Biju Cheriyan Endowment Talk
The Biju Cherian Endowment Talk is a yearly seminar on socially relevant topics Darsana has been organizing as part of its Annual General Body meeting since 2009. Each seminar delves deep into one contemporary issue related to development or technology.
The first talk, held on August 8, 2009, at Palakkad, was on “Public Domain in the new realms of Knowledge & Development”. Dr. R. V. G. Menon, Prof Ignatius Kunjumon, and Dr. E. Unnikrishnan presented papers on the topic.
The topic of the second talk held on August 15, 2010, was “One & Half decades of decentralized planning - experiences and new frontiers”. Shri. P. K. Raveendran, PS to the then Minister of LSG inaugurated the function. The then director of Kudumbashree Mission, Shri Jagajeevan, Dr. Shantakumar, Asst Fellow, CDS, and Prof M. S. John, Institute of Gandhian Studies, MG University delivered the talks.
The third talk in 2011 was on the topic “Managing the Mobility Chaos, a Road to Sustainable, Safe & Efficient Transportation in Kerala”. Dr. T. Elangovan, Former Director of NATPAC rendered the keynote address. Mr. Tony Mathew, a member of Darsana and Gen. Manager (Transport), ICT, Mr. Joseph. C. Chiriyankandath, Asst Exe. Engineer, PWD Roads, Mr. K J Sohan, Former Mayor of Cochin Corporation, Mr. C. Raju, Former Chief Engineer, Konkan Railway & Former Gen. Manager, RITES & Mr. Raviprakash, Kerala Sasthra Sahitya Parishad presented their papers. The session saw good participation from academicians and the general public.
On August 12, 2012, the Seminar on “Waste Management and Zero Waste Kerala” was held at Town Hall, Kozhikode. The keynote address was delivered by Smt Almitra Patel, a well-known activist. The seminar was inaugurated by Kerala State Minister for Social Welfare and Panchayats, Sri M. K. Muneer. Mr. Jose Joseph, Technical Director of CREDAI also participated.
The fifth Biju Cheriyan Endowment Talk was delivered by Com. Saji Varghese, BEFI leader on current economic affairs at Hotel Gazala, Palakkad on August 22, 2013.
The sixth talk was held on August 9, 2014, at NGO Union Hall, Palakkad on the topic “Self-Financing Colleges and their Impact on Higher Education Sector in Kerala”. The dignitaries who presented the topic include Dr. K. N. Ganesh of KSSP, Dr. Joy Job Kulavelil, and Dr. Sasikumar, HOD of the Mechanical Department, RIT Kottayam, and State Committee member of KGOA.
The seventh talk was held on August 1, 2015, at NGO Union Hall, Palakkad. The topic for discussion was “The Kerala Model of Development – New Trends“. The seminar was inaugurated by Com. T. N. Kandamuthan, Palakkad District Panchayath President. Prof. T. P. Kunhikannan, former president of Kerala Sastra Sahithya Parishad, and Dr. Rajesh of IRTC, Mundur presented their views.
The eighth talk was held on July 10, 2016, at Palakkad Fine Arts Society Hall on the topic ‘The changing face of engineering education in the globalized world’. The talk was delivered by Dr. A. Jayakrishnan, former VC, Kerala University, and Professor of Biotechnology, IIT-Chennai. The session was attended by around 80 people and the audience actively participated in the discussions about the current state of engineering education in Kerala and the potential impact of the newly formed Kerala Technical University.
The ninth talk was held on August 13, 2017, at Hotel Gazala, Palakakd. The talk was delivered by Dr.R Ramakumar, a member of Kerala State Planning Board on the topic “The history and present of agrarian crisis: India and changing third world”. There were active discussions on the subject presented by Dr.Ramakumar.
The tenth talk was held on October 28, 2018, at NGO Union Hall, Palakakd. The talk was delivered by P Krishnaprasad, the finance secretary of All India Kisan Sabha, on the topic “A Kerala model in Development”. There were active discussions throughout the talk.
The eleventh talk was held on August 18, 2019, at NGO Union Hall, Palakakd. The topic for discussion was “Problems being faced by Higher Education Sector in Kerala“.The dignitaries who presented the topic include M.B Rajesh, J Prasad, and KK Sivadasan of KSSP.
The twelfth talk was an online meeting conducted via ZOOM on September 12, 2020. The topic for discussion was “Open knowledge and collective experience for social action“.The talk was delivered by Prabir Purkayastha, Editor of News Click.
The thirteenth talk was an online meeting conducted via ZOOM on September 3, 2021. The topic for discussion was “Rural Innovations and Technology: What needs to be done in Kerala?“.The dignitaries who presented the topic are Prof V K Ramachandran, Vice Chairperson, Kerala Planning Board and Prof B M Mustafa, former research coordinator, IRTC.
The fourteenth talk was held on August 14, 2022, at GPTC Palakakd. The topic for discussion was “Challenges and Priorities in town planning“.The dignitaries who presented the topic were Dr Malini and Dr Jayaraj.
The fifteenth talk was held on 29 Jul 2023 through an online Webinar conducted via Zoom. The Topic was "Engineering Education – Ignored social realities and challenges". The Topic was presented by D. Usha Titus, former principal Secretary of the Department of Higher Education. Following the topic, Dr Anirudhan and Mr Arunan presented the Bridge and We HELP program, an initiative to help students from socially backward communities.
The sixteenth talk was held on 13 Jul 2024 through an online Webinar conducted via Zoom. The Topic was “Sustainability-Designs for Future Kerala”. Dr. Muralee Thummarukudy presented the topic. Darsana's sustainability initiative is linked to the same topic and set to devise programs for sustainability.
