Agra: The annual Round Table International (RTI) world meet was conducted in this city recently through video conferencing. During the meeting, DK Singh who hails from here only, was elected international president for 2020-21. Singh incidentally is the third Indian to be selected to the coveted post in the 93-year-old history of RTI.
RTI is an organisation spread over 65 countries with almost 30,000 members. There are approximately 2,275 clubs under the flagship of RTI. The RTI is basically an organisation of the youth with all members in the age group of 18 years to 40 years. The members come together to bring about a change in themselves and in the community.
Singh’s appointment to the post of RTI president was followed by investiture of other headboard members. Among those appointed were Graham Cornelissen (South Africa, vice-president), Giles Walers (Luxembourg, secretary), Robert Kernis (Great Britain, treasurer) and Sebestian Walter (immediate past president). Apart from these five key positions, 12 more delegates were also appointed as part of the International Board. These 17 officials will look after the operations of RTI for the next one year.
It should be stated here that the first ever Round Table was formed in Norwich, England in 1927 by Louis Marchesi.
Round Table India was formed in 1962. Now it has 4,600 members, people who put personal preferences aside to serve the larger needs of the community.
Round Table India’s flagship programme is ‘Freedom Through Education (FTE)’. It involves building classrooms, toilets and providing other infrastructure like drinking water facility, library, science labs and sanitary pad dispensers at schools across India that cater to children from the less privileged sections of the society. In last 22 years, the Indian wing of the Round Table has built over 7,141 classrooms in over 3,041 projects. The move has changed the lives of more than 7.86 million underprivileged children in India.
During the lockdown in India to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, Round Table India launched the ‘Round Table India Kitchen (RTI Kitchen)’ initiative. In this programme over 55 lakh meals were distributed all over India in a span of 45 days.
