SYNER-JAAI 2017, JESUIT ALUMNI NATIONAL CONGRESS 2017

BUSINESS SESSIONS : JAAI national Congress will deal the following major topics in its discussions.

EMPOWERMENT THROUGH HEALTH

The old jargon “Health is Wealth” holds water till today, and is likely to be true till eternity. Health is the basis of all happiness and well-being. But unfortunately, a vast population is either unserved or underserved by the advanced healthcare systems owing to ignorance, distance, paucity, cost and scarcity of skilled and trained personnel. Malpractices, fraud and over-prescription in the field are a known fact. Standardization of protocols too remains a grey area. All this snowballs into lack of confidence and lack of trust in the patients, who are the key stakeholders in the mammoth industry.

By virtue of their excellent education base and virtue of the moral values imbibed in them, Jesuit alumni have established themselves in India and the world over as reputed and trustworthy eminent medical professionals known for their competence and skills.

Can we, as Jesuit achievers, synergize and network with the medical administrators, doctors, practitioners of alternate systems of medical and healthcare; and ensure honest and fair-practiced medical services for the families and well-wishers of the Jesuits fraternity? This may gradually be extended to the communities around us. The focus areas of the business session are:

1)What is “good health” considering the stress levels and demands of modern times ?

2)Management of Social and Occupational Stresses.

3)How to avoid falling into the trap of medical malpractices, cheating and fraud ?

4)How to cope up with medical cost – corpus funds, health insurance etc.?

5)How to create a Jesuit alumni network and pool of healthcare resource persons ?

EMPOWERMENT FOR ENVIRONMENT, ECOLOGY AND SANITATION  

Industrialization, population, growth, development has led to bleeding of our planet in many ways. While many damages may be irreversible, we must ensure that there is no further deterioration. Reversal of some of our sins to make development and modern life sustainable may be the ideal situation.

Science and activism, apart from awareness are some areas we would like to look into. Sanitation, as part of our civic responsibility, has to be entrenched into all individuals in their formative years in school through curriculum itself. Advocacy groups could be formed at the national level to create awareness through indulgence, training, legislative enforcement, etc.

This session shall cover:

1.The present “sorry state” of environment and ecology.

2.Restoration and replenishment of environment, ecology and natural resources.

3.Social indulgence and awareness creation

4.Jesuit network to further JAAI’s permanent projects associated to environment and ecology.

5.Sanitation and hygiene promotion in Jesuit institutions and communities.

EMPOWERMENT THROUGH FORMAL FRAMEWORKS AND FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT :

 A formal structure, clear hierarchy and Standard Operating Procedures; and effective management of finances are the backbone of all organizations and projects. Alumni Associations are no different !

Finance is not only the means but also the yardstick of success of any activity. It is also used to monitor the success of any individual, corporate or any project, hence it is both : a parameter and a control tool.

We shall explore the following: -

1.How to formalize and create an organization for the Alumni Association ?

2.Generation and management of funds for sustenance and execution of projects of permanent nature.

3.Sharing our knowledge and best practices to help other alumni associations.

4.Creation of Corpus Fund(s) to finance ongoing projects such as sustained scholarships, etc.

5.Knowledge of the financial markets, Mutual Funds, etc. as investment tools for wealth creation.

6.Financial Management as a tool for enriching personal lives, eradication of black money, and happiness quotient vis-à-vis wealth.

EMPOWERMENT THROUGH SOCIO-CIVIC INTERVENTION AND ADVOCACY IN GOVERNANCE:

Dependence on the Government to do everything for us is a prevalent and deep-rooted culture in our country. We are very conscious of our rights but relatively ignorant of our duties.

As educated, established and responsible citizens of this great country, it is desirable of us to share the government’s burden, and lead by example. It is also expected that we work as a bridge to establish a dialogue between the authorities and the beneficiaries of government policies and schemes.

We shall discuss :

1.Policies related to safety, delivery of welfare schemes and social upliftment.

2.Interface with the administration and bureaucracy relating to systems and transparency.

3.Bridging of trust-deficit and advocacy of government policies.

4.Redressal and support mechanisms.

5.Alumni networking as a Jesuit resource.

 EMPOWERMENT THROUGH GLOBAL JESUIT NETWORKING:

Jesuit alumni are well placed in all spheres of society, across the globe. A formal network to bring together a sizeable chunk of this purposeful group can be a very useful tool in improving quality of life of all alumni, Jesuits and the community at-large. We shall explore:

1.Strategies for building up of a holistic database of alumni members, using modern ICT Tools.

2.Means and methods of pooling intellectual and physical resources.

3.Improved exchange programs (study, student, alumni and cultural exchanges).

4.Guidance in education and career development.

5.Creation of a Volunteer Bank as a resource for use by the network.

6.Synergizing with WUJA in its projects.

STRENGTHENING ALUMNI BODIES AND MANAGEMENT OF JAAI’S SIGNATURE PROJECTS:

Vibrant and active Alumni Associations are the backbone of JAAI. In the absence of formal Alumni Associations, bonding and networking for fruitful social purposes becomes impossible. Unorganized, non-concerted and localized activities at micro levels are visible, but fail to create significant impacts. All Jesuit Institutions need to foster and nurture their alumnus for creating formal Alumni Associations and give direction to the stray and isolated works being done by micro-groups.

JAAI focuses on selective projects relevant at the national level, round the year, all over the country. JAAI provides guidelines to the alumni associations to work on these common projects, apart from working on their respective / own social projects. Blood donation, student exchange, alumni exchange, environment services etc. are some of these projects. JAAI is also the bridge to the world treasure-house of Jesuit Alumni.

If all alumni associations take up similar projects and follow a common calendar, the visibility, impact and outcome of their work shall definitely be immense. Selecting such projects and arriving at a consensus on how to pool the resources is desirable. We shall understand :

1.How to create and sustain Alumni Associations in Institutions having such vacuum.

2.Creating a compendium of success stories and socially productive projects as a tool and beacon light for emerging Alumni Bodies.

3.Creating a common calendar for JAAI’s Signature Projects.

4.Pooling of intellectual, financial and physical resource and means of sharing them.

5.How to create a system to catalyze the growth of existing and on-going projects.