AFVOA Newsletter of Year 2021

Section 3 – Value Add / Special Tasks CV 2 No. 01 / 2021 Page 29 of 123 A quick look at the illustration above would point to the diversity and the heterogeneity of the subject matter of the events organized. While choosing the subjects and Speakers for these events, the Managing Committee has consciously chosen not to have a blinkered view and has broken free to seek knowledge in all forms from a wide variety of subjects under the Sun. Coming as we all do from the protected environment of the Armed Forces, its only fair that we open our eyes and ears to topically sensitive and socially and ecologically significant issues around us in the predominantly civilian environment where we have chosen to settle down in our second innings. Looking back, the Managing Committee has reasons to believe that choice of subjects has been kaleidoscopic in content and variety. Not surprisingly, the Committee found that the arrangement was indeed symbiotic every which way. Every Speaker without exception, including the international celebrities like Wg Cdr Rakesh Sharma, Dr Sudha Raghunathan, Mr Shankar Mahadevan, Ms Rama Vaidyanathan and Mr Karun Chandok have all considered this opportunity of interacting with the AFVOA veterans a singular honour. Our YouTube Channel has done its part well in spreading the gospel. The eConnect events today have a much wider reach. What’s more, the events are available forever in our Channel as a permanent record. It’s a small wonder then that the Subscribers to our channel spread over 4 continents! While the number of people viewing online during live streaming in YouTube is something to be proud of, the offline viewership is going up manifold with every passing day. Here is a sneak view of the YouTube viewership of a few of our events as at 7 PM on Mar 15, 2021 : In retrospect, the Managing Committee has realized in good measure that three of the main objectives of AFVOA are amply served by these eConnect events – that of “Interact to Keep in Touch”, “Share Happiness and Grief” and “Build on Camaraderie”. With our sister organization “Colours of Glory” actively sponsoring talks on subjects of military interest with Speaker Viewership Wg Cdr Rakesh Sharma 763 Mr Shankar Mahadevan 568 Ms Rama Vaidyanathan 746 Ms Sheela Jaywant 201 Ms Vinita Sidhartha 197 Ms Devika Cariapa 91