• CYPAsia:
• What's New:
• CYP Asia News:
• India’s first Women’s University completes its first offering of CYP Diploma

India’s first Women’s University completes its first offering of CYP Diploma

25 February 2008

77 students graduate from India’s first women’s University having completed the CYP Diploma in Youth Development Work

Shreemati Nathibai Damodar Thackersey (S.N.D.T.) Women’s University located in Mumbai has the accolade as India’s first women’s University with a 92 years history. It is one among 8 Partner Institutions of the CYP Asia Centre implementing the Diploma in Youth Development Work. Under its first offering, 77 students completed the course for which a Graduation Ceremony was organised in the Juhu Campus of the University on 18 February, 2008.

The dignified but impressive ceremony was presided over by Prof. (Mrs.) Chandra Krishnamurthy, Vice-Chancellor. Mr. Raj K. Mishra, Regional Director, CYP Asia Centre was the Chief Guest for the function which was attended by Dr. S.S. Mantha, Pro-Vice-Chancellor; Mr. Ram Maheswari, General Manager, Times Foundation and Prof. Vinayak Dalvie, ERM as guests of honour; Prof. Chandra Ganesh, Mentor, CYP Diploma Programme, Dr. Reeta Sonawat and Dr. Chandrakant Puri, CYP Diploma Coordinators; other members of the faculty; Diploma Awardees and students undergoing the second offering of the Diploma.

The ceremony began with the lighting of the lamp. Dr. Chandra Ganesh who is a Mentor for the CYP Diploma Programme, in her introductory remarks informed the gathering about the process of its implementation.

In his address, Mr. Mishra conveyed his and his colleagues’ congratulations to the successful students and their appreciation for the dedicated efforts of the mentor, the co-ordinators and the tutors for the successful completion of the Diploma Course by 77 students, which was by far the best performance by any Partner Institution of CYP Asia Centre. “Like you, we in the CYP, too, believe in and work for the empowerment of youth. And that includes empowerment of young women as well,” said Mr. Mishra who also added that youth empowerment is not a cliché for CYP but a living reality. “We do after all walk the talk”, he said and went on to explain how the CYP values and respects young people’s voice and has, therefore, given representation to the youth in all echelons of the CYP’s governance structure – from the country and regional levels right up to the Pan-Commonwealth stage.

Explaining the objective behind the CYP Diploma Mr. Mishra expressed the hope that it would have equipped the successful students with knowledge and skills, apart from a sense of confidence to work as development professionals.

In her presidential address, the Vice-Chancellor Prof. (Mrs.) Krishnamurthy exhorted the successful students by quoting Mahatma Gandhi, “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” Stating that youth empowerment occurs in homes, at educational institutions, through youth organisations, process of policy formulation by governments and through the community, she hoped that the Diploma would have inculcated in them a zest for working towards the development of our society. As youth professionals, each one of them could make a difference, and she quoted Edward Everret Hale to substantiate her point.

“I am only one,

But still I am one.

I cannot do everything,

But still I can do something;

And because I cannot do everything

I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.”

Thirty of the successful students who were present on the occasion were jointly awarded Diploma Certificates by the Chief Guest and the Vice-Chancellor. Sharing her impressions about the Diploma, a confident Rama Golwalkar said, “It has enabled me to take up youth development activities in my area with added zeal and enthusiasm.” To a beaming Sarita, the Diploma gave her the confidence to get admission into an MBA course while for Revathi it gave her an insight into the minds of young people. For Linda, a faculty member who completed the Diploma, it taught her how to manage time as a wife, a mother and a teacher.