BIS Mumbai
BOSCO INFORMATION SERVICE #3125
NETWORKING: PHILOSOPHICAL BASIS AND APPLICATIONS
Dustin Yarde and Nobin Narzary
DIVYADAAN, SEPTEMBER 15, 2012 : Salesian Institute of Philosophy, a Don Bosco Institution from Nashik, organized a two day seminar on September 12 and 13, 2012 
entitled “Networking: Philosophical Basis and Applications”. The seminar was broken up into six sessions each approaching a topic from a different viewpoint.
On the first day the first talk entitled What, Why and How of Networking was presented by Fr. Robert Pen, the Principal of the Salesian Institute of Philosophy. In his talk he highlighted the following points: the meaning of Networking; importance of Networking both personally as well as professionally; the principles of networking; the merits of joining a network; network as an essential professional skill; importance of personal relationship in a network; barriers in networking and the philosophy of networking. While focusing on the relational character of Networking he called for authenticity in our personal networking.
The speakers of the second talk on Ecology and Networking were, Mr. Christopher Pereira, Mr. Denzil Rego and Mrs. Mavis D’souza who belong to a N.G.O. named HELM based in Bandra and dealing with civic affairs. They concern themselves with 
composting, city farming, re-cycling and biodegradable crockery. The three speakers stressed on the importance of balance in nature. They gave some practical guidelines as to how we can bring about the same in our personal environment. Speaking on the similar lines, they made us aware of how we could initiate ecological balance on a small scale by preparing compost at our homes with the household waste. Mr. Christopher made an important point when he said, “there is no ‘waste’ it is only a creation of a lazy mind, all ‘waste’ is ultimately 90% water and air.” Thus he proposed “Composting at Source” (on domestic level at every home) which would reduce pollution by cutting down on transportation and accumulation of garbage at dumping grounds. This knowledge will remain a theory unless we begin to implement the catchword proposed by Mrs. Mavis D’souza, “Each one teach one.”
In the third talk Fr. Suresh Sathe, the Director of Nashik Social Service, spoke about Development and Networking. He began his talk by stating that life is a school where everyone learns; the better the network we have the more we learn. Networking stands on two hinges- awareness and curiosity. These two elements together with learning lead us to success, which is one of the goals of networking. While explaining the various stages of development in networking, he argued that the most important of them all is 
human development which helps us to discover ourselves fully by our interaction with others. To this end networking can be a powerful tool: for our personal development, for the development of groups, for the development of the nation and for the whole world at large.
The fourth talk of the day entitled Church and Networking was delivered by Mr. Cletus Zuzarte, the Zonal Manager of the Western Zone, Caritas –India. He clarified the term Church at the very outset and then went on to appreciate the networks within the Church. He however raised the issue of the importance of networking beyond the boundaries of the Church. He further laid emphasis on the various types of networks that one could involve oneself in, like: issue based networks, region specific networks, funds led or funder driven networks and broad-based networks. Overall his main concern was the impact that the Church can bring about in the society through networking.
The fifth talk on the morning of the second day was delivered by Mr. Conrad Saldanha who works as a Management adviser to Don Bosco Management institute, Kurla. In his presentation entitled Media and Networking he began by highlighting the two contrasting concepts in the world of media i.e., the “Culture of Alphabet v/s Culture of Electricity”. The former, referred to a time when man depended solely on books for knowledge and the latter referred to our present time which is characterized by an information explosion. He further highlighted the following characteristics of the culture of Electricity: Connectedness and Collaboration (where we as human beings 
replicate in the outside world what happens within us); Customization and Empowerment (that brings presumed culture and dis-intermediation); Static vs Dynamic (that refers to words vs image, concepts vs experience) and Archiving vs Programming. He concluded by underlining the need of reading, contemplation and silent/critical reflection to slowdown the culture of electricity; else humanity would be in great danger of superficiality, which is the consequence of present day media culture.
The seminar concluded with a panel discussion that focused on how the participants could apply the inputs from the various speakers on networking in their daily lives. Some of the suggestions that came up in the course of the discussion were: to collaborate with the diocese in faith formation of the youth, to initiate a waste management in Divyadaan, to improve our knowledge of current affairs by reading of news-papers magazines etc., as networking demands adequate knowledge.
Overall, the entire seminar went on smoothly. The audiences were highly appreciative of the speakers and the quality of their presentations. The participants left the seminar edified with the power of networking and how it can be used in our places of work.
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