Introducing Maali News:District 17’s New and Improved Newsletter

By Lyn Beaumont | July 14, 2024 |

We are excited to announce the relaunch of our Toastmasters District 17 newsletter with a new name, banner image, and tagline. Our newsletter, now called Maali News, is designed to keep both prospective and existing members informed and up-to-date on all the latest happenings in our district.

What’s in a Name?

Maali means Black Swan in Noongar, the language of the Whadjuk people on whose land we meet throughout Perth. This name honours the legacy of our old newsletter, the Black Swan, and inspires the future as we show our commitment to diversity, inclusivity, and creativity.

Banner Image: The Matagarup Bridge

The banner of our newsletter features the Matagarup Bridge, which connects Optus Stadium and the Burswood Peninsula to East Perth. This bridge symbolizes a 'coming together of diverse cultures'. The flowing arches represent a pair of black and white swans or the Wagyl, a water serpent of great importance to local Noongar culture.

The Matagarup Bridge is truly awe-inspiring, just like Toastmasters aspire to be. With our diverse community and inclusive clubs, we also ‘come together’ to provide a safe and supportive space for people from all walks of life. Do you see how its majestic flowing arches could represent the fluency of speech, the rise and fall of our voices, and the path we follow to become better communicators and inspiring leaders?

You can walk across the bridge (set your own pace), climb the bridge (to achieve greater heights), or even zipline from the bridge (for the thrill-seekers who love to push boundaries) – sounds just like the options we provide every new guest that walks into our clubs.

Tagline: Bridging the Gap

Our tagline, “Bridging the Gap,” represents our efforts with this newsletter to bridge the gap in communicating to our members and visitors what is happening across the district, including upcoming events, member achievements, club milestones, and district goals. We are often so overwhelmed with information from so many sources – so we wanted a simple news format where we do the hard work for you and give you what you need to know when you need to know it.

The Toastmasters program itself serves as a bridge, helping members transition from nervous novices to confident communicators and leaders through practice and supportive feedback.

Our Commitment

Our commitment is to make it worth your while to read over Maali News every month! Just skim the headlines and you’ll get the facts to stay up to date with what’s coming up, what’s new, and what’s changing! Dive a little deeper and we’ll open up your world with inspirational stories, great speaking tips, and really useful tools – whether you like to read, watch, or listen – we will have something new for you every month.

Submission Guidelines

We welcome submissions from our members and clubs.

Articles must be relevant or of clear interest to Toastmasters International District 17 members and reflect the TI core values of integrity, respect, service, and excellence.
Articles must also reflect the education and communication programs and goals of TI.
The Maali News Editor reserves the right to edit articles for conciseness, clarity, and correctness. In many cases, submissions will be edited to brief updates in a longer article about what’s happening around the District.

Documents

The three types of club articles includes feature (max 500 words); club event (max 250 words); and club update (max 100 words).
Longer articles must be attached in MS Word or PDF format to the submission form.

Images

Images should be supplied as JPEG format, with the best picture quality available, and saved separately from the document.
In the text, indicate where to insert the image, state the image title, and supply the names of people shown.
Please also supply an up-to-date profile picture of yourself, which can be natural and informal but appropriate for use.

Submission Form

All submissions must be received no later than the 25th of each month. Anything received after this date will be saved for the following issue, subject to space availability.
Clubs can complete this form to submit their club update – a paragraph or two about an upcoming event, a significant milestone, or a worthy achievement they want to share with everyone in District 17. Photos are even better!
District Leaders can complete this form to submit their district update – a reminder, a challenge, or important recognitions that all our members should hear about.

Concerns, questions, or suggestions