Weekly Educational Meetings

Weekly educational meetings were held every Friday from 5 PM onwards. The educational meetings followed a specific theme every meeting.

These meetings especially help to improve public speaking and to emphasize members’ communication skills. It’s a platform to develop personality by speaking in front of a crowd. The members are so friendly and there are no judgments but so many appreciations. All the members are free to speak without any hesitation and especially can be biased with so many new ideas and concepts.

This year had various captivating themes throughout the year. Ranging from superheroes, mental health, travel, comfort zones etc.

Each meeting presented an opportunity to explore various viewpoints and share countless anecdotes from one’s life.

Themed Meetings

Themed meetings allow the members to share their own ideologies regarding the selected theme or else to share their own experiences in that particular theme. Rather than scheduling a meeting for the gaveliers to share their thoughts, the gavel club of the university of Kelaniya believes that arranging themed meetings is more effective as it makes sure to draw the attention of the targeted audience as well as the Gaveliers to share something that the know about that field.

Gavel club of university of Kelaniya tends to motivate and attract Gaveliers and guests for the meetings by using these themed meetings it creates a space for everyone to share something which depicts their own ideologies in that field.

Joint Meetings

During the year 2021, many joint meetings were organized as a means of creating a bond and sharing experiences with the undergraduates from other universities. Thus, joint meetings were organized with the College of Chemical Sciences under the theme Addictions, University of Peradeniya discussing “time travel”, University of Ruhuna under the theme of Friendship,  University of Uva Wellassa discussing ‘Comfort Zones’, Retro themed meeting with University of Sri Jayewardenepura and Remember December with the University of Colombo.

Annual Trip 2021

University of Kelaniya Gavel Club is not only about enhancing public speaking skills. It is more about making fond memories and building friendships that lasts a lifetime. Therefore, in 2021 we the annual trip was to trek the Sinharaja forest. Our Gaveliers were keen on the annual trip since they were not able to meet up earlier due to the pandemic.  Many Gaveliers participated for the annual trip since a convenient date was set. Our Gaveliers organized the annual trip with much enthusiasm. During the trip, Gaveliers enjoyed themselves through playing games, singing, dancing etc. Also, our Gaveliers showcased their unity and collaborative nature during the annual trip. The photos taken at the trip speak volumes as to how much Gaveliers enjoyed themselves. The annual trip created a friendly, carefree and stress-free atmosphere for Gaveliers. Even after the trip our members rejoiced speaking about the joyful memories they had. We received positive feedback from our members about the trip and they shared with us the vivid and heartwarming memories they’ve made. Thus, the annual trip reiterated that University of Kelaniya Gavel Club will forever be a family.

Best Speaker 2021

The Best Speaker is the greatest event organized by the University of Kelaniya Gavel Club. It’s an inter-university public speaking contest that seeks the best speakers. Thus, Best Speaker 2021 was the 16^th Best Speaker contest and the 10^th inter-university best speaker contest organized by the University of Kelaniya Gavel Club. With great pleasure and pride, the Best Speaker 2021 was unveiled with great pride and delight, with the theme of Magnificence through Perseverance. The logo was created with a pearl, which symbolized a tantalizing glimpse into the glory that awaits. Thus, the Best Speaker 2021 was revealed on the 10th of September 2021 after a series of flyers which we shared on social media, arousing curiosity for the biggest inter-university public speaking contest. The contest was launched in three phases, as follows.

1. Preliminary Round Video Submission
2. Semi-Finals
3. Finals

A workshop titled ‘’Prepare-A-Speaker” was conducted by TM Dilan Joseph to prepare the speakers for the contest. The preliminary round video submission was opened on the 17^th of October and closed on the 22nd of October. After that, the semi-finalists were introduced on the 31st of October with the well wishes of everyone. Then the semi-finals took place on the 13^th of October. Everyone could witness the pristine devotion of the speakers, and six magnificent speakers were selected for the grand finale of Best Speaker 2021. The finalists were Shehan Paul from the University of Moratuwa, Mineli De Croos from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Mahdi Siraj from the University of Kelaniya, Selani Indrapala from the University of Moratuwa, Sajani Jayathma from the University of Kelaniya, and Hasitha Perera from the University of Jaffna. Then the grand finale of the Best Speaker was held on the 28th of November 2021, witnessing the true prestige of six incredible speakers on a single stage. Everyone could catch the live performances of the speakers via the Best Speaker – University of Kelaniya Facebook page. The contest was held in two categories: prepared speeches and impromptu speeches.

The following are the 2021 Best Speaker Award winners:

1. Selani Indrapala from the University of Moratuwa is crowned as the Second Runner Up
2. Hasitha Perera from the University of Jaffna is crowned as the Best Impromptu Speaker 2021
3. Hasitha Perera from the University of Jaffna is crowned as the Best Prepared Speaker 2021
4. Shehan Paul from the University of Moratuwa is crowned as the First Runner Up
5. Hasitha Perera from the University of Jaffna is crowned as the Best Speaker 2021  

Further, Best Speaker 2021 also unveiled the ‘Best Speaker Magazine’. In the magazine, we provide a space for our fellow Gaveliers to showcase their writing skills and there are messages from previous best speaker winners and the current finalists of the competition. Best speaker magazine provides a valuable space for the Gaveliers to perform their skills.

The Best Speaker 2021 was sponsored by a number of sponsors in recognition of the event’s remarkable outcome. 

The support we received from previous best speaker winners regarding making an impression on the contestants is truly commendable. Best Speaker 2021 was not built on a single person’s hands, but on the hands of our very own Gaveliers. Specially in a tight situation where the whole country faced the Covid 19 pandemic it would not be possible if it was not thanks to tremendous efforts that each and every Gavelier devoted for Best Speaker Contest. Every Gavelier worked tirelessly to ensure the Best Speaker 2021 was a success.

Going Down 2021

The going down is the annual farewell party for the Gaveliers. This year’s going down was titled “Hasta La Vista” and was a memorable event. The Gaveliers were able to share their experiences and walk down memory lane. This event also included the ‘’Gavy Awards’’ and unique titles presented to each Gavelier. They also received a personalized token of appreciation for their efforts and commitment towards the club.

Skill Collective

A workshop series organized by the club focusing on other soft skills like social media marketing, UI and UX Designing, Article writing etc. These sessions were of immense help especially during the organization of projects that utilize these skills.

Speaker’s Guide

A comprehensive workshop series conducted towards creating a full rounded speaker. The sessions conducted were as follows,

The Art of Storytelling – Gav. Amalini Fernando

Fundamentals of Speech Delivery – Gav. Nipuni Perera

How to ace an impromptu speech? – TM Tharshanan Kathiresapillai

All about speech evaluations – TM Deshanie Abeysinghe

Master the art of online speech delivery – TM Pradeep Lakpriya

Speechathon

Speech Marathon’s were organized to improve the public speaking ability of the undergraduates. A series of Speechathons organized helped to reach specific CC manual targets set forward by the speakers.

Orientation 2021

The orientation is an event organized to provide the new undergraduates an insight into the activities conducted by the club. The Gavel Orientation 2021 was organized under the theme ‘Let the world hear your voice’.

The event was a massive success amassing more than 800 participants joining the zoom session for the event.

Raffle With Gavel

An initiative of the finance team to generate funds for the club sprouted the idea of the Raffle. A large number of tickets were sold and cash prizes were awarded to the winners of the Raffle.

Gavel Midnight Fiesta

An event created to build goodwill and friendship among the club members. Staying true to the pandemic fashion, this was conducted through the online platform. The event started at 11.00 pm and went past midnight up until 3.00am.

The night was filled with unique games and activities which kept everyone entertained for a long period of time.