About us

Short History

The first Round Table was formed in Norwich, England in 1927. The founder, Louis Marchesi, was a young member of the Norwich Rotary Club who felt there was a need for a club aimed more at the younger businessmen of the town. His vision was for them to exchange ideas, learn from the experiences of their colleagues, and together contribute to the civic life of the town.

From the beginning, the Round Table was a non-religious, non-political, and non-sectarian club, an ethos that still underpins the movement today.

Round Table is a social networking and charitable worldwide organization for men in their 20s, 30s and early 40s, founded in Norwich, England in 1927. It is open to all men aged between 18 and 45 (originally 40, which is still retained as the age limit in some countries outside the United Kingdom and Ireland). Membership of Table provides a selection of social and community service related opportunities for its members, who come from all parts of the community.

The name "Round Table" is not directly drawn from Arthurian Legend; rather both its title and its maxim comes from a speech made to the British Industries Fair in 1927 by the then Prince of Wales 'The young business and professional men of this country must get together round the table, adopt methods that have proved so sound in the past, adapt them to the changing needs of the times and wherever possible, improve them'. The phrase "adopt, adapt, improve" is a key facet of the organization, and is often seen on Round Table literature and regalia.

The Round Table is a truly international movement, with active members in most European countries, as well as Africa, the Middle East, India, Hong Kong, New Zealand, and the USA. In fact, there are Round Table clubs on every continent.

The history of Round Table Suriname
Establishment date: July 14th, 1955
Charter date: May 26th, 1956
Charter Issue date: September 14th, 1956

Gatherings every 2nd and 4th Thursday of the month.

Almost right after the establishment of the Rotary club in Suriname, some arguments amongst mostly the young members had the same implication as those of Marchesi. In addition to this, the classification of the different trades and profession of the members was such that, in fact, you almost had the same persons in Chamber of Commerce and the Suriname Trade & Industry Association. This issue was supported by Mr. C.H.H Jongbaw and after a brief discussion convinced our honorary member Ab J.M. Judell to inform about the Round Table in the Netherlands. As a result of this inquiry, Ab Judell received some documentation and material from Mr. Hoek of the Round Table Schiedam.

On July 4th 1955 , Ab Judell founded the Round Table Suriname.
The first members were Henny Drielsma (Director Vervuurtsbank), Wim Smit (Director Singer), Henk Stol (Inspector Insurance inspector Fatum), Frits Karthaus (Director Fira Haenen) en Jannie Abercrombie (Sales Manager Esso).

The Dutch Round Table was so excited that they sent Tabler Mr. J. van der Bent, from our sponsor Table, “Round Table 7 Den Hague” for orientation to Suriname in 1955.

After his assessment in Suriname he proceeded to make the documents in order for us to join the RTI during the 9th Round Table General meeting in Versailles.

Tabler Engbert Jonkers, past Chairman of the Table Vechtstreek, awarded us the Charter on behalf of Round Table International on September 14th, 1956.