A newly opened Jesuit center aims to offer young tribal people media skills training and highlight issues related to their communities in eastern India. Father Francis Kurien, head of the Hazaribagh Jesuit province, opened the Lievens’ Institute of Film and Electronic media (LIFE) in Ranchi, the Jharkhand state capital, recently. The center is named after Belgian Jesuit missioner Father Constant Lievens, popularly known as the “Apostle of Chotanagpur.” Addressing the gathering, Father Kurien expressed hope that the center’s students would take up tribal issues in various media channels. “Today the media is not reporting many events happening in Jharkhand,” he regretted. Ranchi provincial Father Xavier Soreng, who blessed the building, hailed the center as “a new chapter in the life of Jharkhand and a gift of the Central Zone provincials to the tribal people of the region.” According to him, LIFE will make tribal voices heard nationally and internationally and “churn out media professionals with a certain ethical viewpoint.” The center will offer a course in film and television production from July 15, with the Mumbai-based Xavier Institute of Communications awarding diplomas to graduates from the Ranchi center. It will also offer certificate courses in electronic media from July. Related reports Tribals access services through information lawChurch prepares tribals for local council elections IE14046