Participants: Raj Vedantam (1976), Swasticharan (1988), Ronnie (1988), Kalyan (1988), Basanta RK(1988), Bhalindra (1993), Imo (1994), Socrates(1998).

The minutes of the meeting:

The initial hour or so was spent on recollecting nostalgic moments gone by with almost everyone chipping in with stories of “during our time”. Finally we get down to business. Most of the things on the proposed agenda was discussed.

The summary of the discussion is as follows:

• Fr. George was requested to share what exactly he has in mind and what he expects from us.
• We explained whatever progress we have made so far : incidentally, he was unaware of some of the groundwork done by us as he was unable to access them primarily due to poor connectivity at Imphal added with the heavy volume of traffic of the group.
• After discussing the dates, activities to be carried out, events to be hosted, committees to be hosted, it was finally decided that Fr and the team at Imphal will list out all the probable activities, events to be conducted as part of the celebration, fix a timeline for each of the events, and calculate possible expenditure for each of the events. From such an exercise, we will have a rough idea of the kind of budget we require. The team in Imphal will also mention the budget available so far, preferably for each of the events/items. This exercise has to be completed at the earliest as everything else that we can do will “start” from here. As most of the activities/events/item have already been listed exhaustively, they simply have to modify/improve upon the existing list and then proiritise.
• The meeting ended with a sumptuous meal from the Manipur pavilion – what with mangal ootee, eromba, nga atauba with the added “Manipuri” feeling, it more than added for the delay – we had our lunch by 3pm!! The discussions were so invigorating that we almost lost tract of time.
• We broke up at 4pm with Fr presenting us with some of the books he wrote.

ITEMWISE BREAKUP

• The mode of celebration, list of events, dates. Father wants the celebration as refective of the values of St.John Bosco/Don Bosco, and not merely the commemoration of a school turning 50. Accordingly most of the events should have this underlying theme – catering to the poor and needy, spreading the message of love, brotherhood and above all, imparting quality education to all, regardless of their background, caste, creed or religion. Some of the items/events added in the list Fr includes having a symposium wherin the resource persons are invited to give their views on such subjects “the present system of education in Manipur”; Role/Contribution of DBS in the education system of Manipur.
• Carry out several socially related activites aimed specifically at the underpriviledged and poors like taking a group of handicapped children on a picnic, treating them to a sumptuous meal, providing clothes for them etc
• Have a construction which is commemorative of the Jubilee and would be of use to the students in particular. This can be a Students Centre; an Indoor stadium, a Jubilee Hall, extended classrooms for higher classes / higher secondary wing etc having a memorial for the Fathers who were gunned down by militants
• Having get together of past pupils batchwise or for groups of batches like 1966-1970, 1970-75 etc. During such get-togethers some of the past Teachers can also be invited.
• The activities are to be spread out throughout the year i.e from March 2007 to March 2008. The celebrations will kick off with a Grand opening, preferably in March 2007 and culminates with a Grand Finale in March 2008. There will be no 2-5 day event as thought of earlier. The competitive events like the cultural items (song/dance etc), sports, academics etc will also be spread out through the year, say football tournament in March, Cricket in April, Badminton in May, Quiz in June, Song and Dance in July etc. (these are to be finalised in the calendar of events to be drawn up and prioritized as mentioned earlier). All the “finals” of the events will be with-held and kept for the “Grand Finale” where the “Finals” of the events hosted throughout the year and the prize distribution will be held.

Budget

• Fr George has mentioned that the budget from the school side is almost negligible, but he may be able to raise some 2-3 lakhs by imposing a onetime fee of some Rs 200 per student.
• The contribution of the Salesians/Catholic society is still not clear, Fr may clarify.
• Fr say he already has some funds from Italy for the upgradation and renovation of the Boarding rooms of the old hostel which Is already underway. He may be able to utilize some of that money for some of the events especially for the socially related activities. He is also willing to shell out around a lakh from his own pocket from the proceeds of sale of his books. Rest he is going to depend on us.

Alumni Association

• With respect to the formation of the association, he mentioned that there is a set norm for the formation of Don Bosco Alumni Associations wherein the memoranda, by-laws and other nitty-gritty details have already been done by other DB Alumni. He was requested to pass on the details so that we can form our association on the set pattern so that we become part of the international society of past students of DBS as well.

Participants : Father George and Past Students based in Imphal

Outcome : 15 past pupils have volunteer to organize the Golden Jubilee

Participants: Kheda Sanjenbam (1988 ), Rajen Chingakham (1986), Armand (1986 ) ,Ningthouremba (1993),

Purnachandra (1992),Robertis (1997), Absentee: Roshan Nangom (1991,(He had a conflicting schedule)

The minutes of the meeting:

On Golden Jubilee:

• Agreed on some financial contribution towards the events.
• Propose to have events like "Spelling Bee", "Dumb Charade".
• The team felt the event list is quite long. Would like the organizing committee to cut down a few.
• The team felt the need to have a GRAND OPENING DAY and a GRAND CLOSING DAY like the way we had in '87-'88 festival.
• On behalf of US team, Purnachandra to conduct a workshop in School during his visit this winter.
• On Alumni Association Formation (High Level Discussion)

• To facilitate and provide continuous support and guidance to the students of Don Bosco, Imphal for their overall growth and development.
• To unite the past pupils of Don Bosco, Imphal and render help to one another at times of need.

On Structure of the Association:

• Setting up of a Home Committee in Imphal. HC to have few high-ranking seniors as Advisory Board Member and Executive Members comprising past pupils from different batches.
• Creation of Regional Executive Team (RET) like US Team, UK Team, Bangalore Team, Delhi Team, Kolkatta Team etc..
• Opening up of Bank Account dedicated for AA.
• Coming up with Annual Alumni Membership Fee. The fee goes to the account as Alumni Fund. Every Alumnus contributes annually.
• Enrolling passing out students (class X) to Alumni Membership before they leave the school.
• Maintaining a clean database of the Alumni with their proper profile.

On Roles and Responsibilities of AA (High Level Process)

• Provide Help and Support for Students coming out of Manipuri for higher studies: HC to communicate with RETs on the particulars of such students. RET to welcome and extend the required help to the student.
• Identify and scope out projects that AA can take up within its capacity: RETs to work with HC closely to identify key implementable projects that will have significant impact on the students’ progress. Example- developing social skills of the students. What role can AA play in imparting this? It could range from providing innovative ideas to the School Management to collecting reading materials.
• Develop, Maintain and Strengthen the Relationship with the School and Students: Every outstation Alumni member pays a visit to school and interact with the students and teachers whenever they visit Imphal.During the visit members can conduct workshops, do a pep talk, share their experience etc. The key point here is "RELATONSHIP" and letting them know we are there to help them.
• Share Knowledge within the group: Identify SIG (Special Interest Group) or SME (Subject Matter Expertise) within the group. This would help the members when they need some help in a particular subject. 5) Unite the members: HC and RETs to have regional team meeting, conference calls, offsite to discuss issues, generate ideas or simply organize a get-to-gether, celebrate LIFE and have FUN!!!

Participants: Gautam(1992), Aribam Sanad(1994), Ringo Pebam(1994), Elangbam Sukumar (1994), Roshan(1994), Krishnakanta L(1994), Nilakanta(1995) and Sunil Angom (1995)

The minutes of the meeting:

• To divide into batchwise will not be very effective, since it will make the groups a very small size, and there might be no people for each group to lead or take initiatives.
• We decided to stick as location wise, like Boscinians Bangalore.
• We thought of doing things for the Golden Jubilee Celebration of March 2007, we will make plans and initiatives for that events.
• For the time being, we want to do something as a first step, this we think will be direct, fast and effective to the students and school. We want to create enthusiasm and strong urge in the students to do well in HSLC exam. We want to give a prize to the student who scores the highest mark in the pre-HSCL exam that is conducted in the school. The reason we are going for the pre-HSCL exam is because for the main exam there will be prizes like Asem Arun's Gold Medal and other prizes, which they already know and has always been there. What we want to do it to create a sense of interest that the former students cares for them, for the school and want them to perform well. And above all, we want them to get the prize at pre-HSCL exam and get recognized fast, which is very important, because it will boost their morals of the hard work they will be giving in. The prize will be a "Personal Computer". We will buy one and send to you, if you okay with the idea.
• We decided not to go public in our school's yahoo group. We want it to be quiet and silent, so that no obstacles come in between, on what we are trying to do. We will surely let it be known to other Bosconians of other location so that they also get inspired, but first we want it to be executed into actions. We want this correspondence of our plan with you only.
• We want to get a word from you, and what you think of it. We want a 'go ahead' signal from you, if you like the idea. If there is any other ideas to be added in ours please do so.