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A journey of a thousand miles begins with wee steps. We’ve taken more than just a few steps in the past fifteen years. There is certainly much to be grateful for-and much more to look forward to. AICUF was refounded at St. Xavier’s College in 1998 by Fr. Roy Pereira, S.J. who guided the movement for a number of years till he went abroad for his studies. Fr. Roy is back again as State Advisor from mid 2012.

Election of the new Core Committee for the year 2013-2014 took place on 9th March 2013. The Core Committee comprised of the President-Renisha Mall, Secretary-Serah Koshy, and the Treasurer- Bhanvi Kumar.

The Investiture Ceremony for the trio was held on 14th March in the presence of Fr. Roy, State Advisor, Maharashtra.

Interviews for the Steering Committee 2013-14 were held on the 25th and 28th March, with the First Year applicants being interviewed on the 25th and the Second Year applicants being interviewed on the 28th. The new Steering Committee was formally announced on the 29th. The Steering Committee was as follows: Cultural Coordinator- Mukta Khankal, Prayer Coordinator-Carmel Rasquinha, Publicity Coordinator- Roshal

Mascarenhas, Women‘s Commission Coordinator- Crislin Rozario, Dalit Commission Coordinator- Siddhant Sarpate, Editor of Phoenix- Joyna Michyari, Editor of Jeevan- Sanskruti Ghosalkar, Editor of Anamika- Ashwini Lakshminarayanan, and Editor of AICUFer- Jennifer Spencer.

The First SC meeting was held on 6th May, with all the SC members in attendance. The theme for the year Unity in Difference, was subsequently decided on 29th June.

Cadre Training Part-1 was held on 21st June for the SC members. They were taught team building skills through a treasure hunt.

For the Diocesan World Youth Day, 2013 on 14th July, Serah Koshy, Carmel Rasquinha, Verita Monteiro, Jonella F. Gonsalves, Brilly N. Carvalho, Amanda Gonsalves, Anannya Bania, Pratik Nazareth, Annabelle D’Costa, Nigel Moreira, Malvia Dias, Premal P. Popat, Dolrina Gonsalves, Valessa Rodrigues and Rebecca Pereira helped in maintaining security for the event. Fr. Roy Pereira along with Lyle Michael, Gretta Castellino and Leslin Lobo who have been participants at the previous World Youth Day in Spain conducted a discussion and an Interview session.

Parivartan initiative started off with the Azad Maidan visits beginning on 6th July. These visits took place every Saturday till 21st September. Tribal children from the Pardi tribe, who lived in Azad Maidan, were brought to college where five AICUFers – Annabelle D‘Costa, Suzanne Subedar, Vanessa D‘Souza, Verita Monteiro and Seema Jaiswal diligently taught the students for two hours every Saturday.

There was a visit to the CORP (Community Outreach Programme) shelter home for street Boys at Grant Road, where Carmel Rasquina, Renisha Mall, Sunju Kumari, Siona Korreia, Gauri Kamat, Alice Gracious, Neha Britto, Sweenal Rebello, Sweta Fereira together, organized activities and games for them.

There were also visits to Reay Road which began on the 8th of July and continued till 15th of July. AICUFers- Noella Vellara, Meenakshi Pareek, Mihika Kothari, Naomi Fernandes, Sheryl Lasrado, Ananya Bania and Anusha D‘Souza, went twice a week for two hours to teach basic Engish to the women of the Pardi tribe. Later on the menfolk also joined in the classes.

In collaboration with Nirmala Niketan College and their NGO Chirag, which works for HIV /AIDS patients, AICUF sent its students, Avena Coutinho, Gauri Kamat, Shruti Nair, Subhalaxmi Nadar, Neha Britto, Rhea Tauro, Ronita Sequeira, Ganeshri Khare, Helen Sathiya G., Kaveri Biswas, Malvia Dias, Maybel Shajan, Senora Athaide, Shweta Rodrigues, Suchita Singh, Sweenal Rebello, Sneha Kamale and Shwetha F. on 11th September, 14th September, 29th November, 7th December and 12th December. The AICUFers helped to make paper plates which were sold to generate income for the NGO.

The AICUF Photography Enthusiast’s Club or AIPEC started on 9th July, to encourage AICUF‘s photographers to capture AICUF moments as well as various photos highlighting social issues.

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Release of Phoenix‘s first issue with the theme ‘A need for Change’ took place on 20th July.

St Ignatius Feast was celebrated in college on 31st July and AICUF contributed by conducting the college choir and a multi-cultural dance performance.

First General Body Meeting was held on 6th August, with about 50 AICUFers in attendance. They were encouraged to interact with their fellow AICUFers to get to know each other. They were also given an introduction to the AICUF movement, its goals, motto and thrust areas, as well as an overview of the events planned for the year.

AICUF 25th National Council was held from 24th to 26th August at AICUF House, Chennai. Fr. Roy, Pearl D‘souza, Franklin Fernandes and Conrade Lestergen represented AICUF Maharashtra.

AICUF Treasure Hunt was held on 27th August, 2013 and 20 AICUFers participated.

Newsletter Jeevan was released on 20th September.

ICMICA (International Catholic Movement for Intellectual and Cultural Affairs) Introduction on 12th October, where Ms. Marina D‘costa gave the Steering Committee members an introduction to the ICMICA initiative and the various opportunities that AICUFers have and also a talk on how we can improve on our leadership skills.

YES Camp or Youth Encounter Session was held from 16th-18th October at St. Stanislaus Villa, Khandala. The theme for the camp was ‘Unite and Bridge the Difference’. There were 60 AICUFers in attendance along with Fr. Roy, who interacted with each other and learnt skills like teamwork and effective communication. Advocate Aileen Marques and Counsellor Rochelle Pereira gave their valuable inputs to the Camp.

Release of Anamika‘s first issue with the theme ‘Violence Against Women’ on 25th October. The newsletter contained narratives about heroes in daily life, who chose to stand up for what is right.

AICUF work Camp from 4th-10th November, 2013 where Renisha Mall helped in organising a ‘Baal Mela‘ at Kolad along with the Janhit Vikas Yojna.

Ujali, The Girl Child Week was held from 18th to 23rd November. The main aim of this initiative was to create gender sensitization among the youth. Various speakers were present on different days and a number of discussions such as ‘Women and the workplace’ by Mr. Lobo, an Inter faculty panel discussion on women, ‘The legal battle and mythical women’ by Swati Deshpande and Persis Sidhva under the aegis’ of Ms. Meera and Ms. Perrie of the BMM Dept. and Ms. Vinita of the Sociology Dept was held. There was also a souvenir sale comprising of various items that were made by the AICUFers.

AICUF National Dalit Commission and National Women’s Commission was held in Chennai from 22nd to 25th November. AICUF Mumbai sent 4 students for the same. Siddhant Sarpate was elected National Dalit Commission Convenor and Susanne Rodrigues was elected National Women‘s Commission Co-Convenor.

The National Team Member election of Pearl D‘souza took place on the 29th November.

AICUF State Seminar on Human Trafficking took place on 8th December at St. Vincent‘s College, Pune, ‘Oasis’, an NGO based in Mumbai that works in the field of human trafficking organized interactive sessions with the students. Vanessa D‘souza, Sheryl Lasrado, Anju Ashok, Senita Fernando, Jasmine Adams, Noella Vellara, Annabell D‘costa, Verita Monterio, Ronita Sequeira and Grace took part in it.

AICUF Praise and Worship session took place on 13th December. There were 25 people who attended the first session. The leaders along with the Prayer Co-ordinator ensured that the mood was upbeat. The session was aimed at spiritual growth for the AICUFers.

Short Film Screening on Gender Dysphoria by British filmmaker, Laila Khan took place on 13th December in the college hall. The film screening of ‘Before I was Me’ was followed by a panel discussion with Fr. Roy, Laila Khan and Palav Patankar, founder of the Humsafar Trust.

‘Spread the Christmas Cheer’ initiative was taken by AICUF to spread the Christmas spirit among children. AICUF went to ‘Sharanam Center’, an NGO in Dharavi that looks after 30 girls on 23rd December, where Annabell D‘costa, Sheryl Lasrado, Naomi Fernandes, Priya Beck, Dylan D‘souza, Pawan Kumar Pandey and Heather took part by interacting with the children, playing games and singing carols.

AICUF Day and Release of ‘The AICUFer’

AICUF Day was held from 19th-21st January, 2014, marking the celebration of 15 years of the AICUF movement in Maharashtra- An AICUF Reunion The AICUFer was released on 19th January, the theme being ‘Shades of Existence- Tribal population in India’.The following day was dedicated to one of AICUF‘s thrust areas-the tribals, where Prof BipinJoJo from TISS was invited to give a talk. Finally, on the 3rd day we had an NGO sale and ‘Baal Mela’ for the underprivileged kids who were invited from Dharavi.

Renisha Mall (President)

Serah Koshy (Secretary)

Fr. Roy PereiraFaculty Incharge

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In a small corner of the campus of St. Xavier’s College is a room that has been witness and host to the tradition of Indian Classical music for forty long and lively years. Since its inception in 1973, the Indian Music Group has seen many artists, budding and renowned alike, who have performed in this very campus and enthralled audiences year after year. Some of them include Late Ustad Allah Rakha Khan, Late Pt. Ravi Shankar, Late Pt Bhimsen Joshi, M.S. Subbulakshmi, Ustad Zakhir Hussain, Kishori Amonkar, and Vidushi Girja Devi amongst many others. Every year the IMG board selects a group of enthusiastic students to be a part of the Executive Committee, who then become in-charge of the functioning of the institution and its concerts. Although the committee changes every year, the primary goal of the IMG

remains the same– To spread the love and reverence for Indian Classical music among the youth.

The past year has been of special significance to the IMG. From the very first concert to the last one, IMG has achieved grand success in each of its endeavors. Some of the finest artists of contemporary Indian Classical music performed with great zeal for this Institution. The year began with the fusion concert which saw the soulful blending of Hindustani and Carnatic music forms, followed by the annual monsoon concert 'Malhar ke Prakaar', and the Young Artists Festival which is a launchpad for budding classical musicians. This year, the Music Appreciation Course was well received by both members and students. In January, the IMG

celebrated its 40th Birth Anniversary. Subsequently, the Birthday Concert was a tribute to all the years that have gone by and all those that are yet to come. Pt. Ronu Majumdar (Flute)and Smt. Devaki Pandit (Vocals) performed for the Birthday Concert. It was on this day that the artist line - up for IMG's Flagship event "Janfest" was revealed.

Out of all the concerts that were

indian music GrouP

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organised this year, Janfest is etched into the minds of many, for it blended the ethos of vocal music, the calm of instrumental music and the grace of Kathak into one performance – “Tridha”. The finest exponents of each form- Kaushiki Chakrobarty (Vocal), Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia (Flute) and Pt. Birju Maharaj (Kathak) came together for one magical performance. It was a sight to behold as such performances are rare. For the first time in many years, the committee put up a “House-Full” board outside college and had to send people away because all tickets were sold out. For any institution that passionately organises concerts, this was nothing short of a dream come true.

Though there are many institutions that hold classical music concerts throughout the city, the Indian Music Group holds a special place in the lives of artists and audiences across the country, solely because in a tirade of loud and sensuous beat music, they see young students selflessly and tirelessly working to preserve the ancient

tradition of Indian Classical music. Ask any student who is a part of the IMG about what the most rewarding part of the whole experience is, and you are sure to hear a unanimous answer– To see the college quadrangle reverberating and resonating with the melodious beats of an ancient and wonderful form of music and the

voices of its performers, to get a pat on the back from the artists for the efforts put in, and to see the audiences leaving with big smiles.

Raushan Kamdar (TYBA)

Dr.Asha Naithani – Dayama Faculty-in-charge

Associations

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The placement year 2013-14 commenced in July 2013 with an address by Principal, Dr.Fr. Frazer Mascarenhas to all the Final Year students, wherein he urged them to work constructively, academically, think about their future careers, and become good citizens of our Motherland. Placement Adviser Mr. Fidelis Mascarenhas then spoke on the services, procedures and policy regarding the placement services that the College provides. Fr. Terence, a Professional Counselor, provided powerful insights with great clarity regarding career choices, all of which was an immense help to the students.

The Principal then inaugurated the Placement Tab on the College website which was a long felt need and one which would prove to be a great source of information to students and employers alike. Following

student registrations, Comprehensive Placement Guidelines were sent to each of the 445students. The note covered the entire gamut of Career Planning, CV building, Developing Interview skills and other relevant information.

On August 10th 2013, Mr. Tanmoy Roy, D.G.M. Human Resources at Mahindra & Mahindra Corporate HR, conducted a workshop covering aspects such as what a Professional Manager looks for in a fresher’s CV; how to structure a good resume, and the do’s and don’t's at an interview. A robust Q & A Session followed on diverse topics wherein several queries were answered to the satisfaction of students across various academic streams.

On September 10th 2013, the B.Com. students had a special evening workshop conducted by ex-student

and senior Search Executive, Roydon Gonsalves and by XIMR ex-student and HR Manager at Reliance Group, Anthony Fernandes, who specially covered CV building, personal grooming and body language, and expectations at formal interviews. Conducted in an informal and homely manner, the audience participation and response was exceptional.

On December 4th 2013, a special interactive session chaired by Vice

the Placement cell

141

Associations

Principal of Science, Dr. Rajendra Shinde was held exclusively for Science students, to encourage them to join the Placement drives in larger numbers. A high profile team from Heidricks & Struggles (H&S), one of the best Global talent acquisition firms conducted this session. Career opportunities for Science students and how to do well at an interview formed the basis of a very interesting PPT, after which a

unique mock interview session was held featuring 3 students in a live interview with questions being asked by interviewers, one of whom was in New Delhi and telephonically linked. Questions were taken from the floor and it ended on a very cheerful note.

During the year, the Placement Policy underwent a change with students being restricted to only the first placement offer received on Campus, thereby serving the larger interests of both the student body as well as the employer. This had a salutary effect. As the year ended, a higher number of offers were made to the registered data base. There were over sixty employers, on-campus and off-campus and they offered approximately two placements each. A special effort was made to bring in employers catering to all

streams and for the first time, a number of first time employers like Reckitt Benckiser, RIL Life Science, Star India, Jet Airways, Lakme levers, Reliance Brands, AXIS Bank, HDFC Bank, Credit Suisse Bank and KPMG offered positions in their respective organizations. Further, a number of employers offered starting salaries between 5 – 10 lakhs per annum.

A special appreciation is due to placement adviser Mr. Fidelis Mascarenhas, Mr. Saju V George, Mr. Alok Gude, Mr.. Ashok Bingi, Dr. Shiney Perter and the team of students who worked hand in hand with the staff to make Placements 2013-14 an effective one.

Mr. Roy Thomas Co-ordinator, Placement Cell

The academic year began with an Orientation about the Women’s Development Cell for the First year Students, in the first week of August. Ms. Nandita Gandhi, from the NGO Akshara, along with Mr. Rahul Bose, the film personality and activist, addressed the students and interacted with them at the event.

In September (Thursday, 12th Sept., 2013) a Self Defence Workshop was held for Girl - students of the Senior College in which there were over 40 participants. The workshop was conducted by Mr. Elroy Vaz of Krav Maga Global.

As part of an ongoing effort to develop awareness and sensitize

students, Ms. Ruby Pavri from the Psychology Department has been conducting a series of Lectures on gender sensitization across classes and faculties for the First year students of Special Courses.

Ms. Madhuri Raijada Co-ordinator,

Women’s Development Cell

women’s deVeloPment cell

“respect for the rights of others means peace.”

- benito Juarez (mexican president and national hero 1806-1872)

142

Our Junior College teams participated in tournaments organized by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sport. The results are as follows:

SPORT GIRLS BOYS

FOOTBALL (U-19) Mumbai City District 2nd Runners-up Mumbai City District 2nd Runners-upSUBROTO MUKHERJEE

FOOTBALL (U/17) ------------------------------------------------ Quarter-finalists

BASKETBALL (U-19) Mumbai City District 1st Runners-up ParticipatedHOCKEY (U-19) Mumbai City District 1st Runners-up Mumbai City District 1st Runners-up

NEHRU CUP HOCKEY (U-17) ----------------- Mumbai Division 1st Runners-upVOLLEYBALL (U-19) Mumbai City District 2nd Runners-up Quarter-finalistsTHROWBALL (U-19) Mumbai City District 1st Runners-up -------------------------------------

TABLE TENNIS (U-19) Mumbai Division 1st Runners-up ParticipatedBADMINTON (U-19) 4th at Maharashtra State Participated

CHESS (U-19) Participated ParticipatedCARROM (U-19) Participated Participated

sPorts Sports Director - Thomas Pires

Individual Achievements

The following students participated at the International/National/State Level tournaments:

International Level Waterpolo

National Level

ATHLETICS: Shruti Vora (Discus Throw)

State Level

AQUATICS: Sharmeen Rangwala (50m Backstroke, 50m & 100m Breaststroke)

ATHLETICS:Chantelle Mascarenhas (400 m, 400m Hurdles)

Dhwani Viradia (Javelin Throw)

ROPE MALAKHAMB: Radhika Gad

ARTISTIC GYMNASTICS: Aditi Gandhi

SKATING: Rakesh Shinde

THROWBALL: Rameshwari Patel, Dale Machado

ARCHERY: Abigail Shinde (60m, 50m, 40m and 30m)

SQUAY MARTIAL ARTS: Deepshika Gautam

JUDO: Nikita Chatterjee

Mumbai Division/Mumbai City District

CARROM: Virginia Fernandes

AQUATICS: Sagrika Bhatt (50m Free Style, 100m Breast Stroke),

Mauravi Jukar (50m Breast Stroke)

ATHLETICS: Shimul Bijoor, Dannah De’souza, Rachelle Lobo, Varada Shroti (4X100m Relay)

Shimul Bijoor, Varada Shroti, Chantelle Mascarenhas, Niyosha Gandhi

Monica Moses (Represented India at the Asian Youth Water

polo Championships, held in Singapore, October 2013 and secured Fifth place in

Girls, Under-18 category.)

1ST RUNNER UP – MUMBAI CITY DISTRICT TOURAMENT(Top row L-R) Aleen D’Souza, Rhea Antony, Shruti Nair, Adhishree GK, Nidhi M

(Bottom row L-R) Gail Pereira, Sahithya Iyer, Kylynn Bhathena, Simran Mendonca, Sagrika Bhatt, Lavanya Jitendra

ST. XAVIER’S COLLEGE – JUNIOR GIRLS BASKETBALL TEAM

Associations

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(4X400m Relay)

Menezes Seltzer, Naik Saad, Kotian Pranay, Rodrigues Raehle, and Praful Kumar (4X100m & 4X400m Relay)

Dannah De’souza (100m, Long Jump)

Shimul Bijoor (400m)

ROLLER-SKATING: Devi Waingankar (In-line skating) Nainisha Dedhia (Quads)Sahithya Iyer (In-line)

TABLE TENNIS: Radha Joshi

Rhea DuggalSaundarya Shetty

RHYTHMIC GYMNASTICS: Shivani Singh

ARCHERY: Abigail Shinde

4TH PLACE - MAHARASHTRA STATE LEVEL BADMINTON MEET

(L-R) Miheeka Kumbhare, Mrs. Anjali Pitre, Sai Pitre

ST. XAVIER’S COLLEGE – JUNIOR GIRLS BADMINTON TEAM

2ND RUNNERS UP – MUMBAI CITY DISTRICT TOURNAMENT(Top row L-R) Niyosha Gandhi, Dhwani Viradia, Leisha Sequeira, Fahlen Fernandes, Fiza

Pal, Athira Ponnan(Bottom row L-R) Nithya Simon, Bahar Pal, Laxmi Kher, Sreyanshi Shetty

ST. XAVIER’S COLLEGE- JUNIOR GIRLS VOLLEYBALL TEAM

2ND RUNNERS UP – MUMBAI CITY DISTRICT TOURNAMENT(Top row L-R) Raehle Rodrigues, Nathan D’mello, Chimay Sen Gupta, Sports Director Thomas Pires, Football Coach Jeffery, Ashutosh Shinde,

Yohan Pavri, Praful Kumar, Charnel De’Almeida, Valton Fernandes(Bottom row L-R) Mukul Khilnani, Virgil Braganza, Nathan Fernandes, Allan Abraham,

Shawn Fernandes, Seltzer Menezes

ST. XAVIER’S COLLEGE – JUNIOR BOYS FOOTBALL TEAM

Associations

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Senior College

Our Senior College teams participated in the following tournaments organized by University of Mumbai.

The results are:

SPORT WOMEN MENFOOTBALL 1st Runners-up Participated

BASKETBALL 2nd Runners-up 2nd Runners-upHANDBALL 2nd Runners-up ---------------

HOCKEY Semi-finalists Quarter-finalistsVOLLEYBALL ------------- Participated

CRICKET ------------- ParticipatedTABLE TENNIS 1st Runners-up Quarter-finalistsBADMINTON Participated Quarter-finalists

CHESS ------------------ Participated

Individual Achievements

The following students participated at Mumbai University level.

CARROM: Pearl D’Souza (Semi-Finalist Singles)

Judo: Iqbal Bhalla (2nd Runners-up)

Best Physique: Karan Kharas (2nd Runners-up)

Ashwamedh / All- India University / National Level

FOOTBALL: Tanya Thomas, Sebastian Neethi, Dantes Alisha, Abraham Sephra,

D’costa Schenell

BASKETBALL (WOMEN): Larissa Fernandes, Bhat Mayura

BASKETBALL (MEN): Fernando Israel

JUDO: Mahesh Mhabdi – 1st Runner Up - Judo For Blind (Senior Men and Women). Organized by Indian Blind and Para Judo Association and Delhi Blind and Para- Judo Association

INTERCLASS TOURNAMENT WINNERS

SPORT Junior Girls Senior Girls Senior Boys Junior Boys

BADMINTON Sai Pitre(XII Arts B)

Nidhi Patel(TYBA)

Ritish Desai(FYBA)

Jay Hajare(XI Arts C)

CARROM Virginia Fernandes(XI Arts A)

Pearl D’Souza(SYBA)

Manish Garasangi(TYBSc)

Sheldon Fernandes(XII Sci A)

CHESS Radha Joshi(XII Arts A) Yasser (MA) Warren Fernandes

(XII Sci B)

TABLE TENNIS Radha Joshi(XII Arts A)

Yagya Chadha(FYBsc) Kartikeya Tutwala (SYBA) Kunal Ashar

(XII Sci B)BASKETBALL SYBSc XI Sci C

RINK FOOTBALL SYBA MSC XI Arts CRINK HOCKEY SYBA XI Arts CVOLLEYBALL SYBA TYBSc XI Sci C

THROWBALL SYBA

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2ND RUNNERS UP – MUMBAI UNIVERSITY INTER-COLLEGE BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

(Top row L-R) Abhineet Kanodia, Pritham D’Souza, Jason D’Souza, Nihar Nair, Toshan Anvekar,Arjun Midha, Mathew George, Yohann Louis

(Bottom row L-R) Pete Jaison, Dean D’Souza, Parth Maheshwari, Israel Fernando

ST. XAVIERS COLLEGE – MEN’S BASKETBALL TEAM

2ND RUNNERS UP – MUMBAI UNIVERSITY INTER-COLLEGE BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT

(Top row L-R) Vanessa Colaco, Tanvi Maniktala, Larissa Fernandes, Coach Sayed Rasool, Ananya Kumar, Mayura Bhat, Riya Orison (Bottom row L-R) Aashaka Shinde, Aashumi Mehta, Rhea-Sarah

Tharakan, Uddipanna, Malvika Singh, Aniya Oberoi

1ST RUNNERS UP - MUMBAI UNIVERSITY INTER-COLLEGE FOOTBALL TOURNAMENT(Top row L-R) Samrat Golhar, Nicole Ferreira, Ada Lath Gupta, Aakanksha Sharma, Pramila Irudayaraj, Manager Thomas Pires, Alicia Ramos,

Rhea Almeida, Schenell D’costa, Tanya Thomas, Sephra Abraham, Alisha Dantes, Umesh Chavan (Bottom row L-R) Marika Menezes, Cara D’Souza, Genevieve D’silva, Neethi Sebastian, Rhea Nongrum, Shivanee Agrawal, Annalea Barreto,

Stuti Agrawal

ST. XAVIER’S COLLEGE – WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TEAM

2ND RUNNERS UP- MUMBAI UNIVERSITY INTER-COLLEGE HANDBALL TOURNAMENT

(Top row L-R) Larissa Fernandes, Stuti Agrawal, Apurva Kothare, Aakanksha Sharma, Gauri Naik, Pooja Pradhan

(Bottom row L-R) Marika Menezes, Neethi Sebastian, Padmavati Kadam

ST. XAVIER’S COLLEGE – WOMEN’S HANDBALL TEAM

ST. XAVIER’S COLLEGE - WOMEN’S FOOTBALL TEAM

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The Xavier’s Resource Centre for the Visually Challenged (XRCVC) turned 10 in September 2013. Initially established to provide aid to visually impaired students of St Xavier’s College, Mumbai, the Centre has transformed from a modest one-computer department to one of India’s leading establishments working towards creating a supportive and inclusive society for visually challenged individuals.

The Centre’s guiding principle has been to establish that visual loss or impairment is only a physical condition which can be overcome, rather than a permanent disability.

It has been working tirelessly over the years to empower visually impaired persons nationwide in collaboration with the dedicated staff and students of St Xavier’s College and a small committed team of 10 professionals.

Membership expanded from 295 to 352 this year and while this number may be modest, we have been able to touch—and hopefully transform—thousands of lives across the country through advocacy efforts in the areas of education, financial and print access as well as independent living. After years of painstaking research, we launched our project to make Mathematics and Science learning accessible for the visually impaired. Our pioneering report on the subject titled ‘Numbers and Reactions’ was released at Techshare, Delhi in February, 2014 by MsLoveleenKacker, CEO, Tech Mahindra Foundation. Earlier, in July, 2013, the XRCVC conducted a Mathematics and Science workshop for parents, teachers and special educators.

After relentless efforts with the Government of India by the XRCVC and other like-minded organizations, India signed ‘The Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled’ on 30thApril, 2014. The target was to end a book famine by enabling access to published works in user-conducive formats for the 260 million blind persons worldwide, as well as those with other print disabilities.

The XRCVC also worked closely with IIT Delhi and Saksham Trust in the development and testing of a Smartcane Device for the blind- an electronic, ultrasonic unit that can be fixed on the top fold of a regular white cane to detect obstacles above knee-level at a distance ranging from 1-3 metres.

The XRCVC is pleased to welcome Mr Krishna Warrier, who joined as a Consultant (Project Implementation) in August, 2013, and Ms Rebecca Carvalho, who joined as a Special Educator (Math & Science) in December, 2013. We would also like to extend our deep appreciation to Ms Melinda Warty, Project Officer, who left XRCVC in September, 2013 to pursue higher education.

Given below is a summary of the XRCVC’s activities in 2013-14:

Direct Support Services

Technology: The XRCVC continues to remain the front running innovative technology centre in the country for the visually impaired and has consistently procured a wide range of the latest technology every year. Examples of these include accessible software such as VP Algebra, Audiographic Calculator, Nemetex, Maths Types, Maths Daisy and Sci-Voice for the newly acquired LabQuest hardware to impart training in Maths and Science to visually impaired students. Other technologies procured include Marathi OCR, ABBY Fine Reader Professional 11, Sonic Labeller, Ruby Handheld Magnifier, Zoomex Reader, Google Nexus phone, Lenovo laptop and three high-end desktop systems.

Training: Our comprehensive and revamped training schedule ensured that our Special Educator equipped members with a wide range of training including workshops in Assistive Technology, English, Life Skills, Orientation & Mobility, Braille and Science & Mathematics pedagogy.

XrcVc

MsLoveleenKacker, CEO, Tech Mahindra Foundation releasing’Numbers and Reactions’

along with Dr Sam Taraporevala (left)

A testing and training programme for the Smartcane Device for the Blind at the XRCVC

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This year, the XRCVC’s training services reached out to the following numbers:

MAY 2013 - APRIL 2014

Assistive Technology (AT) Training and Workshops Participants

AT Workshops: Aiming to spread awareness on AT among special educators, parents, teachers, students and other stakeholders 147

All AT related training including: (For Totally Blind and Low-Vision learners)Basic Computer Training & Introduction to Accessible Technologies (BCT-AT) batches 43

Training Batches (not AT related)

Course Name: (For Completely Blind and Low-Vision learners) Participants

Elementary English Training (EET) 16

Orientation & Mobility Training (O&M) 22

Life Skills Training 5

Braille 5

One of the highlights of this year’s training calendar was an intensive 40-day training organized for two blind teachers from Afghanistan’s ‘Kabul School for the Blind’. Theprogramme,facilitated by the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS),focused on Teaching Methodologies,Basic English &Computer Training, Orientation & Mobility, and Braille.

Volunteer Services: This year, we worked with an impressive strength of 132 volunteers, drawn from the college’s Social Involvement Programme (SIP). The volunteers provided assistance by creating accessible print and audio content, reading study material aloud, helping with individual and group teaching assignments, and serving as writers for exams.

Scholarship Programmes: The XRCVC continued its scholarship programmes that benefit blind and low-vision students studying in various streams. 10 visually impaired students were awarded the XRCVC-Tech Mahindra Foundation Scholarships. Three of these students are pursuing an MBA (including one in IIM Kolkata), five are pursuing degrees in Law, and one is pursuing a degree in Computer Science.

The Lions Club of East Bombay Scholarship was awarded to Tilakprasad Joshi for being the Most Deserving Visually Impaired Student graduating from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai.

One of our members, Mr. Kailash Tandel, attended a Leadership Training Programme for Young Leaders with Disabilities organized by National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP) in Delhi which aimed at identifying young people with various disabilities across the country and providing them with

An Assistive Technology training workshop at the XRCVC Two visually impaired teachers from Kabul being trained at the XRCVC

Tilakprasad Joshi receiving his graduation certificate from the Governor of Maharashtra,

K Sankaranarayanan

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exposure to advocacy and policy work at the National Level.

Sports and Recreation: Three of our student members—Mahesh Mhabdi, Fazal Mansoori and Tushar Valand—bagged medals (one silver and two bronze) while representing Maharashtra at a National Level Judo Competition in Delhi organized by the Indian Blind & Para Judo Association.

Advocacy

The XRCVC’s advocacy initiatives span across four key areas—Print Access, Financial Access, Education Access and Independent Living. The key highlights under each of these areas are as follows:

Print Access:

• The XRCVC organized its unique awareness and sensitization event ‘Reading Without Seeing: Antarchakshu – The Eye WithinTM’ for the Publishing Community at the Delhi World Book Fair from February 15-19, 2014. The event primarily focused on Print Access; aiming to train and sensitise the Print and Publishing Industry to completely-blind and low-vision

readers, and aid in disseminating information regarding alternative formats for print-disabled persons. Over 900 participants went through the experience (including 70 persons representing publishing houses spanning over 45 different publishing entities). Many of the participants evinced keen interest in participating in the ongoing Print Access Movement,thus making the event a grand success. Participants experienced typing, scanning and navigating Daisy players. They were also given the opportunity to visit a detailed exhibition area and were exposed to the various technologies used to facilitate effective print access, as well as to various tools designed to enable the visually impaired to lead full, independent, successful and fulfilling lives. A handbook titled ‘The ABC of Inclusive Publishing’ compiled by the XRCVC was distributed to the participants. The handbook aims to initiate the process of building a constructive partnership between the Publishing Community in India and the world of the print-disabled within the framework of the Copyright Amendment Act, 2012.

• This year, the XRCVC conceptualized and designed a unique ‘Braille-cum-Sighted Desktop Print Calendar’ for 2014. The calendars have been printed using a special Polymer Deposit Technology, which seamlessly blends Braille with sighted text so that it can be used by visually challenged persons as well as sighted individuals. This technology could be used in the creation of illustrated children’s storybooks in Braille where paired reading (using sighted text and Braille) can be produced on the same surface. The thicker paper ensures that the dots do not degrade since they are made with polymer deposits and not perforations. The XRCVC is now exploring different ways in which this concept can be applied to make day-to-day articles more accessible for the visually challenged

• Dr Sam Taraporevala, Director, XRCVC, finalized and released the Scope and Objectives Report for the Daisy Forum of India (DFI) Working Group on Publisher Relations during the year. This working group was constituted at the DFI Board meeting in November, 2013 and assigned the task of creating a report in alignment with DFI’s mission of exponentially increasing the availability of accessible reading material and affordable reading systems for print-disabled persons all over India. This could be accomplished by establishing a network of advanced regional production and distribution systems across the nation.

• Last year, the XRCVC had launched a National-Level Awareness Programme under the banner of ‘Reading Without Seeing’, which provides technological access to blind and low-vision users in small cities and towns across India. The programme gained considerable momentum during the academic year 2013-14 when 12 workshops were conductedinvolving413 participants from various cities, towns and states including Maharashtra and Rajasthan. The XRCVC’s publication ‘Accessible Technologies to Facilitate Reading—A Synoptic View’, a compilation of access technologies with detailed description and user-relevant data, was also distributed to participants during these workshops. Over 400 of these books in various formats were distributed - including through CDs, Braille Books, large font books and standard print.

(From left) Mahesh Mhabdi, TusharValand and FazalMansoori withmedals they won at the National Level judo competition

Participants at ‘Reading Without Seeing: Antarchakshu – The Eye WithinTM’, organized by the XRCVC for the publishing

community at the Delhi World Book Fair

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Reading Without Seeing Workshops (May 2013 – April 2014)

Several such workshops were held in several parts of the country right through the year, reaching out to almost 413 participants in all.

• In addition, the XRCVC launched two Level 2 workshops of ‘Reading Without Seeing’ this year. This is designed to build capacity among potential facilitators across the country who would, in turn, spread the message of access technology among the visually challenged. The XRCVC produced a total of 135 new DAISY titles in full text, full audio this year. These titles have been added to the XRCVC Daisy library, bringing its total count to 399 books. The total number of pages converted into the DAISY format during this period were 26,066.

• The XRCVC’s Technical Officer, Mr. Sushil Pandit participated in a training programme ‘Production of Accessible Digital books in Daisy & EPUB format’ conducted by Saksham and NIVH at the English and Foreign Languages University Hyderabad in December 2013.

• Additionionally, the XRCVC, through the Daisy Forum of India (DFI), has been actively working on the Online Braille Library Project of the NIVH, which aims to be built up as a national catalogue of accessible books in India. The XRCVC is also actively involved, along with some other organisations, in the creation of a platform which would support the online national accessible library through ‘Indiareads.org’.

• The XRCVC organized a ‘Come to Know Bookshare’ workshop in February 2014 for Special Educators working with visually impaired and dyslexic students. Ms. Kristina Pappas, International Program Manager of Bookshare, an online accessible digital library for print disabled readers, addressed the workshop. Thirty participants from across Mumbai attended, including Ms. Kate Currawala, President of the Maharashtra Dyslexia Association.

• Keeping in mind the change in law as the biggest lacuna of access in education material, the XRCVC, through the DFI has spearheaded an advocacy initiative with educational boards and publishing houses across the country to make their material available. We are happy to report that Sheth Publishers, one of the leading publishing houses in the country and DFI’s first publisher partner, has offered all its titles, which include textbooks for four universities in Gujarat, including

Gujarat University and Kutch University. More importantly, Sheth Publishers has moved into ePub 3 books and will be offering all its titles in ePub 3. The XRCVC will test these titles for accessibility and give Sheth Publishers the necessary feedback. It has also decided to make all its Marathi books in Unicode-compliant font.

Financial access:

• The ‘Accessible ATM’ movement spearheaded by the XRCVC over the last few years gained momentum in 2013-14, with a large number of accessible ATMS being launched all over the country by many banks.We are also happy to report that the XRCVC worked closely with Corporation Bank through the year to help it launch its first bilingual accessible ATM in Mumbai, located at the Mahapalika Marg branch.

• This year, Antarchakshu—The Eye WithinTM, the XRCVC’s mega sensitization and awareness programme organized annually at St Xavier’s College, Mumbai, adopted the theme Financial Inclusion, with an aim to train and sensitise the banking industry towards blind and low-vision people as bank customers. Of the over 1600 participants at AntarchakshuTM in August 2013, over 600 were

A ‘Reading Without Seeing’ seminar organized by the XRCVC at Latur

Ms Kristina Pappas addressing the‘Come to Know Bookshare’ workshop

Blindfolded participants at Antarchakshu—The Eye WithinTM, the XRCVC’s mega sensitization and awareness programme

organized annually in Mumbai at St Xavier’s College

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bankers from 35 banks/allied institutions, making the event a grand success. Participants also had the opportunity to go through a detailed exhibition area, and were exposed to the various technologies used to facilitate effective banking access. A handbook titled ‘Bankers’ Guide to Inclusive Banking’ compiled by the XRCVC was released on the occasion and distributed to the participants. Accessible live ATMs were also on display.

• Following the success of AntarchakshuTM, Axis Bank and Kotak Bank approached the XRCVC to discuss the implementation of inclusivity initiatives.

• Earlier in the year, the XRCVC helped Bank of Baroda to chalk out a list of feasible locations across the country where they could convert their existing ATMs into Accessible ATMs.

• The XRCVC, along with G3ict and Indian Banks’ Association (IBA), organized a ‘High-Level Meeting on Inclusive Financial Services’ in Mumbai in February 2014. The objective of this meeting was to bring together key decision-makers to drive a change in the accessibility of financial services for persons across s spectrum of disabilities. There were over 30 participants at the meeting. The deliberations were extremely fruitful, and subsequently the XRCVC submitted a report on the key follow-up points to the IBA’s chief executive.

Education Access:

• As a result of persistent follow-ups by the XRCVC with IIM-Indore, the CAT 2013 writer rules were amended in September 2013 in accordance with Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MSJE) guidelines.

• During the year, the XRCVC continued its collaboration with the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS) Nashik, to develop additional appropriate examination circulars for visually challenged students studying Physiotherapy.

• In June 2013, a team from the XRCVC visited Prime Academy (an ICSE school in Mumbai) to discuss the various ways in which we could play a supportive role to help a student member studying in the school.

• Our Special Educator Ms Calveena D’Sylva attended a Brain Gym workshop organized by Leap Ahead Assessment & Learning Centre in Mumbai in November 2013.

• Our Special Educator (Maths & Science) Ms Rebecca Carvalho attended a 2-day Accessible Science Workshop for teacher-trainers in Bangalore in December 2013, which focused on science teaching methods to visually impaired students. Dr. Sam Taraporevala and Ms. Carvalho also made a joint presentation at the TechShare meet in Delhi titled, ‘Numbers and Reactions—Thoughts on Making Math and Science Accessible’.

Independent Living:

• The XRCVC held a cooking workshop, Survival 1.01, at a cooking studio in Andheri in May 2013. At this workshop, 6 visually impaired participants were introduced to preparing a simple Indian meal cooked in a microwave and induction stove.

• The XRCVC collaborated with a team from Viviana Mall in Thane to make the mall accessible for people with disabilities. We also designed and helped print a tactile floor map of the mall which can be of immense use to visually impaired visitors.

• In June 2013, the XRCVC met a representative from Solus V2 a diabetes-research organization in the United States that sells talking glucometers, which helps people with visual impairment to assess their blood sugar levels independently.

• The XRCVC is working closely with the Taj group of hotels to increase inclusion initiatives in the group’s properties. Some of the initiatives being worked on are Braille room numbers, emergency exit and menu cards, and tactile floor plans.

• The XRCVC held discussions during the year with Disability Research and Design Foundation on how museums can be made accessible.

Awareness Initiatives

• In the academic year 2013-14, the XRCVC conducted 15 General Awareness workshops covering a total of 3216 participants.

Some of these directly focused on sensitization, and were held for / at a wide range of corporates and institutions including Hindustan Unilever Ltd, Larsen & Toubro, Standard Chartered Bank, Capgemini, Viviana Mall (Thane), The Alliance for Global Education LLC, Akanksha Pune, and the AIKTC College of Architecture, Panvel, among others.

Presentations and Collaborations: Networking Initiatives

• Dr. Sam Taraporevala was the Keynote speaker at a State level seminar on Educational and Career guidance for the visually

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challenged at the Blind Students’ Learning Centre, Department of Education and Extension in association with Office of the Student Welfare, University of Pune. A seminar paper was presented on the theme ‘Careers in Social Sciences’.

• Dr Sam Taraporevala was the lead plenary speaker at a national conference ‘Harnessing Technology for the empowerment of persons with Visual Impairment’ on the theme of ‘Accessing banking services – a retrospect and prospect’.

• Dr. Sam Taraporevala gave the inaugural address at a seminar on ‘Deconstructing Disability’ organised by Lakshita, The Enabling Society, Miranda House, New Delhi.

• The XRCVC was appointed as Research Collaborator and Technical Consultant by the K J Somaiya Comprehensive College of Education, Training & Research in an ICSSR funded major research project on ‘Making astronomy concepts accessible to the visually impaired school children’ in India.

• Dr. Sam Taraporevala addressed the Achieve Together Conference for school children at the American School of Bombay, Bandra-Kurla Complex.

• Dr. Sam Taraporevala has been included as part of the expert committee for its ADIP scheme. The Ministry has been implementing the Scheme of Assistance to Disabled Persons for Purchase/fitting of Aids and Appliances (ADIP) since 1981, with the objective of providing durable/sophisticated and scientifically manufactured modern, standard aids and appliances to promote physical/social and psychological rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) by reducing the effects of disabilities and enhance their economic potential.

• During the year, the XRCVC had regular interactions with senior officials of the Department of Disability Affairs, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Government of India, on various inclusivity initiatives mooted by the Government of India.

Looking Ahead

On the occasion of our 10th anniversary, we renew our pledge to make society more inclusive for visually challenged persons.

We would like to extend our gratitude to our funders, without whom we would not have been able to come this far. We would like to specially thank Sightsavers, Tech Mahindra Foundation, SAP India, Dhun Pestonji Parakh Discretionary Trust, Samruddha Resources Limited, Johnson & Johnson, Godrej Industries, Standard Chartered Bank, AMPI Agencies Pvt Ltd, Suryavanshi Ads and Promotions Pvt Ltd, The Global Alliance of Education, Tata Sons Ltd, Lions Club of East Bombay, and Mr Suresh Bazaj.

A big thank you to our large pool of volunteers as well. Their commitment ensures that a small organisation like XRCVC is able to touch the lives of countless people all over the country.

In conclusion, we would like to place on record our deep appreciation to St. Xavier’s College—the Principal, management, staff members and students—for demonstrating to educational institutes all over the country how a centre of learning can be truly inclusive to persons with disabilities, particularly blind and low-vision persons.

Dr. Sam Taraporevala Director, XRCVC