The 193 attendees at the "Excellence beyond boundaries” themed 15th national convention of the Indian Association of Secretaries and Administrative Professionals (IASAP) held over three days from September 29 to October 1, 2017 in Bombay received varied inputs for all-round development, notes an email sent to Parsiana by past president Zarine Commissariat.
Daara Patel, secretary general of the Indian Drug Manufacturers’ Association provided inputs to the audience on how to be a key partner to the executives they worked for. Stating that dependability was a key attribute of an administrative professional, Mehta exhorted the managing committee to consider a Ms Dependable contest at the next convention to be held in Poona in 2019. IASAP currently hosts an Administrative Professional Contest in conjunction with their conference where participants are judged on general knowledge, presentation skills and their participation in group discussions. The first day of the conference saw Prabha Narayan of Bombay winning the top spot. The first runner up was Sabrina Mendes of Calcutta, with Bama Cariapa of Bangalore securing the second runner-up position. In response to Parsiana’s follow up queries, Commissariat states that this year’s competition was judged by Viji Venkatesh, region head, India and South Asia, Max Foundation, which works with cancer patients and survivors; Subrato Roy, general manager marketing of logistics company Blue Dart Express and behavioral science trainer Dr C. P. Girishankar.
Top (l to r): IASAP convention organizers, Sharon Pires, Jeroo Irani, Shera Langrana, Zarine Commissariat,
Homai Mehta, Moti Vazifdar, Veera Mundroina, Wilma D’Costa, Vimala D’souza, Pansy Reilly;
above: a view of the attendees
Speaking on "Witnessing mega trends and digital waves” Udai Singh, chief strategy officer and president for business to business (B2B) initiatives of training and learning management company NIIT, reminded the audience about newer aspects of the digital revolution: cloud computing, Big Data analysis and Internet of Things that they needed to familiarize themselves with.
The role of wellness in emotional evolution was emphasized by Dr Mickey Mehta. His five-point mantra for wellbeing: happiness, which comes from positive attitudes, creative thoughts and constructive behavior; nutritious food that heals you; exercise to build immunity; meaningful rest, aided by early dinners; self love that comes from doing good deeds. Image consultant Benaisha Kharas, told the audience that "this is a brand you world, not a brand new world,” states Commissariat’s note. Be powerful, authentic, consistent, visible and valuable, was her key message to the audience. Swami Swatmananda of the Chinmaya Mission emphasized the need to be "spiritually good,” to succeed. "To invoke inner strength, one needs to obtain spiritual knowledge and practice meditation,” he stated.
President Sharon Pires, president emeritus Homai Mehta, past IASAP presidents Jeroo Irani, Shera Langrana, Commissariat, Moti Vazifdar, Veera Mundroina, Pansy Reilly and Wilma D’Costa with honorary secretary Vimala D’souza constituted the organizing committee for the convention.