Media Release
Mangaluru, Aug 24: The Indian Catholic Youth Movement (ICYM), Central Council - diocese of Mangalore organized skill fiesta 2026 - A one-day skill development masterclass on Sunday, August 23 at Eric Mathias Hall, Maffei Block, St Aloysius (Deemed to be University).
The inaugural ceremony began with a prayer led by the DEXCO members. Christon Menezes, president of ICYM Central Council, welcomed the gathering and introduced all the esteemed guests. The esteemed guests for the day were Dr Praveen Martis SJ, vice-chancellor, St Aloysius (Deemed to be University), Rohan Pereira Vamanjoor, founder and managing director, RO International, Fr Anil Ivan Fernandes, priest-in-charge - Skill fiesta and director, Canara Communication Centre, and Fr John D'Souza, director, St Aloysius ITI. The programme was officially inaugurated by playing the video related to youth on the slide. Rohan Pereira and Dr Praveen Martis SJ were then felicitated.
Rohan Pereira in his speech spoke about how skills are more important and how skills help to make our dreams come true. He said youth must be curious to learn new things and must question the unknown. Dr Praveen Martis SJ in his speech said that conducting such a programme for youth is very interesting and is needed in today's time. He assured that they will always be there to provide their campus for such development programmes in the future and congratulated ICYM Central Council for hosting such a programme. Mementos were given to all the donors and to those who made promotion videos and edited them for Skill fiesta. The Maximum Participation Unit Award was given to Beltangady Unit.
The inaugural ceremony concluded with a vote of thanks delivered by Renita Cardoza, secretary of ICYM Central Council. After the vote of thanks, on behalf of Konkani Manyata Divas, the Konkani anthem was played and the stage program concluded.
After the inaugural programme, the participants were divided into different classrooms and the skill development sessions began.
The sessions conducted were: Public speaking and soft skills by Manoj Fernandes, compere and public speaker and Dr Mona Mendonca, head, department of history, St Aloysius (Deemed to be University). Content creation by Lavita Vinisha D'Souza, head of operations at Storify and Ronson Lewis and Ann Monis, founder and co-founder, Metron ADS. Startup mindset by Rohan Pereira, founder and managing director, RO International and Sathish Maben, district resource person, Mangaluru, PMFME Scheme. AI and Innovation by Fr Anil Ivan Fernandes (Fr AI), director, Canara Communication Centre and Vinol Savio D'Costa, founder, Sierra Learning Academy. Event management by Hera Pinto, emcee, event curator, actor, director, fashion designer and Kevin Misquith, founder, Milestones Event and Production.
After the first session, Holy Mass was celebrated for all the participants. Lunch was served thereafter. The second session continued after lunch, where participants actively took part and enhanced their skills.
After the completion of the second session, certificates were distributed to all the participants. The participants gave positive feedback about the program and mentioned that the sessions were very informative and useful, after which all departed for home.
The entire programme was well organized under the guidance of Fr Praveen D'Souza, director, ICYM Mangalore, along with DEXCO and Central Council members. Breakfast, lunch, refreshments and writing materials were provided to all the participants. It was a very informative and enriching day for all the youth.