February 06

FORUM FOR FREE INTERACTION [FOF]
An Inter-Disciplinary Students Forum for Discussion
Supported by Center for Civil Society, New Delhi

 ASSUMPTION COLLEGE CHAPTER
[Established on December 15 2005]
Rosemary Abraham
ally_aby@yahoo.co.uk
(LSS Trivandrum 04)

Inaugural Ceremony
The inaugural ceremony of the Forum for Free Interactions took place on 15^th December 2005. Principal of Assumption College, Rev. Sr. Mary Kaithamattom inaugurated the activities of the FoF. Head of the Department of Economics, Ms. Rani Maria Thomas presided over the function. Ms. Rosemary K. Abraham the staff co-ordinator of the Forum introduced the forum and Center for Civil Society to the audience.

Dr. Joseph Thekkedam, Management Faculty, Berchman’s Institute of Management Studies graced the occasion with his thought provoking address on “The Thief Called the Businessman: An introduction to Corporate ethics”. While enlightening the students on the incentives for a business man to remain ethical he also mentioned about the variance in ethical standards across the globe. The floor was open for discussion and many questions like “is there anything called Christian Business ethics?” and concerns regarding the impact of faulty advertisements, cheating, and frauds like that of Enron and Worldcom, BCCI scam in U. K. etc sprang up.

The academic session was followed by a documentary screening of “Greed” by John Stossel. Students agreed that they have never heard of such kind of arguments before. Though the academic session went slightly boring since it was too long, the documentary screening and thought provoking discussions it evoked, made the day.

Itineraries of the day included:

Prayer Song: Aneela and Liya [I DC Economics]

Welcome:  Mariamma [III DC Economics]

Introducing CCS  : Ms. Rosemary K. Abraham [Faculty, Department of Economics]

 Presidential Address: Ms. Rani Maria Thomas [Head of the Department, Economics]

Inaugural Address & Talk: Rev. Sr. Mary Kaithamattom [Principal, Assumption College] 

Key note Address on Corporate Ethics: Rev. Dr. Jose Sebastian Thekkedam [Faculty, MBA, BIMS, Changanacherry]                                          

Documentary “Greed” [John Stossel]

Alongside the regular members of the class students from B.A. economics 2^nd and 3^rd year and others who were free during that hour visited and enjoyed the programme.

Kazcha Screening

On 19^th of December 2005, FoF members screened the movie titled “Kazhcha [Vision or sight] directed by Blessy. It is about a small Gujarati boy who comes into the Kuttanad area after the killer quakes of January 26 2004. The movie projects the hassles on adoption and shows how the rigidity of laws affects the survival of this boy. The movie is a typical example of the dictum “the road to hell is paved with good intentions”. A clear consensus could not be reached regarding the reforms in adoption laws, but all agreed to the viewpoint that even good laws can be disastrous in certain circumstances. Students also discussed the craft of presenting a thought using the medium of cinema.

A Terracotta Approach to Environmental Problems

It is a discussion session of students, including two paper presentations by students:

1. Protection of Endangered Species  [Josey J. Vincent, I DC Zoology]
2. Pollution of River Yamuna: Issues and Possible Solutions [ Preethy Joseph II DC Zoology]

It was originally scheduled for December 21^st 2005, but could not be taken up due to other programmes in the college. Hence we postponed it to January 23^rd 2006, after the model exam of the students.

FOF Library Activities
Currently two books are in circulation:
Morality of Markets [ Remya Krishnan I DC Economics]
Terracotta Reader [ Josey J. Vincent, I DC Zoology]

FOF Research Activities
Members from Chemistry Department (Renu Jose [III DC Chemistry] and Amala Elizabeth Baby [III DC Chemistry]) are currently working on a research proposal to be sent to CCS on Solid Waste Management by Changanacherry Municipality for the Internship Programme.

First draft of projects “Livelihood issues of Autorickshaw drivers” “Performance of Coir Board & Crisis in Coir Industry”  “Trawling Ban in Coastal areas: How much does it help the poor fisherman?” submitted.
 

Centre for Civil Society
K 36 Hauz Khas Enclave, New Delhi  110 016 Tel: 011 26537456, Fax: 26512347, Web: www.ccsindia.org

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