All India Catholic University Federation (AICUF)

• All India Catholic University Federation (AICUF), is a students’ movement formed to develop leadership skills and increase social awareness. Its motto is “We are born into an unjust society and we are determined not to leave it as we have found it”.  It comprises 5 units and 2 state commissions. The AICUF West Bengal state coordinator is Prof. Dr. Chalotte Simpson-Veigas and the coordinator of the Santhali Unit is Prof. Aparijita Hembrom. The thrust areas include Dalits, Refugees, Adivasis and Women.

• Headquarters: AICUF Secretariat, Room no. 108, Jubilee Building, Xavier’s College (Autonomous) College
• State Team Members (2019-2020) :
  1. Sherin Johnson (State Convenor)
  2. Antoinette Shirley Anjana Leon (State Co-Convenor)
  3. Romi Shagun Baa (State Part-timer)
  4. Karan Joel Minz ( State Part-timer)

In the academic year of 2019-2020 major events organized by AICUF are as follows:

1. SWC Seminar with the theme of “Women Beyond Belief” was organized on 9th August 2019 which focused on discussing pertinent issues regarding women and religion.
2. AYCM Seminar “Indivisible Indigenous” was organized with the theme “Rights, Resources and Recognition”. The speakers for the seminar were Prof. Dr. Virginius Xaxa and Mr. Anand Prakash Toppo.
3. Spotlight 2019 was held on 8th September 2019. The theme of The Spotlight was “Blending to Perfection” where a talent hunt was held for less privileged children from different schools of Kolkata.
4. Adivasi Diwas 2019 was held on 22nd October 2019 at St. Xavier’s Primary School, Kolkata. The event aimed to invigorate and revitalize the innate spirit among the tribal communities.

AYCM West Bengal was also a part of the AYCM Silver Jubilee Celebration National Camp organized in AICUF ashram Bhopal.

5. State Puja Camp was scheduled from the 2nd to the 8th of October at Jisu Ashram, Pandua. Along with a retreat session, several sessions were held on many social issues such as Mental Health etc.
6. ‘Suraksha’, was a seminar organized on the topic ‘Legal Possibilities against Sexual Harassment’ conducted by Adv. B. Kerketta for female students. This was followed by an introductory self-defense training session.
7. Zoological Park Visit: AICUF West Bengal organized their annual picnic for the children of Ghostomath village on the 23rd of January 2020.
8. Adaya :The theme for the event was ‘Ghorir Kata’, which aimed to portray the transverse of Bengali heritage and culture right from its inception.
9. ‘Naari’: For the Women’s Day Celebration a visit to an Organization ‘Asha Rising’ was arranged on 14th of March 2020. An eye checkup camp was set up with Mr. Soumyajit Jana as the presiding optometrist.

Along with these, AICUF also organized old age home visits, every Tuesday and Friday and Village Visits to Ghostomath, every Sunday starting from the start of academic session in the month of July. Mass celebrations were also organized for Ash Wednesday and feasts such as St. Ignatius of Loyola Feast, and St. Francis Xavier.

Visits to the Providence convent school for girls were held weekly throughout the year 2017-18, where AICUF office conducted remedial classes for eleven 10th standard hostel girls of this school.
The aim of these visits was to provide them with guidance pertaining to their school curriculum especially Mathematics and Science.
These girls sailed through their board examinations with flying colours and are now ready to continue their journey towards higher education. AICUF hopes for the very best for all these girls.

Adhering to our motto of upholding social work in our unjust society, envisioned back in 2014, the AICUFers
of West Bengal, take the initiative to visit the St. Joseph’s Old Age Home, every Friday.Our volunteers wholeheartedly devote themselves towards lending a helping hand to all the residents. Through a process of mutual interaction we further hope to strengthen and solidify the bond we share with them.

Ghostomath is a small village located near Kabardanga in Keorapukur, West Bengal. This village was adopted by AICUF in 2006. The main objective of our weekly visits is to teach, interact and impart knowledge to the local village children, while also simultaneously instilling a sense of rooted social commitment.

On July 31st, 2017, the AICUF celebrated the Feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus.

The celebration started with the Eucharistic Mass which was followed by an orientation programme for the new AICUF members, primarily educating them about the AICUF aims, objectives and respective social endeavours.

On July 31st, 2017, the AICUF celebrated the Feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus.

The celebration started with the Eucharistic Mass which was followed by an orientation programme for the new AICUF members, primarily educating them about the AICUF aims,

objectives and respective social endeavours.

The State Women’s Commission (SWC) of the (AICUF) rganized a seminar on the theme: ‘Patriarchy Has No Gender.’ The seminar was held on the 5th August 2017 at the R.K. Memorial Hall. The speakers for the seminar were Prof. Dr. Chandrani Biswas and Prof. Shenjuti Dutta, two erudite professors of our institution who analyzed and presented their concise views pertaining to the topic. An interactive session was conducted thereafter where active enthusiasm was shown by all those present.

The Spotlight this year was organized on 3rd September 2017. The theme of The Spotlight was “An Expedition of Innate Talent”- focusing primarily on the less privileged kids of different evening schools of Kolkata.
This was aimed to provide a platform for them to help them bring out their innate talent. There was a weeklong social workshop where volunteers fro m our college went to each school to assist and teach the children in a host of onstage and offstage events.

AICUF West Bengal celebrated ADIVASI DIWAS on 17th September 2017 in St. Xavier’s Primary School, Kolkata. The theme of the event revolved around facilitating their development by revitalizing the quiescent Adivasi spirit among diverse tribal communities, through a host of onstage and offstage events.

The AICUF State Puja Camp was held at Krishnagar, from the 24th to 29th September 2017, with the theme- The Future starts Today. The primary focus being upon empowering the youth towards advocating progressive societal development. Several engaging sessions with eminent personalities were conducted along with a visit to the nearby villages to conduct a social survey,
with the view of alleviating the respective grievances of the natives. It was truly a memorable and invigorating experience for all the participants involved.

Bhagar is a dumping site located near Belgachia, Howrah. It is inhabited by a steady population. We help with cleanliness drives while the volunteers also assist by teaching the children. We also distribute food and
clothes to children over there.
Through this program AICUF tries to imprint in its members a sense of social responsibilities and commitment towards the marginalized sections of our society.

The All India Catholic University Federation (AICUF), West Bengal organized Adayaon 18th February 2018. The event took place in Bhagar, and comprised of a plantation drive as its main objective, followed by a street play (performed by college students) to spread health and hygiene awareness.

Worker’s Day 2018 was organized by AICUF West Bengal on the 19th March 2018. Our main objective was to extend our sincere gratitude to the support staff who are the backbone of our college.
Simultaneously we also celebrated the “Feast of St. Joseph” So, the event commenced with the holy mass at the College Chapel, which was followed by a cultural programme for all the support staff.

The State Women’s Commission (SWC), AICUFWB under their #SheBleedsRed campaign initiative, undertook the distribution of sanitary napkins to underprivileged girls at ‘Nav Jeevan,’ a home run by the Sisters of the Cross at Gobra, Kolkata on the 5th April 2018. During the event, AICUFers engaged in various funfilled activities and action songs, along with an awareness talk on menstrual hygiene.