Goa Lectures & Workshops

 The Goa Vintage and Classic Vehicles Club (GVCVC) is organising its inaugural ‘Vintage and Classic Vehicles Drive’ on December 15. The rally of 30 vintage and classic cars, themed ‘GVCVC Novotel Village Vintage Drive’, will be flagged off at 9 a.m. at the hands of chairman, Dempo Group of Companies, Shrinivas Dempo from Maquinez Palace, Panaji. The rally will then proceed along Miramar to Dona Paula circle and along several villages in North Goa including Bambolim, and enter South Goa via the Zuari Bridge and continue along the villages of Sancoale, Cansaulim, Colva, Benaulim and Varca. The rally will culminate at ‘Novotel Dona Sylvia Resort’, Cavelossim, where all the vehicles participating will be displayed. A brief halt is proposed mid-way (at 25 kilometres) at Damodar Temple, near Three Kings’ Church, Cansaulim. The main objective of the drive is to create awareness among owners of such vehicles and stimulate an interest towards heritage vehicles that are presently maintained by automobile enthusiasts in Goa. Vintage vehicles are those manufactured fifty years and prior while classics include vehicles manufactured up to 1970.

‘Style is greater than fashion’ a workshop on the relevance of dressing right, establishing your style, investing in slow fashion and all things style, was held on Sunday, December 1 at Dempo House, Panaji. Conducted by the creative head of Wendell Rodricks, Schulen Fernandes, the workshop had a mix of participants which comprised students, homemakers, doctors, lawyers and more. Maria Fernandes | NT With a small self-introduction, Schulen briefly spoke about the advent of fashion and its relevance.  “It represents every culture in the world and is an important marker of time or civilization. It is the freedom of expression and the right to choose,” she said.  Through a presentation, she explained how fashion adds value to everyday life and is an industry that brings communities and worlds together. She spoke of fashion’s role in the medical field, citing the mastectomy bra as an example and how fashion helps in expression not just to make personal statements but also to bring to the fore issues that are relevant. In the segment, future of fashion, she advocated change in the minds of the designer and consumer. Stating alarming facts on how the new culture of fast fashion harms the environment, she […]

To commemorate the 5th International Day of Yoga (IDY) on the theme Yoga for Heart, Directorate of Health Services is observing yoga celebrations on mass scale at State level as well as at all Health Centres to promote and propagate yoga all over State of Goa. A state level function will be held at Taleigao Community Hall, Taleigao on June 21 at 7 a.m. to 9 a.m., in association with Directorate of Sports & Youth Affairs and Directorate of Education. About 500 participants including school students, nursing school, Disha School For Special Children Government staff and general public will be participating and practicing Common Yoga Protocol. Similarly yoga day functions has been organised at all Taluka Levels such as Panaji, Mapusa, Ponda, Vasco, Margao, Quepem, Pernem, Bicholim, Sattari, Mormugoa, Canacona and Dharbandora under Primary Health Centres (PHCs), Community Health Centres (CHCs) and UHCs. In 33 PHCs across the state the function will start at 7:30 a.m. with one Yoga instructor. Besides, other CHCs and PHCs will be organising Yoga demonstrations/lectures etc in their respective jurisdiction with the help of Yoga experts for students, anganwadi workers, Panchayat level, Block level NGO, general public, staff etc. Addressing a press conference on Wednesday […]

As part of the weekly MOG Sunday sessions at Museum of Goa, Pilerne, Sunanda Mehta will give a talk on the concept of Restorative Justice on May 12, 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. at Museum of Goa, Pilerne Industrial Estate, Pilerne, Bardez, Goa. The talk will be based on Sunanda’s story on Forgiveness that she did about three years ago for The Indian Express. The piece was based on the concept of Restorative Justice where criminals are forgiven by the families of their victims. The article was recently made into a film ‘Ru Baru’ produced by Aamir Khan and sends out the message that in forgiving, the families not just offer freedom to the perpetrators of the crime but also free themselves of bottled up anger, unhappiness and frustration. The talk will be peppered with examples from the story and other real life incidents. It will also link this concept of forgiveness to the original thought as practiced and preached by Gandhi and its growing relevance in today’s world that is so fragmented by forces of divisiveness and animosity. Mehta is a journalist with about 30 years experience in the field. She worked at The Indian Express for over 20 […]

From a solar advocate to a game developer, from a fashion designer to a classical singer, from a biophysicist to a Sanskrit scholar, and from a mediation advocate to compulsive investors, the third edition of TEDx Panaji aims at giving the people of Goa an experience of being #hacked. The theme ‘hacked’ is focused on people who have inspired those around them by using smarter, more efficient ways to be successful while demonstrating intelligence, creativity, originality, resourcefulness and most importantly, perseverance to help them rise above the ordinary and achieve great heights in their field of work. “The speakers include a mix of Goan, national and international names, who will present their mind-boggling ideas live on stage,” said, lead organiser of TedX Panaji, Dattaprasad Shetkar. TEDx Panaji 2019 will be held on April 28, from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. at Kala Academy, and will feature eminent ‘life-hackers’, Wendell Rodricks, Chetan Singh Solanki, Anuja Kamat, Greg Acuna, Fredrika Menezes, Roop Malik, Deepak Pathania, Mohammed Suhail Chinya Salimpasha, Sampadananda Mishra, Jubin Varghese, Yuva de Shiroda and Ashutosh A T Pednekar. The annual event, organised independently by a group of volunteers under the license from TED Conferences LLC, provides a platform for […]

The Career Guidance Cell of St Xavier’s College, Mapusa is organising a career guidance seminar ‘Shape Your Future’ for 10th pass students and parents. It will be held on April 25 at Grace Church Hall, Margao, and on April 27 at St Xavier’s College, Mapusa, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. In a bid to take students beyond the regular streams, various career options will be suggested during the seminar. Assistant professor, Psychology, St Xavier’s College, Fr Ramiro Luis says: “Students often get confused about choosing their career, and their career options depends on marks or what their parents and teachers have told them. Students never ask themselves what they are capable of and what their aptitude is.” Luis further says that children lack decision capacity because they have never been given that learning option. “Students think that if they take Arts they will become teachers and if they take Commerce they will become CAs. But there are many other opportunities,” he adds. Parents too hold an important place in this decision making. Assistant professor at St Xavier’s College, Vailarose Fernandes says that getting parents along is not compulsory but advised. “The presence of parents during the decision making or […]

The 2019 edition of Goafest presented by Viacom18 and powered by MX Player got underway on April 11 at Grand Hyatt, Bambolim. Present for the inaugural were Group CEO and MD – Viacom18, Sudhanshu Vats, Ashish Bhasin – President of Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI), Nakul Chopra, Chairman – Goafest 2019, Shashi Sinha – Chair of the Awards Governing Council, ABBY Awards 2019, Vikram Sakhuja – President, The Advertising Club, and Jaideep Gandhi – Chairman Industry Conclave. Speaking about Goafest 2019, Ashish Bhasin, President of Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) said “Over the last few years we have seen the growth in participation with lines blurring between media and creative. At Goafest 2019 on the back of an exclusive list of speakers and artists, we have seen a sustained registration of about 2000 delegates, while ABBY Awards have seen 2700 entries this year.” Nakul Chopra, Chairman of Goafest2019 said that “Democratization is a trend sweeping through the industry and we are proud of Goafest 2019 being an integral part of this change. It has been our endeavour to drive inclusivity irrespective of size and without the limitation of cost and opportunity.” Setting the ‘tune’ for Goafest 2019 was […]

‘Difficult Dialogues 2019’ was inaugurated on 31st January. The theme for this year is ‘Education: Illuminating the myriad facets.’ Education is an important part of a person’s life and it can affect a nation as a whole. Education in India is not in very good shape and Difficult Dialogues aims to discuss how to improve India’s education sector. At the ceremony, many dignitaries were present such as the Vice Chancellor of Goa University- Varun Sahni,  Governor of Goa Smt. Mridula Sinha, Dr Paul Flather, Founder and CEO, Difficult Dialogues- Surina Narula, Yatin Kakodkar – President of The International Centre Goa, Dr Constantino Xavier, and other distinguished people. They spoke impactful words. “Every year 11 million people are joining the labour force only to find not enough jobs. This raises the question as to which sector the jobs will be created in,” Yatin Kakodkar stated. Also, the policy papers of Difficult Dialogues 2018 were launched. Later on, a panel discussion was held on the topic ‘Educating Minds – Changing Mindsets’. The speakers on the panel were Arif Mohammad Khan, former Cabinet Minister in the Union of India; Deepa Narayan, International Poverty, Gender and Development Advisor; Manjushree Patil, India Country Director of […]

The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) will be organising the annual two-day festival of spiritual awakening ‘Jagruti’, on February 2 and February 3 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Dinanath Mangeshkar AC Auditorium, Kala Academy, Panaji. At the 12th edition of this festival, spiritual leader His Holiness Radhanath Swami Maharaj will speak on the first day of the festival, on the topic, ‘Life was better when apples and berries were just fruits’. On day two Sriman Radha Gopinath Das, a motivational speaker and a spiritual seeker will speak on ‘Churning the nectar of life’. Both the sessions will begin and end with ‘kirtans’ followed by ‘prasadam’. Addressing a press conference on Tuesday in Panaji, Achyuta Gopal Prabhu, a monk at the ISKCON said that the aim of the programme is to bring out spiritual awakening in everyone. He said: “Scriptures explain that all of us, even though we are awake physically when it comes to spirituality and in terms of reality we are all in state of a dream. So the message of the timeless scriptures of any tradition helps us awaken our true potential.” He added that they hope the Goan public will take advantage of this ticketed […]

The department of posts, on Tuesday, launched a toll-free number which can be used to convey any suggestions and complaints regarding services. The department launched the toll-free number-18003136633 as part of National Postal Week that is observed from October 9-15. Pramod Sawant, Speaker of Legislative Assembly, launched the postal celebrations. He said that the postal sector is seeing changes day by day. “Most of the schemes that are launched by the government are not fully accessible to all the public, so in order to promote schemes such as Atal Pension Yojana and Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana it is not only the duty of the postal department but also all the government departments that are directly related to the public to spread awareness,” he said. Only about 250 residents of the state have availed of the Atal Pension Yojana scheme launched by the central government in 2015, revealed officials from the postal department. Dr N Vinodkumar, postmaster general, Goa region, said that in the last two-three years all the 257 post offices in Goa have become computerised and with this the state became the first in India to complete the roll-out of the technological project. “Post the technological roll-out, we have also […]

Goa State Biodiversity Board (GSBB) is organising a public lecture and panel discussion on ‘Advanced trends in Earth Sciences and its Application in Conservation of Biodiversity,’ by Dr Devesh Walia on August 31, from 3.15 p.m to 5.30 p.m, at Shri Madananth Sabhagruha, Madhlawada, Verem-Ponda. Walia is a sectional president (Earth System Sciences Section), Indian Science Congress Association-2018, professor (geology) and head, department of Environmental Studies, North-Eastern Hill University, Guwahati. The lecture is open to the general public. Kindly confirm your participation latest by August 30 to GSBB by telephone or SMS as limited seats are available. Confirmation will be on first-come, first served basis.

The Charles Correa Foundation (CCF) an initiative of architect and urban planner Charles Correa will host the third edition of the Z-AXIS conference. The 2018 edition of the architectural conference will focus on ‘Designing Equitable Cities’ and will be held from September 6 to 8 at Kala Academy -Goa. The conference aims to propagate the idea of equity rather than equality, as far as the urbanisation and planning is concerned. This is in tandem with what Charles Correa had said of the ‘city’ : ‘we must of necessity examine the entire system we call ‘city’ and try to identify those living patterns and lifestyles which are optimal in their totality – including roads, services, schools, transportation systems, social facilities and of course, the housing units themselves.’ The conference aims at an analysis of equity, how it can be maintained and how it has been affected due to sociological, economic, political and cultural hierarchies. The speakers will throw light on the various interventions that try and address the problems at hand. “The topic is very relevant for the Indian subcontinent, as it highlights the subliminal problem of equity, how it manifests itself and how they have been dealt with in a […]

As an initiative of Archinova Environs for Goa Heritage Action Group (GHAG) to safeguard and promote the built and natural heritage of Panaji, GHAG on July 27 released a booking titled – ‘The Mapped heritage of Panaji, 2017’ which showcases the areas of monumental existence in the premises of the capital city. Addressing the gathering, the curator of the book, Poonam Verma Mascarenhas said that Panaji is a very special city that is studded with tree-lined avenues, riverfront promenades, parks, plazas, yellow and blue houses, churches and temples which gives it a dimension of vibrancy. “Change is an inevitable part of life and it is very well reflected on the appearance of the capital city which has evolved through drastic changes over the 4 centuries of this existence” added Mascarenhas. Further Mascarenhas, said that this book is a guide to these changes where the mapping helps one to understand the quantitative aspect of the city all in one glance. Also speaking on the occasion, historian and a resident of Panaji for the past 37 years, Celsa Pinto said that the city of Panaji is an effort of people from various walks of life be it the engineers, architects, artisans who […]

William Shakespear is not just a mere subject but a subject of love, an element of fantasy, an insight into the human psychic and the ethics of philosophy which are very much present in our day to day lives, said Kiran Budkuley, a writer and a critic while speaking on the occasion of the release of Padmashri Suresh Amonkar’s two Konkani books titled– A Golden Treasury of Shakespear’s Thoughts and a Konkani translation of Julius Caesar. “When Shakespear’s work combining poetry and philosophy, is in its proportionate, symbolic and impactful best than it uncovers various dimensions of the meaning of a rhythm and lucidity and with this it becomes a greater challenge for any translator even if it is of Suresh Amonkar’s caliber”, added Budkuley. Further Budkuley said that, in the works of Shakespear, Amonkar found a soul mate as its literature has the power to touch one’s emotions, vitalise their thinking process and also helping you to look towards the society from a social point of view. Author of the books, Suresh Amonkar said that the work of Shakespear is a whole different aspect of literature, once you start reading his works, it’s almost like a love affair, and you […]

In keeping with the tradition, Dalgado Konknni Akademi will celebrate the anniversary of ‘Romanxicho Patxai’, Reginald Fernandes on June 14 at 4.30 p.m. at the DKA’s Reginald Fernandes conference hall, Panaji. At the function, Konknni lover and writer, Brazinho Soares Kalapurkar will voice his thoughts on Reginald Fernandes and Tomazinho Cardozo, President, DKA will preside. A famed novelist of his time, late Reginald Fernandes wrote more than 200 novels in Konknni. In the period of the nonexistence of radio, TV, and mobile, reading was a hobby of the people of Goa. His writings attracted the young and the old. The young especially were attracted towards his well-knit and superbly descriptive love scenes. The publishers of his time were eagerly waiting for his new novels and the huge queue of publishers at his residence to get the copyright was a proof of this statement. Though he has enriched Konknni literature, it is sad that the literary world has failed to recognise him. Honoring this great writer, Dalgado Konknni Akademi has named their conference hall “Reginald Fernandes’ hall. DKA celebrate his birth anniversary, as Reginald Fernandes Day on June 14 every year. (The event is open to all.)

On 31st May 2018, Dr Sharmila Rao gave a talk on tobacco at 91 Springboard, Panaji, as it was ‘World No Tobacco Day’.  She touched on the history of tobacco, how it was used for prayers, medicines, etc, and said, “We are abusing something that was sacred.” She went on to explain the ill effects of smoking not only for the primary smoker but for the secondary and tertiary smoker.  Tertiary smoking is when a person gets affected by residual nicotine and other chemicals that can settle on surfaces like curtains, walls, furniture, clothes, vehicles, etc. Methods of tobacco de-addiction along with their advantages and disadvantages were also discussed here. These include nicotine patches, nicotine gums, organic smokes, spray inhalers, cognitive behaviour therapy, NLP, and more. One of her opinions was, “Nicotine patches do work for quitting provided the person wants to quit.” She also stated that peer acceptance is one of the triggers for this addiction. Pic Credit – Shivang Mishra I NT GOGOANOW.COM

Biomass, as a renewable energy source, has started to look much more favorable again in recent years. Keeping in mind the environmental issues, Rotary Club of Panaji, has begun a project of using biomass briquettes to replace wood while cremating a body at the St. Inez crematorium. A briquette is a compressed block of coal dust or other combustible biomass material such as charcoal, sawdust, wood chips, peat, paper or agricultural waste used for fuel and kindling to start a fire. The main advantage of a briquette over wood is that it has a higher calorific value with 20 percent moisture in it with the 40 percent moisture content in a dry wood thus making the ignition process quite easier. While briefing the media Chairman of briquettes committee, Anil Sardessai said that the committee has discussed the project with stakeholders like Chairman of Panaji Crematorium, Audhut Angle, Mayor of CCP, Vithal Chopdekar and other CCP officials and they have given their approval and needed support for the implementation of the project. The success of this project will not only help the environment’s cause but also will help in motivating other crematoriums in Goa to follow in their steps, added Sardessai. […]

“Water is life and without water, our existence would be very difficult,” said Governor of Goa, Mridula Sinha. She was speaking at the book release function of three books in Konkani – ‘Katha Saraswati’, ‘Nadi Saraswati’ and ‘Saraswati Nadi: Sod and Bodh’ in Panaji on Wednesday. Bhartiya Itihas Sankalan Samiti, Goa Pradesh released these three books that contain all the necessary information on the river Saraswati that existed in the past for all age groups. Sinha speaking about the Indian culture said: “Whenever there has been a time when we have started to forget our history there have been people who remind us about what we have forgotten. In this way, our history is still living although it has happened several years ago.” Sinha feels that whether the river is in her home state, Bihar or from Goa, the sole purpose of a river is to nourish and it has been doing it without anything in return. Water has proved to be essential for life and hence industrialist, Shrinivas Dempo in his address said that we should not pollute our rivers. “Our ancestors treated the rivers as goddesses hoping that the generations to come will keep it clean considering it […]

The second edition of TEDxPanaji will be held on Sunday 8th April, 2018 at the Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG) in Panaji. This independently organized TED event will feature a combination of live speakers and TED Talk videos that will spark a discussion about ideas in the fields of Technology, Entertainment, Design, Science, Arts, Education and others that are bubbling in the local community and are worth spreading. This year the theme of TEDxPanaji is #AgainstTheTide. It celebrates ideas that are challenging the popular beliefs and notions. Ideas that have gone against the established systems and that have charted new paths. The highlight of the event is its diverse lineup of speakers and performers, which includes Capt. Dilip Donde – Circumnavigator of globe, Abhijit Sadhale – Architect, Dr Nandita Desouza – Pediatrician, Darryl Desouza – Naturopath, Donald Fernandes – Founder of NGO, Drupad Gaonkar – Mime artiste, Raunak Hede – computer geek, Sai Damodar Group – group of musicians and Manish Jain – IITian. The event is supported by the Directorate of Art and Culture, Department of Information Technology, Directorate of Sports and Youth Affairs, Entertainment Society of Goa, Team Inertia, 91Springboard & Dhairyansh Green. TEDxPanaji will be held from […]

Museum of Christian Art, Old Goa, will be conducting a historical walk titled –‘A Walk in Time’ around Old Goa for the children above 8 years from April 9 to 14. This is a unique walk that is designed like a voyage through the historic landscape of Goa, where the children will be able to explore rare and unseen sites like caves, rock excavations, ruins and secret vaults. The children will also learn about various other aspects such as – history, art, architecture, geography, food, culture, mythology, iconography and various forms of civilizations. In this interactive walk, the information will be imparted to the children’s through stories and observations and through activities like building, drawing, prop making, documenting, playing, writing and performing. In the final phase the participants will be sharing their experience of this workshop with the public through a performance and an exhibition. Schedule – Time 8:30 AM – 12:30 PM Day 1 – Exploring Divar Caves, Saptakoteshwar Temple, Piedade Church Day 2 – Old Goa Viceroy’s Arch, St. Catherine’s Chapel and St. Cajetan’s Church Day 3 – Old Goa St. Augustine’s Monastery, Church of Santa Monica Day 4 – Old Goa St. Anthony’s Chapel and Church of […]

Architect and Urban Designer, Rituraj Parikh, has said that tall skyscrapers of Manhattan have virtually prevented the sight of sky. Speaking at open forum at Charles Correa Foundation in Fontainhas, Panaji, on a lecture titled titled ‘Looking up in NYC’ Parikh said that New York, one of the greatest cities in the world, which houses monumental buildings like Empire State Building, Flat Iron Building, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Rockefeller Center and others has dwarfed the humans but it is a fact that humans have built it. He also showcased the towering skyscrapers of Manhattan through his black and white filter images which he captured during his visit to the city. Parikh added that one does not see much sky in New York but when one sees it, it dazzles with the contrast and it is inevitable that one keeps looking up in the city. The building silhouettes beautifully frame the sky in many forms. The structural frames, glass facades and antennas pose against the bright blue sky and at night the figure becomes the ground and the iconic structures filter light out.

The Fundação Oriente – Delegation in Goa, and ARTIS – Institute of Art History – University of Lisbon, will hold a conference on the ‘Challenges to the Preservation of the Diverse Goan Religious Heritage’ at Fundação Oriente, Panaji on March 15 at 5.00 p.m. The conference has been arranged to debate the importance of safeguarding the diverse Goan religious heritage as part of the collective historical memory of Goa. Four authors will present different aspects and discuss how the conservation of the heritage belonging to different faiths can be addressed and developed. The four authors who will be presenting their works are; Author Subject Joaquim Rodrigues Dos Santos The Preservation of Religious Buildings in Goa within the Problematisation of the Safe guarding of Transcultural Heritage Vishvesh Kandolkar Mausoleum for the Living: Presenting Old Goa’s Architecture Amita Kanekar The Origins of the Goan Temple and the Challenges for their Preservation Gulafshan Khan Turning Visible the (In)Visible: The Muslim Heritage in Goa and its Preservation  Pic Credit – Shivang Mishra I NT GOGOANOW.COM

Lord Karan Bilimoria has said that according to the British people the EU was expensive, out of touch and a source of uncontrolled immigration, which led to the BREXIT. He made these comments while speaking on ‘A Parsi’s view on the future of India, UK and European Union in the context of BREXIT’ at the 11th D.D Kosambi Festival of Ideas at Kala Academy on Thursday. Sharing his experience on his visit to the United Kingdom in the early 1980’s, Bilimoria said that the country and its economy could not have seemed more different from the one he had the privilege to reflect on from the benches of the House of Lords. Bilimoria further mentioned that when he departed India, his family and friends told him that he would never get to the top in Britain or would never be allowed to get to the top as a foreigner, or indeed as an entrepreneur. He said that late Margaret Thatcher changed all of that. “She created opportunities that allowed him as an immigrant and as an entrepreneur, to succeed and to be where he is today,” said Bilimoria. He added that under her influence Britain and its attitude to enterprise […]

Jaya Ramchandani, an entrepreneur and science educator said that learning environment does not only encompass the space, ambiance and aesthetics that appeal to the senses but also the sublimity that extends beyond sensory perceptions. It is thus vital that our senses and their perceptions are clearly understood to engage them in a learning environment. Ramchandani said this participating in the 11th edition of D.D Kosambi festival of ideas on February 14 at Kala Academy. She was speaking on the issue of ‘The paradox of learning in 21st century’. She said that education is this era has various paradoxes and it’s up to the people to counter such paradoxes by responding to them in an intelligent manner. She also said that, in a country like India the model of education is adjudged based on ones success or failure ratio. Elaborating on the education models of various eras, Ramchandani said that, the 1960’s model was based on a concept of behaviorism, where the learner was passive and was subjected to rewards and punishments. The 70’s model was based on cognitivism, which emphasized human cognition or intelligence as a special donation enabling man to form hypotheses and develop intellectually, such as learning through mind maps […]

‘Difficult Dialogues’ at the International Centre of Goa held a panel discussion on the topic ‘Disrupting masculinity at the workplace.’ The speakers were  Abhijit Das, Anand Pawar, Baroness Shreela Flather, Charu Anand, Jyotsana Habibullah, and Shivani Bhardwaj. The moderator was Shaila Desouza.  They all made powerful statements. One of them said that our education system doesn’t really help women get jobs. They should be taught things like stitching or motorcycle repairing. Also, training is required in rural and urban areas. Charu Anand said, “People should invest in making sure that others can do what they’re asked to do.” Baroness Shreela believes that society will be changed when women are helped to realize that they can do something as many of them are brought up thinking that they’ve to depend on men.  Abhijit Das said, “I feel that men have a huge role to play wherever they are. Are men being gender equal in deeds or only in words?” After the discussion, there was a Q/A session where the speakers gave insightful answers to the audience’s questions. Lastly, they gave policy recommendations. One of them was that there have to be more robust grievance mechanism systems. Shivani Bhardwaj said that gender audits in […]

The 11th edition of the D.D. Kosambi Festival of Ideas will be held from February 13 to 16 at Kala Academy, Panaji. Addressing a press conference the director of art and culture, Gurudas Pilarnekar said that, the thoughts expressed at this festival provides fodder to the mind and also for the soul. He also encouraged the students to participate in the event in large numbers. Among the speakers at the festival are Makarand Sathe (A playwright, novelist, dramatist and director) who will speak on ‘nationalism, culture and theatre: in times of globalization’. Jaya Ramchandani, (science educator, entrepreneur and curator) will be explaining ‘The paradox of learning in 21st century’. Lord Karan Bilimoria (A British Indian entrepreneur) will be speaking on ‘A Parsi’s view on the future of India, UK and EU relations in the context of BREXIT’ and Sudhir Patwardhan (An Indian contemporary painter and a radiologist) will speak on ‘What is today’s art about?’ (The festival will be inaugurated on February 13 at 5 pm and will be open to public till February 16)

A dialogue on the theme ‘Restructuring Education and Research’ was held as a part of Nobel Dialogue series at Kala Academy on February 2. The session was moderated by K Vijay Raghavan and the panelists for the discussion were Tomas Lindahl (Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2015) and Serge Haroch (Nobel Prize in Physics in 2012). Speaking on how interactions between students and researchers should take place in a country like India, Serge Haroch said that India has a good education system and students should be taught how science has the ability to solve problems of mankind and also on the universal value of science. When asked whether scientific views are self-questioning, Lindahl stated that scientists are not the people that sit in front of the computers for hours. In fact, they interact with people and also tend to make mistakes, on which they work thoroughly and that is what eventually leads them to discoveries. Replying to a query based on first direct detection of gravitational waves by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) which won the Nobel prize in Physics in 2017, Haroch said that gravitational waves are ‘ripples’ in the fabric of space-time caused by some of the most […]

Education and research are fundamental to development and growth. The human mind makes possible all achievements, from health advances to efficient public administration and private sector growth. For organizations to reap these benefits fully, they need to unleash the potential of the human mind. And there is no better tool for doing so than education. This was the view of Mattias Fyrenius, CEO of Nobel Media, who was the moderator of Nobel Dialogue on the theme ‘Education and Research for Growth’, held at the Kala Academy which was attended by students from various educational organizations. The panelists for this discussion were Richard Roberts (Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1993), Christiane Nusslein-Volhard (Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1995) and Carl Henrikh Heldin (Chairman, Nobel Foundation). Richard Roberts said that in order to do a research on a particular subject a person has to develop a state of curiosity. He spoke on how he was fascinated by the nature of bacteria which exhibit distinct structural, physiological and evolutionary characteristics. Christiane Nusslein-Volhard spoke on how she developed an interest to know more about the color patterns present in birds and animals. The panelists expressed their views on the stage in a student’s life […]

The Chief Minister, Manohar Parrikar has stated that politics is a part of life and every organization has a political nature to it. In order to thrive in organizations, one should understand the basic laws of politics and should not exceed the limitations. The observation from the Chief Minister came during an interactive session between him and students at the 6th edition of Edu- next fair, which was organized by S.S Dempo College Panaji, in association with The Navhind Times and The Government of Goa at Kala Academy, Panaji Parrikar was responding to a query as to how a student should manage his or her student life – which involves different the parameters of being a student, the political life, and parents at home. Responding to another query on students lacking exposure in certain fields, Parrikar opined that the educational authorities should introduce elective subjects that give the students of one stream insight knowledge of other streams. Speaking on the issue of 75% attendance, the Chief Minister said that, since the students are mature enough to understand various critical issues; they should handle the attendance issues with the same maturity. Pic Credit: Hemant Parab