Dato’ Vijay Eswaran set up the Vijayaratnam Foundation as a tribute to his father, S.Vijayaratnam in 2006. The Foundation is actively involved in various long term sustainable projects in the areas of child and youth development, women empowerment, education, environmental protection and promotion of arts and culture.
One such project is the Aruna youth empowerment series, a seminar aimed at giving young people on the threshold of adult life an opportunity to benefit from the wisdom of successful professionals and entrepreneurs who have made a difference in the communities they live in. The Aruna series was initiated in 2010 with the first seminar at the Multimedia University in Kuala Lumpur.
In 2011, the Aruna Series has kicked off in collaboration with MIND Association from Feb 26 at the Taylor’s College in Subang Jaya. This year, the Foundation will invite prominent members of society and the corporate world to be guest speakers at the seminar to provide the young participants an opportunity to learn from and be inspired by people who have overcome all odds to achieve success.
At the first seminar of 2011, Dato’ Vijay Eswaran was one of the keynote speakers. He spoke to a group of 120 students from various universities in Malaysia who gathered at the Taylor’s College campus for the seminar, about the importance of making the change within. He explained that the first step towards making a change begins with recognising the flaws within and understanding the need for the change. The students posed many thought provoking questions to him and were delighted to receive a copy of In the Sphere of Silence for every good question!
“Through the Aruna series we aim to provide a platform for personal growth, self-actualisation and character building for young students. We received very encouraging feedback from the seminar last year and have decided to expand it this year with the partnership with MIND. Aruna, in Sanskrit means the rising sun, a metaphor for new beginnings – an apt symbolism to describe youth”, said Datin Umayal Eswaran, Chairperson of Vijayaratnam Foundation.
MIND Vice President, Dr Kanagi Kanapathy said that her organisation teamed up with Vijayaratnam Foundation because the Aruna series is in line with TheMIND Association’s mission of helping the Malaysian Indian community through seminars, lectures, conferences, workshops, and training programs.
“TheMIND Association believes that the programme will spur our potential graduates towards excellence,” Kanagi said.
For more information and to register for the seminar, which is currently offered without a fee, please log on to www.themindassociation.org/bethechange/home.asp