The Department of Tourism and Hospitality Management (DTHM), Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI), New Delhi observed ‘International Housekeepers Week’ from September 12-15, 2022 to commemorate the tireless efforts of the housekeepers worldwide. ‘International Housekeepers Week’ (IHW) also known as Environmental Services Week, is observed from 11- 17 th September (the second full week of September since 1981). It is a week soulfully dedicated to recognizing the efforts of hard-working integral profession without which hotels, hospitals, restaurants, malls, and other establishments simply cannot do. It is celebrated to acknowledge the importance of this profession and educates about gender inequalities.
In consonance with this DTHM, JMI organized a range of activities such as Towel Art Competition, Flower Arrangement, Interior decoration and an enriching Interactive Session Ms. Sangeetha Gandhi, Vice President, Oberoi Centre of Learning and Development to promote and encourage Accommodation Operations and Management as a career option in Hospitality Management.
In the Towel Art Competition, which is an artistic display of towel created by folding of one or more towel/s was organized on September 12, 2022. It is one of the growing trends in the hospitality industry. The provision of such an art portrays an essence of personal touch to a guestroom. In this competition students actively participated and made beautiful pieces of art. The students were evaluated for their creativity, design, time management, and presentation in the competition.
Flower Arrangement: The students of Bachelor of Hotel Management (BHM) also underwent a session on flower arrangement on September 13, 2022. They learnt the intricacies of flower arrangements and then prepared beautiful arrangements on their own. Since the art of flower arrangement is one of the significant aspects of hotel housekeeping, the session was well attended and there were plethora of beautiful arrangements to celebrate the IHW.
An Online Interactive Session with Ms. Sangeetha Gandhi was organized on September 14, 2022. The students of BHM attended and actively participated in the interactive session. Ms. Gandhi shared valuable insights of the hotel industry and apprised students by providing them real life examples of what their career future could look like, and what it takes to achieve their dreams. Her interaction with students provided a lot of inspiration and first-hand industry knowledge. She gave a clear vision of what the students should do and don’t in the future. She delivered new ideas which would help students to shape or even expand their career.
The week was indeed packed with learning, fun and creativity for one and all. The students’ sincere contribution to the event made learning by doing a fruitful process. The week-long activities were organized by Dr. Aarti, a faculty of Housekeeping Management under the guidance of Dr. Sarah Hussain, HoD, DTHM.