The emphasis of the ninth Jesuit Alumni National Congress 2020 at St. Joseph’s College earlier this month was on inner peace, and building a harmonious world.
The national congress on ‘Jesuit Alumni Networking for a Harmonious World’ lasting three days witnessed 650 delegates from across the country reiterating their commitment towards checking deterioration of human values and saving the poor from all sorts of oppression.
On the first day, Rev. Fr. George Pattery, Provisional of South Asia, emphasised on Athma Santhushti (inner peace of soul) by healing the poor, irrespective of their nationality and other identities with a profound sense of global citizenship.
Delving into the topic ‘Media and Networking,’ R. Vijaya Sankar, Editor, Frontline, traced the utility of the press and media in upholding social justice and equality with freedom of expression.
Hyper commercialisation of media has led to suppression of real social issues, he said.
Member of Parliament, Tiruchi, S. Thirunavukkarasar, spoke on the potential for the district to turn into the second capital of Tamil Nadu.
On the final day, S. Chenthil Kumar, alumnus of St. Joseph’s College, was elected president of JAAI. Addressing the valedictory session, V. Ramakrishnan, Chief Financial Officer, Tata Consultancy Services, said the digital interconnection of 10 billion devices augured well for constructive networking.
Protection of data privacy was a requirement to network for a harmonious world.
V. Thiruppugazh, Additional Secretary, National Disaster Management Authority, Ministry of Home Affairs, specified four priorities: understanding risk, improving risk governance, improving early warning and investing in risk reduction.
