Note From President Vineet Bhatnagar
TO CREATE A CHANGE, LEADERSHIP IS MORE IMPORTANT THAT AUTHORITY. Most of us consider authority and
leadership as interchangeable. The truth is that to be a leader you need not be a person-in-authority. The driver who
takes your 88-year-old father to the hospital during emergency when you are on an overseas vacation with your family; the 18-year-old daughter who guides the family in the face of a crisis; the 8-year-old boy behind whom an entire village rallies to solve drinking water crisis because he cannot see his mother in pain – are all leaders. They are all leaders because they act with courage, conviction and with a purpose to solve a challenge.
Leaders of change think creatively to solve problems and set out a compelling vision of the potential future that inspires others to take positive action. But why do we need change makers? We live in an increasingly fast changing and interconnected world. We need to equip our youth with the skills and confidence to tackle some of the biggest challenges facing our human family. We need a generation of change makers.
WE NEED “THE NEW BREED” MORE THAN EVER BEFORE – NOT FOR GLORY; NOT FOR STOPPING PEOPLE IN THEIR TRACKS BUT TO FORGE NEW TRACKS.
I am thinking of a change maker who is motivated to act and has the empathy for others and is driven by the genuine goal of making the world a better place. So, a change maker is someone who has found the self-permission to advance change for the good of all. A Social Entrepreneur who can lead disruption – singly or collectively.
I propose that “Empowering Change Makers” be the theme for RCB this year. Change makers are around us. They can be in our Club committees, amongst the agencies with whom we work on the ground, or within the communities that we serve. Let us empower as many change makers as possible with the objective of getting closer to a tipping point when the momentum of change is enough to make things radically different.
— President Vineet Bhatnagar