Bhavans IES Celebrates the 75th UN Day

Thursday, November 12, 2020

When the General Assembly Hall of the United Nations had witnessed the prerecorded concert sponsored by the Mission of Italy with the theme "Reimagine, Rebalance, Restart: recovering together for our shared humanity", the virtual stage of Bhavans Indian Education School, Kuwait, was privileged to have a series of educational and cultural programs organized by the Departments of Social Science and English, on October 24, 2020, to mark the 75th anniversary of the United Nations and its founding Charter. The presence of the Chief Guest, Ms. Raghavi Viswanath, a pursuer of Ph.D. in International Criminal Law at the prestigious European University Institute, Florence, Italy, on a Diplomatic Visa from the Dutch Government, graced the momentous occasion. This year’s global theme for the celebration was ‘The Future We Want, the UN We Need: Reaffirming our Collective Commitment to Multilateralism’.

The proceedings of the day rolled on at 8 a.m. with the recitation of a few verses from the Holy Quran, followed by the Kuwait National Anthem. Following the lighting of the virtual lamp, the welcome note was delivered by Vaishnavi Rajesh Pai, the School Head Girl. The august gathering was welcomed with the virtual bouquets of love and respect. A video disseminating the precise information about the UN and its contributions to the world was presented in the form of a news bulletin. Mr. T. Premkumar, the Principal, while addressing the gathering, emphatically stated that it was indeed a truly memorable day in the school calendar and added that pandemic had never stopped IES from celebrating memorable events. He profusely thanked Mr. N.K Ramachandran Menon, the Chairman, Bhavans, Middle East, for being strongly supportive of organizing various events in the school and congratulated the Departments of Social Science and English on successfully organizing the event. He also talked about the involvement of the UN in the field of education, drawing parallels between the visions of the UN and the National Educational Policy 2020 of India, in terms of their educational policies. Remembering the historic concert at the 1966 UN General Assembly by the legendary Carnatic vocalist from India, M. S. Subbulakshmi, the soul-soothing song, ‘Maitreem Bhajata’, was magnificently rendered by a group of students. A presentation comprising the snaps and video snippets of the students participating in the Mock Security Council and the Mock General Assembly was played. A short speech by Aaron Yohann Thomas of class 12 D let the audience take a glance at the United Nations and its seventy five –year-old legacy of successfully keeping peace and harmony in the world.

The day of magnificence gathered momentum with the beginning of the Moot Court organized by the Department of English, under the supervision of Mr. E.P. Prasad, the Subject Coordinator, the Department of English. The Moot Court was based on the renowned Shakespearean drama, Julius Caesar. The situation given for the trial in the Moot Court was that Antony and Octavian had filed a case against the Roman senate comprising Brutus and Cassius, accusing them of Caesar’s murder, and they had also accused Cleopatra of using the political machinery of Egypt to influence Brutus and the other senators to carry out the assassination of Caesar. The magnificent mooters of IES impressed the spectators with their oratory and advocacy skills. The virtual auditorium literally reverberated with powerful, plausible and persuasive arguments which lasted for almost one hour. The Chief Guest, Ms. Raghavi Viswanath, who was also the adjudicator of the Moot Court, in her address, emphasized that the participation in moot courts markedly improves critical thinking, presentation skills, and confidence of students. She fully appreciated the school for organizing an educational program like moot court and the students who were part of the various segments of the whole event. She also travelled down the memory lane talking about her entry into the field of law education and the thorough preparations she had made before the entry. A virtual certificate of appreciation was awarded to the Chief Guest by the principal, Mr. T. Premkumar. The fanboys and fangirls of debate and oration had a unique opportunity to listen to the established, world-famous speaker and writer, Dr. Shashi Tharoor, a former Under-Secretary General of the United Nations, when they watched a prerecorded video message from him. Dr. Tharoor highly praised the school for organizing a special day for commemorating the establishment of the great organization, the UN.

The celebration ended with a vote of thanks proposed by Jerome John Thomas, the School Head Boy, followed by the Indian National Anthem. The celebration was coordinated by Ms. Hajira Banu, a member of the Department of Social Science, under the supervision of Mr. Binoy Mathew, the HoD of Social Science, the Senior Wing, Ms. Ann Bindhia, the HoD of Social Science, the Middle Wing. The emcees for the day were Abhipsa Panda and Aarya Anil Kumar of 9G. Thus, another historic day in the life of every Bhavanite ended on a high note, paving way for many more celebrations to come.

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