The Department of Communicative English organised a Public Relations Campaign- Chroma 2015: Colour Me Equal on 15 September 2015 at the college. It was an awareness campaign aimed at challenging stereotypical notions of fair skin reinforced by the media.
As a part of the campaign the department conducted a panel discussion involving experts from various fields to gain perspective on the issue. Chief guests, Mr. Krishna, popular Cine Actor and Mr. Afzal Yusuf, Malayalam Music Director and Composer inaugurated the campaign. Ms Kavitha Emmanuel, Founder and Director of WOW (Women of Worth), a Chennai based NGO was the Keynote Speaker. The ‘Dark is Beautiful’ campaign by WOW seeks to draw attention to the unjust effects of skin colour bias. The other panelists included psychiatrist Dr CJ John, Medical Trust Hospital; Author and Columnist, Shinie Antony; Advertisement and Fashion Photographer Mr Anil Kumar; RJ in Radio Mango and Columnist Ms Anjali Kurien.
In her address, Ms. Kavitha stressed on the notion that firstly one needs to accept oneself regardless of their colour and find ways to celebrate every shade of beautiful. Ms Anjali Kurien, the moderator led the panel discussion. The inauguration was followed by a thought-provoking discussion in which the panelists and the audience spoke about the challenges they faced during their childhood and careers on grounds of colour discrimination. While Ms. Shinie Antony asked the audience to be colour blind, Mr. Anil Kumar warned them to not believe in advertisements. ‘’ A positive mind adds to beauty. Beauty is beyond colour’’, said Dr. C.J. John. Ms. Anjali Kurien concluded the discussion by saying, ‘’As long as your heart is not black, there are no issues’’. Various inter-collegiate competitions were also conducted to promote and support the cause.
