SIGNIS WORLD was created in November, 2001 in Rome for the merger of two International Catholic Organizations. They are Unda, meaning ‘wave’ in Latin, for Radio and Television, and OCIC, an acronym for ‘Organization Catholique International du Cinema et de l’ Audiovisual, meaning International Catholic Organization for Cinema and Audiovisual’.
Both these Organizations were created in 1928 in Cologne, Germany and at The Hague, Netherlands respectively.
The word ‘SIGNIS’ is derived from two Latin words, ‘Signum’ (meaning Sign) and ‘Ignis’ (meaning Fire)
SIGNIS combines the heritages of both Unda and OCIC, and at the same time, moves forward as a creative and dynamic Catholic International Media Organization.
The Constitution of SIGNIS INDIA was first approved and promulgated for a probation period of four years by the delegates during the first SIGNIS INDIA General Assembly held at Don Bosco Provincial House, Okhla, New Delhi, during 24-25, February, 2002.
At the end of the stipulated four years, the Constitution was ratified and adopted on 21 September 2006 at the extraordinary National General Assembly of SIGNIS INDIA, held at St. Anne’s Generalate, Hyderabad.
At the SIGNIS INDIA General Assembly held at Don Bosco Institute, Guwahati, during 29 February – 1st March, 2008, some amendments to the Constitution were approved by the delegates.
Again in 2014 National assembly at Dharmaram College, Bangalore, Some amendments to the constitution were proposed and approved by the delegates.
SIGNIS INDIA
Long before the move to merge Unda and OCIC began at the World level, they worked as one unit in India, from their inception in 1971.
SIGNIS INDIA is the Indian Chapter of SIGNIS WORLD. It is recognized by the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of India (CBCI). It has twelve Regions, as delineated by the CBCI, with about 350 Active Members. Each Regional SIGNIS Unit has its own administrative structure.
The Regions are:
1. Agra: Rajasthan, Uttaranchal, Uttar Pradesh
2. A.P.: Andhra Pradesh
3. Bijhan: Bihar, Jharkhand
4. Karnataka: Karnataka
5. Kerala: Kerala
6. M.P. : Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh
7. Northern: Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab
8. North East: Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura
9. Orissa: Orissa
10. Tamilnadu: Tamilnadu
11. West Bengal: West Bengal
12. Western: Goa, Gujarat, Maharashtra
