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REPORT OF THE
Youth camp on
peace & conflict resolution: problems and consequences
Organised by: Centre for Study of Society and
Secularism (CSSS), Santacruz (E) at Sarvodaya, St. Pius
College, Goregaon (E), Mumbai on 21/01/2012 to
23/01/2012
A 3-day workshop was organised by the CSSS on
peace & conflict resolution: problems
and consequences for college students. The
participants were the students of Sathaye college along
with their Professor Ms.Girija. They were accommodated
in the
 hostel
of Sarvodaya, St.Pius Bio-Medical Ethic Centre, Goregaon
East, Mumbai. They were supplied reading materials on
the subject.
After registration of the participants, Ms. Minal Mhatre
and Riyas V M of the CSSS gave a brief introduction
about the rationale and objective of the workshop, along
with some ice breaking activities. The participants were
divided into three groups and responsibility for ‘daily
report’ and bringing out a ‘newspaper’ on each day’s
activities were entrusted to them.
In the two sessions that followed, Dr. Asghar Ali
Engineer spoke to the participants on ‘Religion and
culture’ and ‘Cultural Diversity in India’. He explained
the difference between religion and culture, the rich
cultural diversity in India, and how it was important to
counter hate propaganda based on religion.
In the afternoon session, Dr. Ram Puniyani addressed the
students on ‘Indian National Movement’ and ‘Rise of
communalism in India.’ This historical context in which
communalism originated in India, the present day
advocates of communalism, and how religions was being
misused for political mileage etc.
 ‘Nero’s
Guests’ a documentary by Deepa Bhatia was screened by
6.00 pm. The documentary analyses the cause of farmer’s
suicide in Vidarbha area of Maharashtra. It also
explores the contradictions in Indian model of
‘Development.’ The screening was followed by a lively
discussion on the theme of the film.
The second day started with the presentation of ‘camp
newspaper’ and report of the previous day by the
students. After this Mr. Sandeep Pendse delivered a
lecture on ‘Civil Society Movement-Recent trends’. The
role of state and civil society, emergence of civil
society movement in India, its impact in civil society
etc. were the major points discussed in his lecture. He
also made a critical analysis of the recent civil
society movement for ‘Jan Lokpal Bill’. The participants
had a number of questions regarding the same and it lead
to further discussions.
 This
was followed by a session on ‘Role of Youth in Conflict
Resolution’ by Dr. Bharati Unni. She discussed with the
participants the various forms of conflicts taking place
in and around us. The root causes for the conflicts were
examined with certain examples including conflicts
within the family. Participants too shared their
experience of dealing with conflicts.
‘Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar’ a feature film directed by
Jabbar Patel on the life and struggles of Dr. Babasaheb
Ambedkar was screened in the post-lunch session. The
film screening was followed by discussion on the
thoughts of Dr. Ambedkar and the status of Dalits in
today’s society.
In the evening the participants performed various
cultural programmes like, dance, music, skit etc. The
presentations were made in groups. The faculty from
SathayeCollege also joined the students.
 On
the third day, after the ‘camp newspaper’ and ‘report’
were presented, Dr. Vasundhara Mohan made a presentation
on ‘Gender Based Violence.’ She spoke about the various
forms of violence against women, its socio cultural
background, the achievements by women across the world
etc. The presentation resulted in a good debate, with
the active involvement of the participants.
In the next session, Ms. Minal Mhatre discussed issues
relating to ‘Gender sensitization’. Through group
activities and discussions, various aspects of gender
discrimination were discussed in this session.
 The
post-lunch session started with the presentation of
‘camp newspaper’ and ‘report’ by the participants. This
was followed by a group discussion on what the
participants have learned throughout the camp, their
suggestions and future plan for action. Each group
presented the major points discussed, with the help of
chart paper. Besides expressing their views, the
participants submitted written feedback on the workshop,
expressing their views. Dr. Bharathi Unni distributed
certificates to the participants.
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