Bengaluru: The Ashoka India Innovators for the public launched India's first ever Changemaker Week in association with St Joseph's College, where eminent speakers who have brought about positive change in the community will interact with the youth of the city about how every individual is capable of making changes in society.
More than 500 students from 20 colleges will be participating in the week-long event spread across the city of Bangalore. Initiated by Ashoka India's Youth Venture, the Changemaker Week aims to initiate an ecosystem building process in Bangalore that values and supports young people to be changemakers.
The event was inaugurated by Rohini Nilekani, Founder, Arghayam. The first day showcased sessions by eminent speakers including Magsaysay Award winner of 2015 and Founder, Goonj, Anshu Gupta, Ashoka Fellow and Founder, Teach for India, Shaheen Mistri and award winning environmentalist and standup comedian Vasu Primlani.
The sessions aimed to introduce the concept of changemaking and social entrepreneurship amongst the youth, drive home social innovation and entrepreneurship and a place to mutually learn about effective solutions to the most pressing social problems. Spread ideas about the innovations and existing models that are acting as change agents in the society.
Speaking on the occasion Rohini Nilekani, Founder, Arghayam, said, "Today's world requires us to hone one human skill and that is to feel empathy. Today the importance of empathy and passion and working collaboratively and creatively has become crucial in this new century where all of us, especially the youth are all digitally connected. We need to find a million ways to make our society stronger. The environment can be very oppressive. So empathy is the need of the hour. The youth should set an example for the corporate world and others. The youth should be solve society’s problem with empathy."
The platform will see attendees from a vast domain including students, working professionals and people from development sector. It is an open forum for sharing ideas and experiences in the development sector and also help the youth to learn, execute and materialize their ideas for changing the world.
Anshu Gupta, Founder, Goonj, said, "By changing just infrastructure, we can't change the country. We can change the country only when we change people. We need to look at even a slum dweller with dignity and respect. It is important that we understand our eco system, the real causes and problems of India. I see a lot of great grassroots level work by the youth that we truly need in India. I think this is a golden time in India for the youth who want to either make a change on their own or to get involved in change making initiatives. However, the youth needs to understand the problems of the country first and then work with empathy and creativity to find solutions. We should encourage free thinking in our youth."
Ashoka, India, with the help of the Changemaker Week, aims to trigger ideas in young people which can lead to social enterprises and inspire passionate students and young people by bringing them face to face with social entrepreneurs who will share their real life experiences and challenges in social enterprises. It aims to provide a networking platform to help connect people who share common passions and interest in the developing sector.
"Students are hungry to contribute to change. They know their generations is a generation of changemakers. Schools, colleges and universities must focus on responding to their hunger to make social impact through innovation," said VK Shashikumar Velath, Leadership Group Member, Ashoka Innovators for the Public.
The next two days will facilitate interaction between students and various eminent speakers and changemakers including event will also Soniya Kripalani, Founder – SA.ME & Award Winning Filmmaker and Ashwin Naik, Founder, Vaatsalya Healthcare & LGM, Ashoka Innovators for the Public, among others.
Prior to the event, students across India shared their changemaking initiatives and ideas. The idea pitches were followed by high impact mentoring session for 15-20 plans. The best ideas will receive further support. The panel of mentors will include the Ashoka staff and various industry leaders. The Changemaker Week will also include various activities including workshops by Ashoka Staff on innovation and ideation, story-telling sessions and building awareness through video screening on the work of Ashoka in the campuses of each participating college in the programme. Ashoka India aims to host 500 Changemaker Weeks across the country by 2017.
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