YOUNG WOMEN LEADERSHIP FORUM
A noble homage - ‘Young Women Leadership Forum’ was organized on 9th Nov’09 in the memory of our BMM student Ms. Avanti Desai who demised in a railway accident last year. It had been organized by the parents in conjunction with the Women’s Development Cell of the college.
The programme commenced at 9.15 am. Mrs. Shehernaz Nalwalla addressed the crowd emphasizing on the development of leadership skills among women.
Next, Mr. Sudhakar Solamanraj, Co-ordinator- BMM shared a few words on the personality of Avanti Desai, her nature, strengths, aspirations, her interaction with the classmates and faculty. It was a heart enthralling moment for the audience.
Mr. Desai introduced the Chief guest, Mrs. Swati A. Piramal, the first woman president to head ASSOCHAM and a renowned charismatic leader. She serves as the Director of Strategic Alliance & Communication at Piramal Healthcare Ltd. She also serves as the Vice Chairman of Piramal Life Sciences Limited and as an Executive Director of Piramal Healthcare Ltd. (Alternatively known as Nicholas Piramal India Ltd.). Dr. Piramal has been conferred the "Chevalier de 1'Ordre National du Merite" (Knight of the Order of Merit) by the French President. She also heads a number of committees and commissions all over India and abroad.
Mrs. Piramal accentuated leadership qualities with the aid of historical stories and music. One of the prominent ones was that of Vasco Da Gama. Mr. Vasco Da Gama bombarded the Indian soil for almost three days and the then king tried to save himself only with a heap of leaves as the concept of gunpowder was not known to him due to which he couldn’t save his land which marked the era of colonialism in India. Through the story, she highlighted our gaffe mentality of looking only inwards and of not going beyond our boundaries (not looking what’s actually happening in the world around us) and this mistake committed by our then kings has costed us over 300 years of colonialism, thereby stressing that students should focus not only on their periphery but should also be aware of the world around them, this would enable them to make a difference in their lives and the lives of others.
She also narrated her experience and the efforts that went into compiling the 'Science Anthem', which had been penned by Rabindranath Tagore. Through the presentation, she also emphasized the need of being passionate in life.
Mr. Desai then introduced the second guest, the Sheriff of Mumbai, Dr. (Mrs.) Indu Shahani – Principal, H. R. College.
In her speech, she not only shared a gist of her experiences as a student but also narrated how she went along accomplishing projects especially the India Ambulance project and the Women Helpline project.
She then emphasized on inculcating three Cs- Communication, Competency and Connectivity for personal development. She underlined the shift of the paradigm where students are molded effectively through extra- curricular activities other than only classroom sessions. She also laid great emphasis on how her students at the college assists her in accomplishing her activities as the ‘Sheriff of Mumbai’. Lastly she appreciated the efforts of the organizers for organizing this seminar as the subject of Women’s development has always been close to her heart.
Mr. Desai thanks the two chief guests for their prominent presence during the forum.
Then Prof. Vidyanand Joshi and Dr. Gowri Joshi from Evoskills sparked up the workshop session by hurling questions at the audience on the topics of dreams, one’s genuine identity and being great leaders of tomorrow. It was a beguiling workshop where a number of students expressed their personal views and opinions in a riveting way.
With a vote of thanks by a student, the forum concluded.
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