards the goal of 32 from 200+ participants depending on the skills, time management and level of competency of each participant. With the end of day 4, we moved on to the Elimination rounds from 32 to 16 participants with a collective of each group, then proceeding to each round from Elimination to Qualifier round with only four finalists. Participants that moved through to the qualification round were successfully qualified to participate in the final round with tasks that were more challenging, but even more interesting.
With the final few days approaching, all members belonging to all groups, were added to 1 single WhatsApp group. The mere amount of messages flying across was unbelievable, as participants continued conversations with multiple new individuals. This was a digital gathering of participants eager to meet members from other diversities.
Next up was an interview with the board, the panel had some tricky questions, both regarding Rotaract and General IQ. I am happy to have been able demonstrate most answers accurately. Having something tangible to show turned out to be really beneficial. After the Qualifying round was completed, all the teams, organizers and the audience were gathered on the final day for the Closing Ceremony orchestrated live on Social Media. Having been able to qualify to the final four, and on hearing the host announce my name as one of the winners; it was a somewhat surrealistic moment, filled with happiness and excitement.
On a personal level I learned a lot in communicating and presenting, and also being able to listen to feedback and answering questions. According to my perspective one of the benefits is the ability to connect with leaders in their community and around the world to build communication and problem-solving skills, discover strategies for becoming a dynamic leader in the community, learn from community leaders, inspirational speakers, and peer mentors and to help unlock their potential to turn motivation into action. The biggest highlight of the conference for me was that E-RYLA focused on creating a strong, well-rounded leader, by encouraging not only intelligence, but the necessity of thinking and of staying active. My biggest lesson learned is to be able to include and lead an entire team with all equal parties will lead to a higher success rate than having a segregated and unorganized crew. When we were tested on time and difficulty, having everyone’s brain on the task proved to be the most productive. My biggest take away from E-RYLA is that leaders come in all shapes and sizes and sometimes the best way to lead is just to listen to someone else. This was a giant combination of amazingly creative, intelligent, inspirational, and enthusiastic individuals. Connecting with other RYLArians and the Team Leaders was easy and so much fun. Everyone was extremely friendly and accepting of each other, and I made many great friendships. This was a great networking event, as it encouraged bonding with people from all walks of life, from different communities, and with different ideas. This memorable E-RYLA experience has shaped my life for the better and provided me with tools to become a better and impactful leader. I thank everyone at E-RYLA for their support and encouragement. Kudos to District 3131 for organizing such a phenomenal event.
By Stephanie Von Hagt | Email: Stephanie.vonhagt23@gmail.com
