Workshops on Social Consciousness conducted at SAPUC

Mangaluru: The crying need of our times is not only to develop youth with a vision and a mission but also with a sense of genuine social consciousness and a heart for others. In a society where people are victimized by personal and institutionalized injustice, in a society that is constantly threatened by trends of communalism, it is important that we be perceptive of the forces of injustice and exploitation and respond to the situation adequately. We need youth who can cultivate in their heart a sense of social concern and are ready to be at the real service of the poor and the oppressed. Thus with the objective to sensitize the students on social consciousness,  interactive workshops were organised in collaboration with ‘Samvada’.

 ‘Samvada’, a charitable trust begun in 1990 in Bangalore, has established itself in the form of Youth Resource Centres (YRCs), as well as the ‘Baduku’ Centre for Livelihoods Learning in Karnataka and other parts of the country. It believes that the way forward lies in social justice in all its forms, and environmentally sustainable world.

 The ‘Samvada’ YRC in Mangalore is a space for the youth that enables learning, reading, counselling- all the while giving them a platform to express themselves. It creates awareness and promotes Gender equity, sustainability, social inclusion, pluralism, youth rights & democracy among youth and provides livelihood training.

The sessions conducted by ‘Samvada’ created awareness on the present situation in the society and insights were provided on the current social environment, discrimination and the need for communal harmony. The message ‘injustice anywhere is the threat to justice everywhere’ was highlighted through videos, PPTs and group discussions. The speakers reflected on the fact that, a conducive social and physical environment is necessary for a wholesome life experience and to bring out our maximum potential.

The sessions also focused on our physical environment and the threatening climate crisis due to the impact of short sighted development projects. The resource persons from Samvada presented an alternative sustainable development model-Sustainable development in which development does not come at the cost of nature and biodiversity.

The team ‘Samvada’ felt that social justice and sustainable development will begin only with the participation of the youth and requested students to be a part of this long term process which needs the inclusion of all people, irrespective of gender, class, caste, religion, age, color, size and nationality.

Rev. Fr Sujay Daniel SJ, Campus Minister SAPUC and Mrs Anisha Andrade, Faculty, Department of Mathematics coordinated the workshops.