8th Ambedkar Memorial Lecture

The School of Social Work, St Joseph's University conducted its 8th Ambedkar Memorial Lecture on 20th December, 2022. The guest speaker of the day was Mr. Shivasunder, a notable journalist and social activist. Dr. Fr. Augustine Lourdu, Dean, School of Social Work gave the welcome address wherein he spoke about Dr. B R Ambedkar and his key role in framing the Indian Constitution. Mr. Y J Rajendra, addressed the gathering as well and welcomed Mr. Shivasunder. The guest speaker spoke extensively on democracy and its significance in Indian society. He provided the audience with an understanding  of democracy and stated that democracy was not just a political system but also a social and economic system. He explained the constitutional concepts of Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles of State Policy. He also highlighted the need for inclusion of women in society and the importance of free and equal education for all. The lecture was followed by a Q&A session in which the students actively participated.

Anger Management Workshop

A workshop on anger management chaired by Dr Arthur J Frankel of UNCW was hosted by the School of Social Work, St. Joseph's University. This was organised in collaboration with the University of North Carolina, Wilmington (UNCW), USA, on 19th December 2022. Dr Arthur gave an extensive session about evidence-based approaches to deal with anger management. His knowledge on negative reinforcement, positive parenting, humanistic approach and Gestalt Therapy was an eye-opener for the audience. The workshop helped the audience to learn how to recognise, cope and express anger in fruitful ways. The event was followed by a very active Q&A participated by the majority of the audience. The session was rated “excellent” by most of the participants who attended the workshop.

TANDAV - Festival of Inclusion

December 18th, 2022 witnessed the School of Social Work, St. Joseph’s University host Tandav, a festival of inclusion in collaboration with the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, USA, Growth School, Oracle, and Smileys India. Over 800 participants including differently abled individuals of all ages across the nation took part in the event. Dance, music, and fun constituted the festival from the inaugural ceremony till the closing ceremony. Cultural performances of the participants were a joy to behold. The event also showcased a fun learning interactive game session which was absolutely incredible and provided an unforgettable experience for the participants. Food stalls, handicraft stalls and game stalls gave the audience a chance to be a  part of the mesmerising event. The tempting food and the entertaining games added to the grand success of the event.

SWSA Alumni Lecture Series III - Mr. Varun Jagannath

On 26th of November 2022, the second SWSA Alumni Lecture Series III was held in the auditorium of De Nobili Hall, UG Block, St. Joseph’s university. 

Mr. Varun Jagannath is a senior researcher and field manager at Good Business Lab. He is a former professor of the School of Social Work, St. Joseph’s University. The session started with Mr. Jagannath asked the students what they expected out of the session and he addressed each concern. The session was very interactive. Sir then spoke about how capitalism gives scope to social workers and also talked about the importance of questioning things. A few of the other concerns addressed by Sir include the gender pay gap, the importance of research and challenges faced by social workers. He concluded the lecture with his words “We are working for one common goal and that is serving humanity”. 

 

SWSA Alumni Lecture Series III - Mr. Xavier B

On 2nd of November 2022, the first SWSA alumni lecture series III was held in the auditorium of Xavier hall, PG Block, St. Joseph’s university. It was Mr. Xavier B, currently working in NIMHANS in the mental health sector, who graduated in the year 2016 from our university, addressed the social work students. 

First, the HOD of School of Social Work, Mr. Alan Godfrey welcomed the guest with a token of respect. Then he addressed the gathering with a welcome speech. Later, Mr Xavier had an interaction session with the students of social work on the role of social social workers in mental health settings. He spoke about mental health and how NIMHANS contribute to helping patients. He also spoke about how social workers have challenges with conveying information to the patients' parents and what they ought to do as a medical and psychiatric social worker. Finally, the program was concluded with a vote of thanks given by Prof. Lavanya.

Social Work Eco Friendly Team in collaboration with ITC WOW

Social Work Eco Friendly Team, School of Social Work organised a Dry Waste Management Awareness Campaign in collaboration with ITC WOW (Well Being Out of Waste) on October 22^nd, 2022 at St. Joseph’s University Bengaluru.

 The main speaker for the day was Mr. Jena Sudhakaran, Program Officer from ITC WOW, who spoke about dry waste management, including segregation of waste, why it is important to segregate waste, and how this process can affect waste-pickers and landfills. He spoke about segregating our daily household waste into wet waste, dry waste, biomedical waste, e-waste, and reject waste. He also spoke about the responsibility of waste management on each and every individual, because each one of us is responsible for waste generation.

 The session was very interactive, as the students actively participated in the awareness campaign and made the event successful.

 

SWSA INAUGURATION 2022-23

Social Work Student Association, School of Social Work had their INAUGURATION CEREMONY for the year 2022-23 on October 19^th, 2022. The inauguration was started by the prayer song and followed by a welcome message. The programme was then followed by the chief guest for the day, Mr. Anand Kumar, addressing the gathering.

 The inauguration programme was then taken forward by the Dean of the School of Social Work, Dr. Fr. Augustine Lourdu who spoke about SWSA and the importance of the association in promoting social change and learning.  

The inauguration programme was then followed by the chief guest inaugurating SWSA and the introduction of the core committee by the SWSA coordinator, Ms. Viola Maria Noronha, where she introduced the elected members of the core committee, followed by an oath taking ceremony. The oath taking ceremony was the essence of the program, and it was an overwhelming experience as the elected core committee of SWSA became the first committee of St. Joseph's University.

 The programme was then taken over by the students of the School of Social Work, where the students had cultural activities including dance performances, singing, and skit performance. Concluding the programme, Moukuhi Dutta Phukan, elected president of SWSA 2022-2023 addressed the vote of thanks.