On Saturday, the first official club of the international organization Toastmasters International, Riga Toastmasters, organized a public demonstration session, where experienced Toastmasters’ members from Finland, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Estonia and Lithuania showed model of a regular speakers' club meeting: prepared speeches, impromptu speeches, evaluations and educational process. The founders of the Riga Toastmasters club – Igors Graurs, Maija Kadlecova and Tatjana Titareva – explained the first steps in starting the club in Latvia and answered numerous questions from the audience.

Toastmasters International is a nonprofit educational organization, established in California in 1924 in order to improve their members' public speaking, presentation and leadership skills. Today the organization comprises more than 13.000 clubs with 270.000 members in 116 countries all around the world.  Through its member clubs, Toastmasters International helps men and women of any age and background learn the arts if speaking, listening and thinking – skills that in turn foster self-confidence and personal growth.

At the moment, this organization successfully works in Sweden (15 clubs), Finland (4 clubs), Denmark (1), Norway (1), and there is one club in Tallinn (for 10 years!) and one in Vilnius (6 years).

The next Riga Toastmasters club meeting will be held on November 22 2011, from 18:30 (arrival from 18:00 till 18:20!), in the premises of the Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (35 Kr. Valdemara).

Prior registration for the meeting is required.

Contact details:

Maija Kadlecova, 27515406, [email protected].

Tatjana Titareva, 29754672, [email protected].