The Jesuit Alumni Associations of Indias (JAAI) 8th National Congress was held between 27-29 January 2017 at  St. Xavier’s School, Doranda, Ranchi. The theme of the Congress was SynerJAAI – Networking for Empowerment.

The business sessions were:
EMPOWERMENT THROUGH HEALTH The key focus areas of the business session were:
1.    What is “good health” considering the stress levels and demands of modern times?
2.    Management of Social and Occupational Stresses.
3.    How to avoid falling into the trap of medical malpractices, cheating and fraud?
4.    How to cope up with medical cost – corpus funds, health insurance etc.?
5.    How to create a Jesuit alumni network and pool of healthcare resource persons?
EMPOWERMENT FOR ENVIRONMENT, ECOLOGY AND SANITATION  The key focus areas of the business session were:
1.    The present “sorry state” of environment and ecology.
2.    Restoration and replenishment of environment, ecology and natural resources.
3.    Social indulgence and awareness creation
4.    Jesuit network to further JAAI’s permanent projects associated to environment and ecology.
5.    Sanitation and hygiene promotion in Jesuit institutions and communities.

EMPOWERMENT THROUGH FORMAL FRAMEWORKS AND FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
The key focus areas of the business session were:
1.    How to formalize and create an organization for the Alumni Association ?
2.    Generation and management of funds for sustenance and execution of projects of permanent nature.
3.    Sharing our knowledge and best practices to help other alumni associations.
4.    Creation of Corpus Fund(s) to finance ongoing projects such as sustained scholarships, etc.
5.    Knowledge of the financial markets, Mutual Funds, etc. as investment tools for wealth creation.
6.    Financial Management as a tool for enriching personal lives, eradication of black money, and happiness quotient vis-à-vis wealth.
EMPOWERMENT THROUGH SOCIO-CIVIC INTERVENTION AND ADVOCACY IN GOVERNANCE:
The key focus areas of the business session were:
1.    .Policies related to safety, delivery of welfare schemes and social upliftment.
2.    Interface with the administration and bureaucracy relating to systems and transparency.
3.    Bridging of trust-deficit and advocacy of government policies.
4.    Redressal and support mechanisms.
5.    Alumni networking as a Jesuit resource.
EMPOWERMENT THROUGH GLOBAL JESUIT NETWORKING:
The key focus areas of the business session were:
1.    Strategies for building up of a holistic database of alumni members, using modern ICT Tools.
2.    Means and methods of pooling intellectual and physical resources.
3.    Improved exchange programs (study, student, alumni and cultural exchanges).
4.    Guidance in education and career development.
5.    Creation of a Volunteer Bank as a resource for use by the network.
6.    Synergizing with WUJA in its projects.
STRENGTHENING ALUMNI BODIES AND MANAGEMENT OF JAAI’S SIGNATURE PROJECTS:
The key focus areas of the business session were:
1.    How to create and sustain Alumni Associations in Institutions having such vacuum.
2.    Creating a compendium of success stories and socially productive projects as a tool and beacon light for emerging Alumni Bodies.
3.    Creating a common calendar for JAAI’s Signature Projects.
4.    Pooling of intellectual, financial and physical resource and means of sharing them.
5.    How to create a system to catalyze the growth of existing and on-going projects.