Erudite Scholars from USA, Europe, Africa & Asia Graced the Conclave

 Kanya Maha Vidyalaya- the Heritage & Autonomous institution, Seat of Women Empowerment with Top National and State Rankings by India Today Survey of Best Colleges 2020 (various categories) successfully concluded the Seven Day Online International Conclave on Global Perspectives on Education in COVID-19 Times: Challenges & Opportunities. The valedictory session of the conclave also started with the lighting of lamps, in a virtual manner, keeping consistent with the traditions of KMV. Mr Chander Mohan, President, Arya Shiksha Mandal was the Chief Guest for the occasion. Prof John Battaglino, Dean, Student Affairs, Boston University, USA was the keynote speaker for the session. Various luminaries such as Mr Alok Sondhi, General Secretary, KMV Managing Committee, Mrs Sushma Chawla, Vice President, KMV Managing Committee, Mr Dhruv Mittal, Treasurer, KMV Managing Committee & Mrs Sushila Bhagat, Member, KMV Managing Committee also graced the occasion. In her welcoming address, Principal Prof. Dr Atima Sharma Dwivedi averred that this conclave has provided a platform to various acclaimed scholars from a round the globe to share their perspectives on education in COVID times. She further maintained that we are all one family during COVID-19, faced with similar challenges in these uncertain times. She expressed her deep gratitude to all the speakers at the conclave for sharing their perspectives. After her address, a video titled Golden Memories was played showing the glimpses of previous international conferences held at KMV. Prof. John Battaglino in his address appreciated the efforts of KMV for organising such a brilliant conclave that gave all the educators around the world a chance to interact with each other and also to educate the people about the education paradigm post COVID. He said that today the world needs big thinkers and we all need to identify that where are our leaders and who are they? Addressing the students, Prof John said that never ever give up as there is always a better way to treat others and now it is the responsibility of the younger generation to create a sympathetic and harmonious world for everyone. He also expressed hope that we should all discover ourselves and should try to find out what is meaningful in the life. Prof John also shared his memories of KMV  when he attended the previous international conferences at KMV. Mr Chander Mohan in his address agreed that there are still many students in India who don’t have proper internet access and no gadgets, and expressed his worry that we may again create a Digital Divide in our society. He appealed to everyone that we must reach to the last student and should include each  and every student into the mainstream education. We need to be very sympathetic to those families who are not able to pay fees for their children due to this pandemic situation. This pandemic is unusual, painful and we at KMV have always taken these challenges very seriously. He said that technology can’t replace physical teaching as the emotional factor is always missing in technology based education. Mr Alok Sondhi, General Secretary, KMV Managing Committee, was the Presiding Dignitary for the valedictory function. In his address, Mr Sondhi expressed his gratitude to all the speakers of the conclave and said that KMV have always organised this kind of activities for the betterment of the education system and the success of this conclave shows the commitment of KMV towards the development of education. A video showing the philanthropic activities done by KMV during the pandemic was also shown to all the participants.E-certificates of Appreciation was also given to all the worthy speakers of the conclave. Dr Gopi Sharma, Dean, International Affairs read out the report of the whole conclave in order to acquaint everyone with the proceedings of the previous days of the conclave. It is important to mention that a galaxy of scholars were part of this international conclave namely Prof. John Battaglino, Dean, Student Affairs, Boston University, USA, Dr Marta Fulop, Professor of Social Psychology, Eotvos Lorand University, Budapest, Hungary, Dr Janos Gyori, Professor of Education & Psychology, Eotvos Lorand University, Hungary, Dr Maria Zlateva, Director, ESL, Boston University, USA, Dr Malvika Shetty, Lecturer, Linguistics & Writing, Boston University, USA,Dr Edward J Downes, Associate Professor, Public Relations, Boston University, USA, Dr Sivakumar Sivasubramaniam, Professor, University of Western Cape, South Africa, Dr Naeema B Hann, Senior Lecturer, Leeds Beckett University, UK& Dr Vijay Singh Thakur, Associate Professor, Dhofar University, Salalah, Oman.Principal Prof Dr Atima Sharma Dwivedi gave Vote of Thanks to all the dignitaries present in the conclave. Dr Madhumeet, Head, PG Department of English was the moderator for the day. Madam Principal lauded the efforts of Dr Gopi, Dr Madhumeet, Mrs Suman, Dr Pardeep and Dr Ravi for successfully organising the international conclave.