2nd July, 2021 – INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE (LEAVING NO-ONE BEHIND WATER & INEQUALITIES PART I)

The International Conference hosted by the Pontifical Catholic University, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in collaboration with UNESCO Chair of Inter-Religious and Inter-Cultural Dialogue, St. Andrew’s College, Mumbai, India on July 2, 2021 was conducted to discuss the issues related to water and its resources and the inequalities faced by communities in the society.

August 27th, 2021 – ESSAY COMPETITION: “RITUALS AND WOMEN IN THE INDIAN SOCIETY”

Rituals are customs that we as a society take great pride in. But these rituals are not necessarily always good for some of us. To know people’s opinions about this, Venessa Kasare organised an essay competition from August 20 to August 26, 2021, on the topic “Rituals and Women in the Indian Society”. The participants shared their ideas and opinions about the relationship between rituals and women in our society. Of these outstanding essays, the first prize was won by Vincy Rajamony, Rhoswen D’souza grabbed second place and Pruti Waghela won third prize.

September 6th, 2021 – DEBATE COMPETITION: “THE WAR OF WORDS”

We all have something on our mind that we want to share but offering our political opinion in public has become a little riskier these days. To solve this problem Atharva Mulye organised a debate competition “The war of words” on September 6, 2021, where we can hear you and give your points a little thought without getting offended. The topic of this debate was whether “Anti-conversion is anti-constitutional” which was won by Orlena Ferrao, Aaditya Singh and Sonia Macwan as a team and the best speaker was awarded to Kushagra Maheshwari.

October 8th, 2021 – INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE (LEAVING NO-ONE BEHIND WATER & INEQUALITIES PART II)

The first international conference being a huge success called for a second part. The second conference was organized by UNESCO Chair of Inter-Religious and Inter-Cultural Dialogue, St. Andrew’s College on October 8, 2021, with the same title and vision and mission, plunged into the depths of water-related issues and inequalities faced.

January 19th, 2022 – ORIENTATION

On 20th January 2022, the first-year batch of B.Com students was given an orientation by Esha Chemburkar and Orlena Ferrao regarding the activities of the chair. The activities and initiatives taken by the chair and the perks of joining the team were explained to the students. This provided the students with a comprehensive overview of the program as well as the opportunities to explore throughout the year.

January 31st, 2022 – IGNITE RELEASE

Ignite is a magazine of the chair released every two years. The edition for the years 2020-22 was released on January 31, 2022. The magazine is a collection of beautiful articles related to the cultures and religions of this country written by future writers bringing us closer to India’s culture.

February 5th, 2022- GUEST LECTURE: “THE PANDEMIC CONNECT – CROSSROADS OF SPIRITUALITY AND MENTAL HEALTH”

Often in times of distress, we turn our minds to God. However, with the places of worship being closed this became a tad bit difficult. To raise awareness on the theme “The Pandemic Connect- Crossroads of Spirituality and Mental Health” the chair invited  Dr.Dinu Shibu Mathew to deliver a guest lecture on 5th, February 2022. Our esteemed speaker gave the topic a broader perspective and elucidated how to stay strong in times of distress.

February 8th, 2022 – PANEL DISCUSSION: “HOUSE OF SECRETS”

Burrari deaths, one of the most notorious crimes of India was a mass suicide of 11 members of a family that left the whole country disturbed. To educate people on the death and situation of the mass suicide, a panel discussion was held on 8th February 2022 based on the show that aired on Netflix under the name “House of Secrets: The Burrari Deaths”. The event served as a platform where every panellist was able to share their viewpoints and observations.

February 8th, 2022 – PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION: “COLORS OF GOD”

Indian culture is the most diverse and colourful culture on the planet. With this in mind, a photography competition “Colours of God” was held on 8th February 2022  to sense participants’ understanding of Indian Culture and creativity through one of the most creative ways possible.

February 9th, 2022 – MOVIE ANALYSIS: “DEOOL BAND”

A movie analysis is a critical review of a film to analyse it in every way possible. A movie analysis was organised on 9th February 2022, by Gaurav Tiwari, Jasmine Prasad and Alisha Bernard on a Marathi pioneer “Deool Band” critically reviewing the concept, cinematography and making of the film but focussing the most on the idea of Atheist Vs God shown in the movie and getting a step closer to understanding faith and religion.

February 9th, 2022 – POETRY COMPETITION: “RHYME ON TIME”

“Rhyme on Time”, a poetry writing competition was held on 9th, February 2022. On a political, cultural and economic level religion has always influenced Indian culture. The topic: Culture-Everything that Influences you, gives the contenders the perfect opportunity to portray the influence of religion which resonates deep within the roots of Indian culture. The competition was won by Venessa Kasare.

February 12th, 2022 – SOCIAL MEDIA EVENT: TRIBUTE TO LATA MANGESHKAR

Lata Mangeshkar was a legend with an unprecedented impact on Indian film music who pushed back the boundaries of music with her mind-boggling skills. Her untimely demise left the whole country shattered. A tribute was paid on 12th February 2022 to honour Lata Mangeshkar, the “Queen of Melody” through our social media platform by encapsulating her journey across eight decades.

June 14th, 2021 to 28th March, 2022 – SOCIAL MEDIA EVENT: “28 REASONS TO CELEBRATE INDIA”

India is the kaleidoscope of culture that changes every fifty- hundred kilometres, with each state being diverse from one another and possessing its beauty. From 14th, June 2021 to 28th, March 2022 various infotainment videos “28 reasons to celebrate India”  were posted on our social media page with some cultural tidbits about all the 28 states of India bringing the viewers closer to this beautiful country.

March 9th, 2022 – FIELD TRIP TO GLOBAL VIPASSANA PAGODA

A field trip was arranged to the Global Vipassana Pagoda in Gorai, Mumbai. The trip provided all the students an insight into the very origin of Buddhism along with the life of its great founder, Siddharth Gautama.