Stella Maris College student-led Walkathon to Promote the ART of Humanity

• The three-week student-led campaign on Acceptance, Respect and Tolerance (ART of Humanity) concluded with a walkathon

The student-initiated campaign “Yaadhum Manamae Yaavarum Kaelir” by the Department of Public Relations, Stella Maris College celebrated its valedictory with a walkathon conducted at Elliot’s Beach, Besant Nagar, today. The walkathon was inaugurated by Actor and Mixed Martial Arts Athlete, Mr. Santhtosh Prathap and Thiru. S. Nelson, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Adyar. Around 100 walkers took their step forward towards creating a better world that celebrates diversity and embraces differences.

Speaking on this occasion, Dr. S. Shrinidhi, Head of the Department of Public Relations, Stella Maris College, said “A campaign that includes multimedia communication has always been effective in building awareness on social issues. This campaign by the final year PR students, aimed at garnering the support of the public towards understanding the importance of acceptance, respect and tolerance. The walkathon proved to be an example of how the community came together to celebrate humanity.”

Ms. Zumla Ofhran, student representative and member of the organising team of the campaign stated, “We have always been taught that everyone is different but along the way we tend to forget that our values and beliefs are unique to each of us. To exist in perfect harmony, we need to respect, accept and tolerate the other person for their opinions and choices. We believe this walkathon propelled conversations around the same.”

To emphasise on the importance of the ART of humanity, Theatre Akku also staged a Tamil play “Komaligal” on Saturday (4 June 2022) at the Stella Maris College, that threw light on pressing issues such as gender inequality and intersectional abuse as an outcome of stagnant cultural attitudes and practices like discrimination based on social and cultural backgrounds.

“Yaadhum Manamae Yaavarum Kaelir” was inaugurated on 12 May 2022. The campaign focuses on spreading awareness on values such as acceptance, respect and tolerance. So far as part of the campaign, awareness sessions and webinars were conducted at various colleges in Chennai. Every year the Department of Public Relations conduct a campaign based on a social and environmental issue.