Community Conference held at Stella Maris College

‘Let Us Dream’ in collaboration with Stella Maris College organised a conference in commemoration of 150 years of the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary. Titled ‘Resilient Futures’, it focused on building resilience and community empowerment, with around 350 participants in attendance. College principal Sr. Stella Mary delivered the welcome address and Conference Head Jimmy Cherian delivered the keynote speech. IPS officer Shanaz Ilyas, who was the chief guest educated the audience on cybercrime, sharing her experiences in the T.N. Cyber Crime cell.

A panel discussion ‘Building Resilience: From The Child To The Community’ was moderated by Arun Fernando. Child rights activist Virgil D’Sami, advocate M. Satyakumar, and paediatrician Dr. Manorama Pinakapani were the panelists. There were also interactive sessions by three changemakers — Amara J, who encouraged the audience to “turn uncertainty into strength”, Ms. Vedika Agarwal, the founder of Yein Udaan, who spoke about her mission to “nurture holistic childhood” within marginalised communities and Sethulakshmi, Managing Director of YRG Foundation, who addressed the protection of sexual violence victims.