Over the last 101 years, Toastmasters has been "making leaders" by helping them develop their communication and leadership skills, that they practice and learn in their club meetings. A meeting, generally with 15 attendees in average, spanning around 90 minutes, exposes them to speaking, listening, evaluating, organizing and networking opportunities.

Raise that count to 300, extend it to a full day, add international speakers, proven leaders, seasoned Toastmasters and spice up with humor and music, and you have CITATION, the annual conference organized by Toastmasters in Nepal. As were planning Citation, we were thrilled by the sheer thought of the amplification of the impact.

The Nepal Toastmasters Country Office is entrusted with the responsibility of leading the charge of this annual conference, which concluded last Saturday, 15th November in Kathmandu. For me, as the Event Chair for CITATION 2025 and Coordinator of the Country Office, the challenge of continuing the legacy and meeting the high benchmark created by the previous six editions was immense. But with sack full of experiences of organizing regular club meetings and events of different stature, we were confident that we will meet the huge expectations created, if not exceed them.

A larger comfort though, was built on the united and supportive community we have developed over the years. The four Divisions A, B, C and D housing the clubs in Nepal, and their leaders, comprising of Division Directors and their council of Area Directors and Associates, divided the responsibilities promptly and executed them with ease and professionalism. The guidance from the top district leaders from Nepal was crucial in paving the way from preparation to execution.

The conference sessions were meticulously planned, with numerous changes in the buildup, to ensure optimum learning and engaging opportunities to the audience. Our keynote speaker was a bonanza – Mihir Koltharkar, a highly accomplished and global award winning trainer, TEDx speaker and author who has conducted over 2500 sessions in his two decades of journey and is known for unique and engaging way of delivery. He surely did not disappoint - his keynote address, titled LeaderSHIFT, was interactive, thought provoking, and utterly beneficial to the audience who took away practical leadership lessons. One key takeaway for me, was that the reluctance to test our own potential is the biggest obstacle in our growth.

A proud culture that has been adopted in Citation over the years, is the conferral of the Communicator Award to a non-Toastmaster achieving excellence in communication. When media personality Tikaram Yatri's name was announced as this year's winner, the audience applauded in approval. Mr. Yatri's fearless and ethical journalism has impressed many, and his acceptance speech about being responsible in choice of words and forms of speech, was relevant in every sense to everyone in the audience aspiring to become better communicator.

Distinguished Toastmaster Ravin Lama, the pioneer of Nepal Toastmasters, with his "Confession of a Toastmaster", gave the audience a good workout of the brain and the lungs, mixing humor with inspiring messages. His speech in itself was his introduction, and the audience readily figured out why he is called LOL (Lama of Laughter).

In addition to the guest speakers, the audience benefited from their fellow Toastmasters, who have grown from the ranks into more seasoned speakers. The Evaluation Showcase, was a chance to demonstrate how Toastmasters prioritize constructive feedback, which could be taken back to professional settings. One test speech was evaluated by four experienced Toastmasters, each with a unique observation and presentation. Another engaging showcase was of Tall Tale speeches (speeches based on exaggeration), which used to be part of Toastmasters contests in the past but have become a rarity. This aspect of learning from observing the accomplished speakers, was accepted in true Toastmasters spirit by the audience.

I have always felt that the most important factor why Toastmasters program has become so successful over the years is its focus on supportive learning, driven by common objectives. This was the exact thought behind choosing "One Nepal. One Voice" as the theme for this year. With the ever-existing need for unity, Toastmasters undoubtedly would be best placed to send the message of unity to the nation. CITATION 2025 was a unified quest toward excellence, where members from all over Nepal, belonging to different demographics, profession and age group, brought together their passion and purpose for creating a unified voice – the voice for mutual and shared growth.

Just as cricketers practice in nets in preparations for match performances our club meetings help us to develop essential life skills such as leadership and communication, which form the backbone of an event or an organization. From planning, to dividing responsibilities to organizing, we put everything we had learnt from our meeting roles into play, albeit amplified. At the end of the day, we celebrated our accomplishments, learnt from our shortcomings, evaluated ourselves and have a note ready for the future – next year's CITATION will be even better and bigger.