AFVOA Newsletter of Year 2021

Section 3 – Value Add / Special Tasks CV 2 No. 01 / 2021 Page 36 of 123 “Veteran Officers Become Icons of Digital Transformation” – Thus Spoke “The Hindu” on Jan 31, 2021 Isn’t it true that nothing is more permanent than change itself ? And the ones who do not prepare and adapt to the change will fall by the wayside? Just as AFVOA was preparing for its bi-monthly, in-person meeting during early Apr 2020, a rude shock presented itself in the form of a world- wide pandemic, prompting a nation-wide lockdown that forced members to stay indoors. Sure enough, the lockdown curtailed physical movement of people and stopped public gatherings, but could do pretty little for the indomitable spirit of the AFVOA. The Managing Committee was faced with two immediate challenges – One, how to meet and greet the members and Two, how does it execute its avowed project of resumption of release of periodical Newsletters. The open minded technology orientation of the Members of the Managing Committee presented solutions for both – the impending resumption of the Newsletters taking the shape of an eBook on May 03, 2020 and the periodical virtual meetings commencing as early as May 17, 2020, even while the much better equipped, state-of-the-art corporate world was struggling to come to terms with the new normal! That the AFVOA has published 3 quarterly eBook Newsletters and has successfully staged 29 virtual meetings so far is history! Aided well by the technological initiatives, it’s a fact that the visibility of AFVOA grew manifold, in the wide spectrum offered by the web. It caught the attention and imagination of many, most notably the Press. Popular Journalist and Columnist, Mr Prince Frederick, who writes regularly for the national Newspaper “The Hindu”, chanced upon our eBook Newsletters as well as our archived treasures of much of our eConnect meetings over YouTube and was full of praise for the Veterans’ adapting to the emerging social environment like duck to water. All in a matter of less than three days, he carried out quick-fire interviews of a few members of the Managing Committee telephonically and published an attractive, colorful and comprehensive centerspread article in the Newspaper’s Sunday Supplement Downtown on Jan 31, 2021. His article covered both the initiatives – our virtual meets as well as the eBook Newsletters in good measure.