BESC Youth Conclave 2024: Empowering Future Leaders, Bridging The Gaps.

“No research without action, no action without research”
– Kurt Lewin

The Bhawanipur Education Society College organised its first-ever edition of the BESC Youth Conclave on the 10th of May 2024 in the Jubilee Hall of the college campus. This student conference provided a platform for young minds to represent their intellectual opinions in front of esteemed judges and guest speakers. The conference was an inter-college event where student paper presentations and technical sessions on three different thematic areas were conducted. The audience comprised student moderators, paper presenters, and other college faculty members who were present to witness the event.

The conference started at 10:00 A.M. with the inaugural ceremony where the Coordinator of the Department of Commerce (Morning), Prof. Minakshi Chaturvedi introduced the objective of the event followed by the Rector and Dean of Student Affairs, Prof. Dilip Shah who acknowledged the presence of faculties and the esteemed guest speakers in the conference as well as addressing the attendees to convey the message “When youth connects with the youth, the effect and reach are more impactful.” To Inaugurate the event, Guest of Honour Mr Sanjib Sanghi, the EIRC of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India as well as the author of “The Digital Professional”; and Guest of Honour Mr Ashwini Bajaj, who is a seasoned CEO holding degrees in B. Com, CA, CS, CFA, FRM, CAIA, CIPM, CFP, RV, CCRA, CIIB, CIRA, AIM and having expertise in advisory, consulting, training, and L&D services; were invited to grace the occasion. Together with the organisers of the event, Sofia Parveen and Abhishek Shaw, all the guests proceeded to light the ceremonial lamp and open the event. Afterwards, Convener Sofia Parveen delivered a heartwarming speech declaring that this was the first edition of this Conference which will be continued in the future with many significant editions. With this, the inaugural ceremony of the conference came to an end.

The first paper presentation of the Conclave started at 11:30 A.M. on the theme of “Entrepreneurship: A Pathway for Advancement of Young Minds” which had three participating teams and was judged by Ms Sreyasi Ghosh whom the students felicitated. The three sub-topics on which students presented their stances were “Role of Educational Institutes in Promoting Entrepreneurship among Youth”; “Youth and Business: What Lies Ahead for a Viksit Bharat” and “A Comprehensive Analysis On The Boom Of Entrepreneurship In India”. All the participants elucidated their views on their sub-topics with data, in the form of statistics and pictorial representation in front of the audience. The Paper Presentation was followed by the first Technical Session having the same theme and two panellists who provided the young minds with insights on Entrepreneurship opportunities for today’s youth while also being felicitated by students. One of the Panelists was Mr Nipun Kochar, who initially worked in his father’s CA firm, and later ventured into entrepreneurship to become the founder of ‘Planmyad’ as well as the co-founder of the Shark Tank funded brand ‘Jewelbox’ with his sister, Vidita. At the core of his journey are a passion for innovation and a commitment to meaningful change; which he used to turn his startups into the leading ad agencies and sustainable lab-grown diamond jewellery brand they are today. The second panellist was Ms Aishwarya Biswas who, having degrees from NYU and S.P. Jain Global, with additional diplomas from the London School of Economics and Fashion Institute of Technology, New York; has also made history as the only Kolkata woman entrepreneur on Shark Tank India’s inaugural season and securing funding for her company, AULI, a fast-growing wellness and beauty brand that boasts an 80% female workforce that emphasizes women’s empowerment and financial independence. As a member of the Rotary Club of Kolkata, she remains committed to philanthropy. She embraces the role of a women entrepreneur with pride and responsibility by representing at events like the SelectUSA Summit and leading women on entrepreneur delegations to the US. Among her accolades is the Lakme Sananda Tilottama in 2001. Mayank Sharma, a 2nd-year B.Com student and also the Representative of BESC’s Public Speaking Collective Vox Populi, was the Student Moderator for the event. The session saw topics such as “How Shark Tank India impacted entrepreneurship in youth”, “How to build up a B2C Business”, “Major differences between business and start-ups”, and “Reasons why GenZ are inclined towards start-ups more than business” being discussed. To conclude the session, Prof. Shah shared his words of wisdom on entrepreneurship and encouraged the students to come forward and start their ventures while also sharing his experience of business and how important it is to have good soft skills to excel in the business world.

The second paper presentation began at around 12:30 P.M. on the theme “Impact of Culture on GenZ,” which had 4 participating teams. The event proceeded after the felicitation of the judge, Mrs Champa Srinivasan, by the students. The sub-topics which the participants chose to present their papers on were “Beyond the Sarees: From Ghunghat to Graduation”; “GenZ Unbound By Old Standards’’; “Understanding Generation Z: Cultural and Behavioural Trends”; and “Love’s Labour Lost: Gen Z’s Crusade to Normalise LGBTQIA+ in Indian Culture”. The thoughts presented in all three sub-topics were as per the theme and hence caught the attention of the audience towards the changing norms that are evolving with time. The Technical Session 2 that followed had a different theme of “Climate Change and Youth”. The session presented esteemed panel members such as Ms Shital Bavishi, Ms Etee Bajaj and Ms Arundhati Sen who the students felicitated. Ms Shital Bavishi is a lawyer by education and Life Insurance and Mutual Fund professional whose love for the environment made her shift to being a full-time environmentalist. By founding BEEJUM, she promotes practices like waste management, food cultivation and slow fashion. Being President of the West Bengal Organic Farming Council in the WICCI and co-founder of PARIVARTAN, she collaborates on green initiatives and promotes sustainable living through an exhibition event. Her commitment to advocacy shines through her actions and words earning her accolades like the Green Influencer of the Year 2021, Devi Award 2021, Rising Star Award 2022, Brand Queen Award 2023, MASA Woman Excellence Award 2024 and Women of Influence Award 2024. Panel member Ms Etee Bajaj has a background in CFA that allows her to blend her financial acumen with her commitment to sustainability. As the chair of the Climate Change vertical of YI-CII Kolkata, she spearheads various initiatives aimed at combating climate change and fostering environmental stewardship among youth such as leading tree plantation projects, mangrove plantation in the Sunderbans, rejuvenating ponds in rural and urban areas. She is a staunch advocate against plastic usage, a promoter of veganism and a proponent of waste management, segregation and climate change who inspires others to take meaningful steps towards a more sustainable future. The third speaker, Ms Arundhati Sen is currently a Chief Strategy and Partnership Officer at Garbage Free India and has over 20 years of leadership experience through her notable positions at Indian Express, ABP and CK Birla Hospitals. She specialises in driving business growth, brand strategy, integrated marketing and sustainable communication across diverse industries, including healthcare, hospitality, media and FMCG. Her achievements also include successful hospital launches and impactful marketing campaigns. The student moderator for Technical Session 2 was Aniket Dasgupta, a 2nd Year B.Com student and the representative of the Reporting vertical of the Expressions Collective. The major discussions of this session were the ways to reduce carbon footprints and how mass media is responsible for waste generation. One of the questions raised by the moderator was who is Generation Z responsible for safeguarding the environment to which the panellists advised the youth to shift to veganism because animal farming is a major cause of pollution, consume less content on the internet, save water by promoting bucket bath and maintain a zero waste lifestyle. They suggested that change begins from home, thus changing ourselves is the first step to changing the world which was an eye-opener for the listeners.

The last Paper Presentation for the day began at 3:30 P.M. on the theme “Youth and Climate Change ‘’ which had 5 participating teams and was judged by Ms. Kathakali Bandyopadhyay. The presenters highlighted the different aspects of climate change in the 5 sub-topics they presented, namely “Future on Fire: Perceptions of Indian Youth on the Frontline of Climate Change”; “How SDPs and Climate Change are interrelated with special emphasis on prospects of marine Pollution”; “Youth and Climate Change”; “Climate Change and Youth”; and “Youth skirmishing climate emergency”. The last session, Technical Session 3, commenced after the paper presentations with the theme being “Impact of Culture on GenZ” with speakers, Ms Malavika Banerjee, an entrepreneur working with art, sports marketing and handloom retail and Mr Bishambar Newar, an accomplished journalist having held notable positions as a member of the Press Council of India and General Secretary of the All India Newspaper Editors Conference. Ms Malavika Banerjee set up the Kolkata Literary Meet which has been a major event in the city for the last 13 years that welcomed esteemed guests and speakers for discussions. She is also the Director at Gameplan Sports which is one of India’s oldest sports marketing companies and is a Partner at Byloom, a store that celebrates handloom and handmade goods. Mr. Bishambar Newar has made significant contributions including serving as Chief Editor of Chhapte Chhapte Hindi Daily and Director of Taaza TV as well as serving in the Central Press Accreditation Committee, PIB, and Ministry of Information and Broadcasting for 2 terms. Beyond his professional roles, he actively engages in social activities, holding positions in organisations like the Bharat Relief Society and the West Bengal Provincial Marwari Federation. His contributions to the media field have been recognised with prestigious awards including the Indira Gandhi Lifetime Achievement Award, Mother Teresa International Award, Banga Seva Samman, SAMLA Harmony Award and the Prajapati BrahmaKumaris Iswariya V.V. The student moderator for the Panel Discussion was Priyanka Bardia, a 2nd Year B.Sc Economics student who is an avid bibliophile and public speaker. The session spoke about newspapers and their contribution to the cultural changes in the world. The panellists explained how reading the newspaper daily helps us to be well-known cultured people while also making us informed individuals rather than just aware individuals and that there is no alternative to a newspaper. When questioned, the panellists spoke about how individuals today lack curiosity which is the latest trend seen among young minds today. Mr Newar also suggested the youth open their windows to all sorts of information about the world. Technical session 3 concluded with Prof. Chaturvedi felicitating the speakers of the session and thanking them for their time.

At 5:00 P.M., the conference reached its conclusion through the award distribution ceremony where prizes were handed over to the best presenters, best papers as well as a runner-up. For the theme of “Entrepreneurship: A Pathway for Advancement of Young Minds”; the best presenter was Arka Das for his paper on “Youth and Business: What Lies Ahead for a Viksit Bharat” while Nomik Tantia’s paper on “A Comprehensive Analysis On The Boom Of Entrepreneurship In India” received the best paper award. The theme of “Impact of Culture on GenZ” had Stuti Arora and Barsha Saha as the best presenters for their paper “Love’s Labour Lost: Gen Z’s Crusade to Normalise LGBTQIA+ in Indian Culture”; and the best paper was “GenZ Unbound By Old Standards” by Shaika Guha Majumder. The third and final theme of “Climate Change and Youth” had Abhinav Das as the best presenter for his paper “Youth and Climate Change” while Abhishek Shaw became the runner-up in the same category for his paper “How SDPs and Climate Change are Interrelated with special emphasis on prospects of marine pollution”. Lastly, the best paper award went to Akshara Venkateshwaram for her paper “Future on Fire: Perceptions of Indian Youth on the Frontline of Climate Change.”

Before declaring the conference closed, Convenors Sofia Parveen and Co-convener Abhishek Shaw took to the stage to impart their gratitude towards BESC for bringing this concept to life. The college looks forward to events of such kind to promote and enhance the knowledge of its students.

Reporter- Moubani Maity and Kasis Shaw
Photographer- Suvam Guha and Sanika Shaw