Presentation - Solutions for issues arising in Leo - Lion transition.pptx

Editor's Notes

1. The Leo Clubs was founded in 1957 by Jim Graver. Now it has developed to 7200+ clubs worldwide. At present, it has 140,000+ Leo membership spread in 150+ countries and territories with 30,000 service projects from 2019-2020.
2. Current or former Leos between the ages of legal majority through age 35, who have served as Leos for at least a year and a day, can continue serving their communities as Leo-Lion members! (www.lionsclubs.org, n.d.) Leo- Lion movement was started in 2016. In ISAAME Forum 2016, four Leo Lion Clubs were inducted and out of them Leo Lions Club of Kiribathgoda Welcome Hundred is still active.
3. Being a Lion is about leading by example, building relationships and improving the world through kindness. It’s 1.4 million caring men and women serving together so they can make a lasting impact and change more lives. (www.lionsclubs.org, n.d.)
4. 50% discount on international dues   Entrance or charter fee waiver Leo-Lion Program Scholarships and online courses Eligible to serve as a Leo-Lion board liaison or as a Leo-Lion cabinet or council liaison and many more.
5. For now, there are about 12000+ Leos in Sri Lanka. From them, approximately 2800 are Alpha Leos. By 2026, the Alpha Leo membership is planned to increase up to 12000. Leo Lion Club count in MD 306 = 19   When considering the Leo Lion club count in the 306 A1 district, there are 4 Leo Lion clubs and 2 Lion clubs with Leo Lion members; Moratuwa and Colombo Host. Next, in the 306 A2 district, there is one Leo Lion club and 2 Lions clubs with Leo Lions. They are Moragahahena and Kalubowila. In the 306 B1 district, there is one Lions club with Leo Lion members (Lions club of Negombo Orient) and no Leo Lion club. 306 B2 district has 5 Leo Lion clubs and 3 Lions clubs with Leo Lion members. The clubs are Lions club of Gampaha Metro, Colombo Somerset, and Colombo Circle. Apart from the above, the 306 C1 district is comprised of 4 Leo Lion clubs and 2 Lions clubs with a Leo Lion headcount in Trincomalee and Battaramulla. 306 C2 district has 5 Leo Lion clubs and no Lions clubs with Leo Lions.
6. Implementing the position of Leo- Leo Lion Multiple Council Liaison Officer This role is to increase the conversion rate of Leos being Lion and to strengthen the bond between Leos and Leo Lions/Lions.   Number of Lions in the age of 30-40 Out of the 15000 Lions in Sri Lanka, only 6% of them belong to the age group below 35. That’s less than one thousand. So it’s obvious that the lack of youth in the Sri Lankan Lion movement is negatively affecting its sustainability and continuation.
7. Most of the current Leos are Gen Z’s and later part millennials. Youth from these generations don’t like to be a part of an organization and hold additional responsibilities according to Socio-research. Also, they might be attracted to other more youth-oriented volunteer organizations. Focus areas of Lionism don't tally with the interests of the current young Leos too.
8. Considerable number of Leos who are financially capable of being Lions migrating for jobs and higher studies.
9. A Leo Lion has to pay approximately 7000 LKR of annual fees altogether and a Lion has to pay double of that amount. It’s a very considerable amount of increase compared to the Leo club annual fee.
10. Anyone in this world has to focus on their personal and professional life once they hit their mid 20’s. This is applicable for the Leos as well. They will have to focus on their jobs, marriage, kids and other needs more than Leoism or Lionism.
11. Most of the Sri Lankan Leos face trouble regarding the approval of their parents when they’re engaging in all these extracurricular activities. That can affect the member retention of a club as well. Even after getting married, they might face trouble engaging in Leo/Leo Lion/Lion activities due to the lack of understanding by their partners who might be non-Leos.
12. If there is no hand in hand experience in working with Lions for the Leos, they tend not to progress into Lion or Leo Lion movement. Also, if the Leos were not properly groomed and mentored by their parent Lions Club that will be an issue too.
13. Nowadays, the trendy topics, youth focus are the Post covid period, climatic changes, global warmth, gender equality, LGBTQ, and Racism. They may hesitate to focus on the main five focus areas of Lionism: the environment, diabetes, childhood cancer, vision, and hunger. We have to assign such specific areas of the Leo Lions that spark their interests. Also, we can look into creative ways to promote a youth-friendly culture.
14. The migration of financially capable Leos is another prominent issue. We can encourage the Leos who migrate to continue their Leo journeys virtually as a solution. This will ensure retention and sustainability of Leo - Lion transition. This will bring added advantages such as promoting the Leo movement, keeping connections, and providing opportunities to initiate new projects and fundraising campaigns even in other countries.
15. In the mid-twenties, people mainly focus on their professional and personal life. We can attract them if we give more attention to professional development and leadership training. Lions international already has 4 such programs;  RLLI Regional Lion’s Leadership Institute, ELLI - Emerging Lion’s Leadership Institute, ALLI - Advanced Lion’s Leadership Institute, FDI- Faculty development institute.   As a new idea, we can develop an exclusive professional network like LinkedIn for young Leos, Leo Lions and Lions to share career opportunities and to ask for professional help. Through this, young Leos get a valuable platform to get professional help from Lions who are industry experts in different fields, and the Leos would have to continue their journey in Leoism/Lionism to keep enjoying these privileges.
16. This is an issue mainly faced by the young Leos in the movement. The main reason for that is not having the idea of movement and its activity, especially regarding parents and the instances where Leos marry non-Leos.   This should be answered through programs that give a clear understanding of movement. As examples, we can conduct annual or quarterly meetings for parents and non-Leo spouses, bringing the idea of Leoism, Lionism, its functionality, and how orderly and effective tasks are happening here.
17. There is a visible gap in between the interaction process of Lions and Leos. Making opportunities to increase Leos and Lions' interactions is the best practical solution. For instance, Christmas parties, Outings, Awurudu celebrations (New Year celebrations) can be taken. This will also create a chance for proper mentoring and grooming of young Leos.
18. From the above fine-grained details, we can get an idea about the future of the Leoism and Lion movement. There is a goal to achieve sustainable membership development and a progression in Leo - Lion transitions. However, there are obstructions such as   Generation gap Non-compatibility of focus areas of Lionism with the interests of the current youth Migration of Leos Financial incapability plus the depreciation of LKR Personal commitments and lack of enthusiasm   which buffer the sustainable Leo - Lion transition and membership retention. Our presentation provided practical and creative solutions to overcome those challenges.