Let us dream conference 2020

150 | Let Us Dream Conference 2020 care, or  an All India Institute,  Tata know, everything packed in. Maybe Memorial,  Apollo or Fortis system we needed some five to 10 minutes kinds of health care for that matter, more to deliver this to the public. The I would like to ask -  how many states way Camalyn brought in the social would deliver something like that?? health aspects and also subtle things You will require good systems. Any such as  the physical environment, other small, private hospital  today makes a huge difference. Social and is able to deliver some quality health economic factors make almost  a care benchmarks. So partially, the 40 percent difference  and  a lot of answer would be, yes. Private health things  emerged out of  it. I would care expansion would be able to also like to thank Amudha Robert deliver quality health care  systems, for her perspective, especially the provided that it does not burn a hole way she looked at the entire situation in your pocket!    and her contributions. . I would also like to thank Rao for being so patient Moderator - That is well put. I and answering every question and  hope that answers the question. We all the people who were  involved have a lot of questions pouring in,, in making this conference a grand but unfortunately, we are running success. I really want to thank the out of time. I am so happy that the Let Us Dream Conference team for conversation was  so interesting. But  giving me this opportunity to be the we have to conclude this session in  moderator. This topic connects with some time. I would like to thank me so much, probably because I am everybody  and the audiences for totally into mental health services. being so active and  alert throughout When it comes to health issues, I this conference.  understand what it means to know the inequities in our society.   and at When it comes to  our panellists, I what level we need to get involved. It am running out of words to thank was  wonderful to enjoy  the session them, because all have talked of their here with the  panellists.  experiences,  contributions and you

Health Sector: Panel 3 | 151 unsung HerOes our payrolls. After that, we  started charity clinics.  Venkatraman Iyer We have diversified now and run a Swabhimaan, NGO, Bengaluru, India. fairlylarge,interest-freemicrofinance In 1999 or2000, I decided to jump into loan activity  and also sponsor large, the fray and start community work, educational scholarships. We run even though I had no experience. We youth and women empowerment, decided to settle in Bengaluru. This soft skills training,  a fairly large food is how we registered the trust called distribution program supporting  Swabhimaan, which today is 19 or 20 about 2,000 almost every single years old. . We started off by adopting day and a grocery,  which delivers 15 girls,  who are  now grown up and to 1,000 families in the  community very well settled in life. Then we every month.  started working with schools. We taught English and initially we went So all this happened one by one. on to hire teachers and put them on We kept addressing the needs of the community at different points of time. The slum that we work with in Rajyanagara,  is one of the largest in Bengaluru. I thank God that all these programs are flourishing and doing exceptionally well.  Swabhimaan, for a good number of its community activities, depends largely on  youth volunteers.   Most of them are semi-literate or illiterate, but they drive a bulk of our programs.  About 10 years ago, we were doing a few things such as working with schools, running  a couple of  clinics

152 | Let Us Dream Conference 2020 and conducting  other activities. I asked the poor man, “You are One evening, at about 7 p.m, after making it so difficult for your family I had finished my work and was to make two ends meet, how do you walking back through the slum with serve food to others?’’ His answer a set of volunteers, I saw one young changed a lot of our activities and and  exceptionally poor man with a my life forever in that community. couple of children. He was struggling He told me: “Sir, if my parents were to make two ends meet. I saw him alive, would I not give them two holding a couple of food packets.  meals every day?” Due to  that, I now Now, that was the time when we were believe that whenever my wife cooks, struggling to serve 50 meals in that these two meals were meant for my community. We used to cook food parents and these are the  packs I  ourselves, because we realized that it deliver to the destitute women.”  housed many  hungry people.   That day I realized that when such When I saw the food packets in his a poor man could  manage to serve hand, I asked him what they were. He two people in the community every told me, “Sir, for the last couple of single day on his own, could  I not years, when I or my wife cook, I pack drive a program to feed a large two meals and deliver it to a couple number of hungry people in the of destitute women who sleep under community, mostly senior citizens, a staircase in buildings.” I was very widowed women with little children, intrigued and wondered how the and so on and so forth? A program man, who is very poor, just managing  that started 10 years ago with 50 to give his children two square meals, meals now serves at least 2,500 could  do this. So when I went along meals every single day. This is one and met the women, I found that such life-changing experience.  I can they were absolutely destitute and  narrate many more, but this is a very were waiting for this poor man’s hot touching incident.  meals. 

Health Sector: Panel 3 | 153 Eneless Banda recognized as one of the people who  are working and  impacting the Young Women’s Initiative Program, community. Thank you very much.  Malawi, Southeast Africa. Coming to the Young Women’s Hi. My name is Eneless Banda. I  Initiative Program, it was put in place work with the Malawi Children’s in 2015 by the Malawi Children’s Mission Organization,  a local, non- Mission Organization. There were a profit body, working with orphans number of reasons why it came up.  as well as rural children. I would like Previously, there were a large number to share with you some information of girls dropping out of the school related to  my program.  I am a system due to teen pregnancies, as Coordinator for the Young Women’s well as early marriages. So, as a way Initiative Program. Before I tell you of trying to keep girls in school, the more about it, I would like to take initiative was born.  this time to appreciate those who are choosing members to take part in the We have 45 girls currently in the upcoming international leadership program,  ranging from 12 - 22 years. conference. I feel honoured to be We hold two meetings every  week, but we also hold special meetings one Saturday of every month. Our weekly meetings are based  on teaching the girls about subjects  related to their education, health as well as life- skills. Post Saturday meetings are  focused on mentoring them.  During the Saturday meetings, we do invite leaders as guest speakers, especially those ladies who have gone through similar kinds of backgrounds like our girls, but have made it in life. 

154 | Let Us Dream Conference 2020 We want them to motivate our them.  I have huge expectations and girls, so that no matter what the believe they will be notable,  great circumstances are, they  still stand a people in the coming years. People chance of becoming independent in graduating from the Young Women’s the future if they work hard on their Initiative Program also become great education. Initially, this was the main and take the responsibility to mentor reason why this initiative came into some other girls in the organization being.  We just want our girls to grow or in different areas. into independent but also responsible members of  society. Working with Renuka Jagannath these girls reminded me of where I come  from. I saw myself in them and You Did, NGO, Bengaluru, India. I am really happy to be working with Renuka Jagannath is a Computer them,  encouraging and  motivating Engineer who limits herself to  the them, because I would say that they field of technology and pursues her stand a better chance of becoming interest in Social Work. Because better people  as they are building of this, she became a “voice to the up from an organization. Personally, voiceless” and a brainchild of You I do not have that chance, so to me, I feel that  if they are encouraged,  mentored and exposed, believe you me, they have each and every chance of becoming better people.   So, aftergraduatingin 2017, Iwas given the  chance to continue working with these girls as a Coordinator for the Young Women’s Initiative Program. I am happy to be working with them,  and I enjoy spending time with them and doing whatever we can to help

Health Sector: Panel 3 | 155 Did, an NGO which aims to explore Chandni Ravi the world and provide a  lot of love, care and support. You Did Youth Deputy Director at Ernakulam Medical Undertaking Developed India’s Centre, Kochi, India.    Dream as  a non governmental organization founded in 2018 in Ms Chandini Ravi is the Deputy Bengaluru. It comprises disciplined Director of  the Ernakulam Medical and well-qualified, like-minded Centre, Kochi, India, a family- people, who have been  leading run multi-speciality hospital.  She change-makers in creating awareness graduated in Electronics and in education, governmental policies, Communications from Cochin cleanliness programs and supporting University. In 2017, July 17, her life food relief schemes.  took a spin while she was doing her PhD. She was diagnosed with breast You did  has targeted setting up cancer. She was determined to keep camps, building community halls, her husband and her two little kids bus stands, and necessary facilities together and for this, she had to take in India’s rural regions. Recently, care of herself mentally, physically it made tremendous strides  by and spiritually. The day she was conducting a quiz competition, aiming to raise a considerable amount of money to serve  the needy  during COVID-19. These days, it has been conducting  awareness programs related to  mental health, coloring, painting, interviewing doctors and going virtual. Finally, it believes in giving back the portion that we have earned. It endeavours to live up to its main motto: “Let the change flow”. 

156 | Let Us Dream Conference 2020 declared cancer free, she started Sustainable Menstruation Kerala Pink Saree Sisters, an online group Collective (SMKC) brings together of Indian women diagnosed with educators, practitioners, activists, cancer. The group’s primary goal was youth and organizations to open to keep families together.  up missing dialogues on menstrual rights and equality. They run online She would go to the town’s remote and offline outreach schemes with paths to teach children. Most kids their members to offer mentorship are from challenged backgrounds, to young educators, collaborate including drug addicts and broken for policy advocacy and facilitate families with  weak  socio-economic knowledge-sharing in menstrual backgrounds. She helps to sell the health care and sustainability produce of one orphanage and practices. Their collective remains distribute it  to needy orphanages committed to holding open, safe around the community, supporting and informal spaces for women, cancer patients and their carers. girls, trans and inter-sex persons for informed exploration of menstruation beyond taboos and also  engage non-menstruation allies to create support systems.  Babitha Sustainable Menstruation Kerala Collective, Kerala, India.

Health Sector: Panel 3 | 157 He works among slum dwellers, juveniles in remand homes and young  prisoners, transgenders,  refugees, orphans, needy and tribals. One of the core areas Mr Vinod is focusing on is disaster and pandemic relief work. Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Vinod’s contribution in providing relief amidst distress is extraordinary. Vinod Kumar Good Quest Foundation, Bengaluru, India. Mr Vinod Kumar is an academician.  He works as an Assistant Professor at a university. He teaches accounts and finance. He is the founder of the Good Quest Foundation, a registered charity trust working for the underprivileged and marginalized societies. With the vision to empower those who might have got lost, Vinod and his  small team of enthusiasts are determined to bring about  tangible change in the lives of people from deprived classes.  

158 | Let Us Dream Conference 2020 ClOsing KeynOte He is a recipient of several awards, including the Padma Bhushan, the Devi Prasad Shetty is a cardiac Economist Innovation Award, Ernst surgeon of repute, successful and Young Entrepreneur of the year, entrepreneur and Chairman of Financial Times Isolator, Mittal Narayana, Bengaluru, India. In Boldness and Business Award and association with the Government of Nikhal Asia Price for Economics and Karnataka, Devi Shetty pioneered Business Innovation. He has also Yesha Swinney, a very inexpensive been awarded an honorary doctorate micro-health insurance scheme, from the University of Minnesota, benefiting more than 3.5 million University of Mysore and IIT Madras.  rural poor. He has a deep interest in developing software products and Devi Shetty applications to achieve time and cost efficiency, while minimising clinical Chairman, Narayana Hrudayalaya Limited, errors in health care delivery. Shetty Bengaluru, India. is the current Chairman on the Board of Governors of the Indian Institute Ladies and gentlemen, COVID-19 has of Management, Bengaluru. He has changed this world forever. Today, I also served as a board member of governors of the Medical Council of India and is a representative of the President of India  in the board of governors  at the Indira Gandhi National Open University. Shetty was part of the International Advisory Group, a strategic advisory platform invited by the Japan Centre for International Exchange, to address the Global Health Agenda under Japan’s G20 leadership in  2019-20.

Health Sector: Panel 3 | 159 am sitting in our health city. We have I would say that the one thing should four hospitals in one campus. There be  to remove  pens and paper from are close to 400 COVID-19 patients the hands of doctors, nurses and in our campus in a separate building. medical technicians and give  them Over 100 of them are in the critical smart  digital tools. If we can do that, care unit. Nearly 300 doctors, nurses believe me, health care will become and technicians are already infected safer for the patients, it will become with COVID-19. I wish and pray to affordable and accessible. All we God that the number of COVID need to do is to come with a smart patients would come down. However, digital tool. Just replacing a pen and a if it continues like this for some more paper with a dumb digital tool is not time, we may not have doctors, nurses going to make any difference, but a and technicians who take care of the smart digital tool will make a world patients. We are optimistic that the of difference.  number is coming down, especially in Bengaluru and Delhi. In a number I strongly believe that  smarter of places where we have hospitals, we software can make smarter diagnoses have seen numbers reducing. Let us than doctors within the next three keep our fingers crossed.  to five years and I am convinced that within seven to 10 years,  it will Now let me talk to you in the next become legal and mandatory for few minutes about exciting things every doctor to get a  second opinion that can be done to transform global from the software before starting the health care. I would like to ask you treatment.  a question, If you are the Health Minister of India and you are given Why am I so confident that smarter the right to change anything that software’s can make smarter you want , what is it you can do to diagnoses than doctors?. When a transform the health care of India doctor like me makes a diagnosis, and of course global health care? But how many diseases are prevalent in if you are allowed to do one thing, medical practice? only one thing, what would that be? 

160 | Let Us Dream Conference 2020 I’m not talking of esoteric diseases come up with  diagnoses. Believe me, that can only be diagnosed by the software in your mobile phone machines. In my clinical practice, can do that for you. It is a matter of generally, there are not more than time.  2,500 diseases that we commonly encounter. This is not infinite, I keep talking about hospitals not as this data is finite.  How do we being safe for  patients. Everyone diagnose?  By listening to  patients’ thinks that hospitals are the safest complaints. In medical terms, it is places for patients, but that is called symptoms. Irrespective of not true. Let us look at American how fussy your patient is, he or she hospitals,  which are perhaps the cannot complain of more than 650 safest hospitals on the planet. If 200 complaints or symptoms.   patients get admitted to theAmerican hospital and spend just one night, Then as a doctor, I examine the one in 200 die due to medical errors. patient, and we elicit findings. For Getting into an American hospital is example, when I see that a  person 10 times riskier than skydiving. Why is jaundiced or  anaemic or has a  are hospitals not safe? It is because swelling, his body is showing signs. . doctors and nurses do not follow Generally, we elicit about 510 signs, the protocols sometimes. Why? But then we send them for tests - blood,  protocol is written down and it is all urine,  sputum and all kinds of tests. available in nicely bound files but it Commonly, there are about 2,500 is all stored in  cupboards.  kinds of tests. We get the data of about 2,500 lab reports and then we look at If only these health softwares are the the images - X-rays, ultrasound CTS only matrix through  which health and MRI. There are generally 450 to care is delivered, believe me we can 500 varieties of images to diagnose a virtually eliminate medical errors. patient’s problem. So we have to put According to the British Medical these signs, symptoms, lab tests and Journal, medical errors are the third images together, analyze them  and highest causes of death in the United States of America. The next question

Health Sector: Panel 3 | 161 is, If a digital tool is that important two hours entering the patient’s data. to deliver health care, why is this not There is something dramatically available to everyone? You will be wrong somewhere. EMRs worth surprised and shocked to hear that millions and billions are not the ones nearly over 80 to 85 percent of the which doctors enjoy using.  hospitals in the world do not have Electronic Medical Records (EMRs). Now let us ask a question, what do Most hospitals do not have Hospital the doctors want? How do they want Management Systems (HMS). EMRs to be built and designed? There Otherwise, if  they have an HMS, are a few fundamental principles. they do not have an EMR.  The first one is, when you design an EMR, it should not have a keyboard, Some hospitals may even have because doctors are not designed both,, but they do not talk to each by God to type. So, the EMR should other. They are supplied by different only work by touch. The second vendors and this is one  problem. requirement is, if you are going to But the biggest problem is that some give EMR with an instruction manual of the most modern EMRs used by and with a request to the doctor that hospitals in the US are worth millions he has to spend 76 hours just  training and millions of billions. Now, one on how to use it, like what happens would think that EMRs, which are with millions of EMRs from the US? worth millions, would dazzle the Believe me, no doctor is going to use doctors. Doctors are so happy to use it.  them.  They should celebrate, but that is not the reality. Unfortunately, The first thing they are going to do is EMRs  are the main reasons for  to throw the instruction manual out doctors’ burnout in the United States. of the window and never use your It is badly designed and difficult to EMR. It should be intuitive for the use, so  doctors hate them. If they are doctor - like how we do many things spending one hour with the patient on our  mobile phones. Most of the examining them, they have to spend mobiles do not come with instruction manuals. It is only by intuition that

162 | Let Us Dream Conference 2020 we know how to use it. That is the available to any hospital on the planet, way an EMR has to be designed. especially developing countries, at a The next quality of an EMR is that it price that  they can afford. Now what must be built on a mobile platform is a price that a hospital can afford? that doctors can view  on their own  We believe that no hospital can afford phone. Why?   It is because you want to buy the EMR. It is too expensive, the best care for your patients. A but they can all use it on a pay-per- doctor’s attention should be drawn use model. They pay a fixed amount to a  patient regularly.  per patient per day. What is the demand they can afford? We believe Doctors across the world look at the that if you can charge the hospital desktop five to 10 times a day, but of a disposable plastic syringe per they look at their mobile screen 200 patient per day, this is the amount  times a day at least. So if you design hospitals can afford to pay, because your EMR such that  the doctors we know that when the finance team can see the patients’ records,  many of the hospital undertakes  a cost times a day, then patients will get the budget of a health procedure, they best care. One of the most important do not add the cost of a disposable requirements for us with the digital plastic syringe, as it is too small to be medical record is that it should be added.  affordable by every hospital on the planet. With that in mind, we have If we can keep it at that price and toiled for more than ten years in constantly update  and upgrade it, developing EMRs which are smart, we believe that in the next ten years, mobile,  affordable, and intuitive. So we will be able to take away the pens we came up with a  concept called and paper from the hands of doctors, APMA, which is the HMS; the AADI, nurses and medical technicians. which is like the EMR and then This is our mission and we hope to MAIDA,  an analytical tool.  achieve it in the next three to five years. Thank you very much for this Our aim is to make sure that these opportunity.  I am extremely grateful modern EMRs and HMSs will be to you. Have a wonderful day!

Health Sector: Panel 3 | 163 ClOsing remArKs Fr Abraham V. M Fr Abraham V M is the Vice- Vice-Chancellor, CHRIST (Deemed-to-be Chancellor of CHRIST (Deemed- University), Bengaluru, India. to-be University). He has a Masters degree in Mathematics and an MSc Ladies and gentlemen, I am very in Computer Science from IONa happy to be part of the Let Us Dream College, New York. He obtained Triennial Virtual International his Doctorate from Bengaluru Conference, 2020. I understand University, India. He has since worked today, on the second day of the with CHRIST University, Bengaluru, conference, that the discussions since 1989 in various capacities and deliberations were on the topic, and has been serving as Pro-Vice- ‘Mindfulness for Health, Physical Chancellor from 2008-2018. and Mental Wellbeing’. I congratulate Currently, he is serving as the Vice- the organizers for identifying this Chancellor of CHRIST (Deemed- significant topic for discussion. As an to-be University). He has served as a Administrator, I have come across so member of various academic bodies, many fainting spells and  historical such as  the Scientific and Technical Community, Editorial Review Board on Natural and Applied Sciences and World Academy of Sciences. He has been an Executive Committee Member of the Conference of Catholic Colleges of Karnataka.  Fr Abraham is a member of a religious congregation of  Catholic priests, called the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate (CMI).

164 | Let Us Dream Conference 2020 outbursts from students and faculty an arrow, it is painful;  if a person is on campus.  struck by a second arrow, is it even more painful”? He then went on to At Christ University, we have a explain that in life, we cannot always support system of counsellors and control the first arrow. However, clinics to tackle such instances. the second arrow is a  reaction to Lately, I have seen a number of cases the first.  With the second arrow,  on the rise for clinical depression. there is the possibility of choice. This is something of concern, Our first arrow was the coronavirus especially now during the time of a pandemic and the accompanying pandemic. COVID-19 is spreading restrictions related to  travel,  supply  across the world and with it, we also and physical distancing, the anxiety see the spread of worry, anxiety and about infections, financial instability instability, as the mind wanders and the bleak news on social media.  and gets trapped into patterns of This is our second arrow.  negative thinking. During times of crisis, there are feelings of fear and It is important to remember that our helplessness. Fear narrows our field second arrow, which is our emotional of vision and it becomes harder to see and psychological response to the the bigger picture and the positive crisis, though natural and human, or creative possibilities in front of brings us only misery by narrowing us. Our perspectives shrink and our and cluttering our mind and keeping tendency to connect with others also us from seeing clearly the best shrinks.   course of action. The  closest way to overcome that natural tendency is to As I  observed the number of build our mental resilience through COVID-19 cases spiralling in mindfulness. Mental resilience helps Bengaluru, I have been reminded us, especially in challenging times of the parable of the Buddha. Like like now, to manage our minds in Christ, Buddha also used  parables a way that increases our ability to to teach his disciples. One day, He asked them, “If a person is struck by

Health Sector: Panel 3 | 165 face the first arrow and to break the Special appreciation to our Master of second one before it strikes.  Ceremonies The present climate of fear can Lakshmi Raga Rao create stigmas and judgements about who is to blame and who is to be Artist Manager at Stage, Bengaluru, India. avoided, making us forget our shared vulnerability and interdependence. I believe that meaningful connections can occur between our neighbours and us when social distancing decreases and physical distance is maintained. This mindset happens with compassion, or our intention to be beneficial to others.  We are being mindful of how we can help another person to have a better day. The mind then expands, the eyes see what is really in front of us and we see possibilities for ourselves and others that are rich with hope and opportunity. I hope today we understood and concluded that.  Our dream of universal well-being is indeed achievable by building mental resilience through mindfulness.   ***END***

DAY SOCIAL SECTOR 3 Opening Address of Hope’, which supports children, young women and teenagers. Bernward Robrecht is a (KatHO NRW) distinguished Chancellor Ladies, gentleman and friends, on of the Catholic University of Applied this third and final day of the Let us Sciences of North Rhine-Westfalen Dream 2020 Triennial International in Cologne, Germany since 2009. Virtual Conference, I would like to He is also the Managing Director welcome you all very warmly. My of a supporting Organization, KFH name is Bernward Robrecht and I GgMBH, since 2009. He has been am the Chancellor and Management working at the KatHO NRW for Director of the Catholic University over 20 years and excels in creating of Applied Sciences of North Rhine- unique learning environments in Westfalen in Cologne, Germany. higher education. After studying at It is a great honour and important the Federal University of Applied concern for me to open this Third Sciences, he worked for various Day. I have been often compelled ministries. Since 1999, he has by the Let Us Dream Approach to been working at the University of consolidate a dynamic triangle of Applied Sciences, initially as an force-filled acts from three sides.  Administrative Director and now as Chancellor. He’s a part of the several We share innovative ideas to develop branches of an NGO called ’Mission problem-solving approaches, skills

Day 3: Social Sector | 167 and exchanges in community includes many success stories, but programs and experiences. I would sometimes we learn more from the like to call this triangle dynamic, issues we face.  because it is about constant change, development and efficient processes. Obviously, participation is not Empowerment is a process and always possible and not every partner sharing experiences is aspiring. It has the resources to contribute sets things in motion and is in a throughout the whole process. By movement. This way of fostering, gaining more and more experience, enhancing and empowering is we are confident that we can develop not a theoretical issue. We have to appropriate counselling measures to transfer it to a practical community tackle these issues. So, social science improvement, to be able to build our research topics vary from the ethical skills and abilities with the approach use of virtual reality technology with of our communal partners.  elderly people to the investigation of poor populations and participation Since 2018, our so-called social opportunities. Two projects have science shop worked at the interface been also awarded a prize by the between disciplinary knowledge University for innovative features.    production and social actors and was focused on social sciences and social Totally, 19 cooperative projects work issues. Catholic Science shop initiated by the Social Sciences shop staff keep contact with a broad variety demonstrate the University’s need to of different stakeholders of welfare create a support infrastructure that organizations, civil associations enables and promotes interaction and support groups. They jointly between science and university. But formulate research questions based so far, these are only examples, my on partners’ knowledge demands. friends. My wish for today is that According to the idea of research, the you work for maybe a fruitful and participation of all involved actors is innovative platform for sustainable important and we follow a path that and positive development in communities, which then radiate out

168 | Let Us Dream Conference 2020 into the world, from the local to the Opening KeynOte global. I would like to encourage you all not to despair of the big picture of Rashmi Misra is the founder and change around the world. It always chairperson of VIDYA  (Vidya starts with the small steps if we work Integrated Development for Youth together in small communities, and Adult), a 35-year-old grassroot related to empowerment projects non-profit organization that provides with the power of volunteerism to holistic education, skills training achieve sustainable goals. We can all and health care to underserved translate it to the transnational level children and adults in several major with necessary adjustments from the cities. She has over the last three local to the global.  decades refined the mission of the organization. Today, it is operating That was one of the central messages schools and social empowerment in our Let Us Dream Conference programs throughout India. She hosted by my University last year believes that women are the true (2019). An African proverb says that source of change in India’s social to raise a child it is not enough to structure, as they are often not only have parents but it takes a whole the most disadvantaged, but also village. The world’s famous poet, likely to have the most influence on a Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, says: child’s life and prospects in the next “If you want to build a ship, don’t generation. gather many men and women to collect wood. Assign the tasks and divide the work, but teach the men and women to long and to desire the white, endless sea”. I wish you all an inspiring and successful conference day. God’s blessings for our project - Let us Dream.

Day 3: Social Sector | 169 Rashmi Misra Development for Youth and Adult, which is commonly shortened to Founder and chairperson VIDYA. It is a non-profit organization of VIDYA Integrated Development for Youth that has been working for the last 35 years to educate, empower and and Adult, India. transform children, youth and women.  Namaste! A very warm greeting from VIDYA and from India to all of you. I I have a story to share with you of a am greatly honored to be a keynote young shepherd. He grew up in the speaker at this excellent international Himalayas, the upper country mostly conference, ‘Connecting Local inhabited by shepherds, where there Communities and Service Initiatives is no proper school. The boy saw through Global Networking’, Let Us some engineers building a dam near Dream 2020 Triennial International his home. He was fascinated and Virtual Conference. My name is wanted to be an engineer, but nobody Rashmi Misra and I am the founder would have encouraged him. So out and chairperson of the non-profit of complete frustration, he ran away organization called VIDYA Integrated to our big city, New Delhi, and got a job as a household help with a small family.  He begged and pleaded with them to be sent to school, because he wanted to be an engineer. The house mother he was working for laughed at him, because she thought it was an impossible story. But she sent him to school only after Class Five. In Class Six nobody looked at him. He came to the VIDYA Institute in front of me

170 | Let Us Dream Conference 2020 one morning and said, “Do you think The wonderful thing is he that he you can make me an engineer?” I saw never gave up his passion or dream that his eyes were full of interest, as and became a computer science he was so keen and thirsty to become engineer. Today, he works for the an engineer.  Government of Delhi as a Senior Research Scientist. So what is more Actually, we upgraded him to Class interesting in the story is that he 10 and two volunteers devoted transformed his entire community themselves to helping him get the and family. His community now has opportunity to prepare for Class 10 a school, every child attends classes right from Class 5. It was just then, and he has set up his own family. after he finished an year of Class 10, His brothers are into work and other that Ms Hillary Clinton, First Lady of businesses, which were beyond their America, came to India and visited dreams. So this is a boy’s story, who VIDYA. The CNN TV channel came realized his dream, with the support along with her and they made a of education from VIDYA.  movie, in which the child uttered one sentence: “My dream is to As I said earlier, the youth in the become an engineer, but the first country have a huge dropout thing I’m going to do is open a school problem because parents are like VIDYA in my hometown, where illiterate. They insist that young boys other kids do not get education and I and girls should help them to raise have to actually run away to the city. funds, especially for the household, The boy’s story was shown all across manage their income and not go the world by CNN. The First Lady to school, because in any case they called the White House and asked if do not have much support. This is the boy could come to her in Oregon. making many of our youth, nearly We sent him after he finished his 60%, drop out and never complete 10th.  their education. What VIDYA offers is a wonderful program that is called

Day 3: Social Sector | 171 National Institute of Open Schooling, Actually, it is incredible to see how to give them a second chance and this leadership shapes up in some bring them back to pursue their of the kids and many of them could education. So through this, we have not even share their real aspirations empowered more than 5,000 and with their parents. We had one child we help them to be confident, select who kept sharing his aspirations a career, a subject and prepare them with us. As we had a beautiful, open with education and soft skills, to atmosphere, in which the teacher make them employment-ready. We becomes a counsellor, guide, friend get excellent results.  and philosopher, children feel free and open to share their needs and We bring people from the age of 15 desires. One 11-year-old wanted to to 50 back into the bracket called the be a sportsperson but was denied the National Institute of Open Schooling. opportunity. Today, he is coaching We organize programs across children and is doing very well in every city in Delhi, Bombay and school. Similarly, we have a thousand Bengaluru, with outstanding results. children in Mumbai, who are part of These youth are also becoming our youth project and youth forum. leaders of their communities, because we drive them to what we We helped another boy realize his call youth forums, which can change dream of becoming a professional their entire attitude. They would like boxer. Last year, he won a World to be change agents and change- Boxing Championship (WBC) in makers for their communities. They Bangkok and currently, he is training see the problems they are facing by other boys. This dream could never living in slums, so we empower them have been realized without VIDYA.  through training to develop their communities.  Similarly, we have students who come into Class 10 or 12 directly from Class 6 or 8 and proceeded to take up other regular courses to

172 | Let Us Dream Conference 2020 become engineers, manager and crime against women stands at 53.9% many other possible professionals. in India.  This is the beauty of our youth. They are really enjoying and want to scale Only one in four women who what they do, taking an excellent walk are looking for work in India. attitude towards assistance in the Only 14% of businesses in India are community. They fight for the right run by women. Often unrelated thing and stand out in VIDYA as good but pertinent are the problems leaders in the making. We are very of malnutrition, poor homes and proud of them.  inadequate sanitation. Most women survive  on less than Rs 10,000 per Let’s talk about women in India. month. They often face additional As you know, women have been challenges of discrimination, neglected and never get a chance domestic abuse and are unaware to get educated, especially those of women’s and children’s health who come from the poorer sectors, and rights. Many of the uneducated villages and slums. Many of the male husbands don’t even like the women villagers have emigrated to the cities to get educated, which has been to earn more and women become a problem. However, VIDYA is more neglected in those poor regions. educating 2,500 women presently. Women today constitute only 29% of We believe in changing everyone the labour force, down from 35% in by bringing women to our centres, 2004. There are many who are doing offering them education in basic equal work but are paid much less English, in our local languages, such than their male counterparts. They as Marathi and Kannada and in other are half the Indian women, who do subjects, such as IT and life skills.  not have a bank account or savings and 60% of the women have no assets We are actually giving women a in their names. They also have great chance to become confident and physical insecurity and the rate of learn several vocational training skills, so that they can start their own

Day 3: Social Sector | 173 ventures. Our main focus is to enable is amazing how much courage they women to break the poverty cycle. show in handling their husbands and We conduct employability training communities and standing up as certification for their IT learning and leaders. They are now fighting for provide them with added literacy water - writing letters after getting and numeracy skills, to prepare them elected to the government, asking: for entrepreneurship. Presently, we “Why are we not getting these kinds have several self-help groups run of facilities, why don’t we have by women themselves and also give cleaner villages…” and so on. So this them additional literacy and training is what VIDYA is doing.  It has been involving fighting against domestic our effort to empower women and abuse, so that they can stand on their we have been successful.  own feet.  What I would like to end with is by We have an example of a student sharing with you our most amazing who went for a beauty course. project, the VIDYA school. It is built Today, she is earning Rs 15,000 a on five acres, 78,000 square feet, month, which completely changed which accommodates over 1,200 her status at home. Her mother- children in the CBSE-accredited and in-law and husband respect her. English-medium schools. It is the Similarly, another lady trains in a best school with a program that runs tailoring facility at VIDYA and today across the country and also has one she is saying that she found her life of the best boards. Our children are and freedom and can now enjoy doing exceedingly well.  her destiny, which she never could before. So, this is the way in which There are children from first- we managed to bridge the gap.  generational learners. We give them all-day education. They get lunch, Many of our women are leaders facilities such as excellent computer in their communities. When we labs, Khan Academy every afternoon empower them with these skills, it and also the chance to learn robotics,

174 | Let Us Dream Conference 2020 music, dance and theatre, aiming but are actually leaders of their to build their confidence and teach communities, who are fighting for the them life skills. The results of this environment. At our school, we grow school have been outstanding.  vegetables, as ours is a green school. We undertake rainwater harvesting, Every child goes to college after which involves all our children. school, even though they are first- They graduate and then join the generation learners. We see that best universities in the country. We they are bringing about a break are happy to have a student who is in the poverty cycle of their entire studying at NIT and is now trying to family and can speak impeccable go to the United States for further English. They are capable of being studies. NIT is an engineering and are becoming leaders. Some university. So we are educating of them said to me: “Ma’am, you scientists and athletes. They are girls educated us, we can now stand on who are doing exceptionally well. our own two feet”. Of course I ask my questions, such as: “Did you get What are our ideas of the future? a job? How do you intend to change We would like to create at least India?” I am so proud of the fact that three more schools in the next three they think progressively. I have not years. We have already started one seen a 16-year-old across the world in Bengaluru and all the cards are ever talk like that. However, I want ready for them. Besides that, we are to share with you that we do have also looking at how every student of a zero-dropout rate in our school. VIDYA can be mentored. If you want About 100 percent of our children go to mentor a child with VIDYA, please to the university and 25 percent of visit our website and register on what them qualify for the MENSA. They is called Mithra Program. We would are extremely bright children. like to scale our vocational training to make sure that we can include Our students not only come to many vocational training skills for school and worry for themselves,

Day 3: Social Sector | 175 our children, youth and our women. have or share even one phone per We are also looking to set up a digital family. With your help, we can raise library. funds or at least generate ideas on how best we can get at least a 1,000 We are examining options to search phones and laptops for our children, for partners who will support our tech- to completely change their future. fest as well as our steam-fest robotics training programs. Partnerships with But more than anything, we want to universities, schools and other NGOs share that we are delighted to connect are welcome. We are also looking at with you. Please let us know if there integrated technology assistance is anything else that we can share learning across all our projects. We with you. Come to visit us once the work with arts, music, dance and pandemic is over. Get involved in theatre and that is why we would whatever you can. We wish you the love more partners to implement very best in the future. Thank you data-driven improvements across so much for this opportunity to talk the organization and workforce. to you today and share my thoughts and vision. Wishing you all the best, The pandemic has hit us very hard. stay safe and let us all work together However, we have achieved a lot. for a better world for our children, We have worked with almost 10,000 our youth and our women and for communities and slums, helping not creating a safe, beautiful, educated only their children and families, but and peaceful world. people beyond their communities too. But going forward, what our greatest need would be is getting phones, laptops or whatever we can provide for our children. The pandemic may not do anything in the near future, but our children’s education is at stake. They do not

1PANEL SOCIAL SECTOR Theme: Critical Thinking and Information Literacy Joshua Comer (Moderator) Dawn Anderson-Butcher Program Coordinator of Communication Executive Director of Teaching/Research as well as Assistant Professor of in College of Social Work, Ohio State Communication at the School of Humanities, University, USA. University of Louisiana at Monroe, USA. Martin Klein Vishal Taljera Vice-President of the Catholic University of Co-Founder of Dream a Dream, Bengaluru, Applied Sciences, North  Rhine-Westphalia, India. Germany.

Social Sector: Panel 1 | 177 Iam Joshua Comer. I will be I work at Ohio State in the United moderating our discussion on critical thinking and information States, specifically developing literacy. Broadly speaking, critical thinking and information literacy four key social skills in addition to concerns how people can seek out and make sense of the abundance of information literacy. I want to make data available to them and some of the barriers in taking them up. We sure that I contextualize my talk in will have some opening statements and time to respond to questions relation to that. We teach about self- from the audience. To start with, we have Anderson-Butcher.   control and emotional regulation, Dawn Anderson-Butcher - Good when you are in a dip of emotions evening. I am Anderson-Butcher. I want to showcase our work in and feeling sad about how you the United States, focusing on youth development, prevention navigate in different situations. and information literacy. Today, I want to put it into the context of We talk a lot about goal-setting young people and how we villagers need to leverage our skills and behaviour, but our children today resources to navigate different social situations, such as the ongoing are pretty juvenile. They mainly go global pandemic. So, in addition to academic components such as after information. And as we see, they literacy, government relationships and citizenship, we want to make are all in different kinds of online sure that people get key social and emotional gains.  forums with social connections. We often emphasize teamwork and getting along with others, being corporate and belonging to the community, regarding which many people pursue one line in different social settings and on different online platforms.  Lastly, we talk about social responsibility and doing the right thing, being a leader, a consumer and an advocate, while bringing about social change. For the youth today, it is important, especially because so many young people

178 | Let Us Dream Conference 2020 that I come across have broad now, especially when the schools awareness and social relations with are shut down across the country. a lot of people. They may connect The children are learning through online on various social media this virtual platform with virtual platforms, but also make an impact instructions. We understand that through the work they pursue in the they might not also be in groups community as change agents, which with peer interaction, as it is virtual we are increasingly able to witness learning. Children are exploring in the United States. Therefore, at content, accessing information and the start, we address ourselves with searching information and in some the acronym, SCATR. Also, we have cases developing new information been thinking a lot about Generation faster than us. We cannot even keep Z, because there are young people up with them on research platforms.  who were born between 1997 and 2015, who are about eight, or may be The second is related to their social about 23 or 24 years. In the US, there interactions and community. This is are 68 million of them and there is becoming more and more apparent going to be a surge in the population today. Social interaction through soon.  sports and extracurricular activities is limited, but children are finding These people are creative, aware of more and more ways to connect their social situations, very adaptable virtually. They are opportunities and grew up in this digital age, and children are involved in these living most of their lives on Twitter, problems. They are adjusting and Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat. handling information with the use of They pursue their gaming and build technology On the other hand, they social relationships with others. also have a lot of access to harmful So, we have been thinking a lot information, such as fake news. We about Information Technology in do know that 60 percent of the kids, relation to two areas. The first one is according to research from UNESCO, related to how children learn right do not think that online information

Social Sector: Panel 1 | 179 is harmful. By consuming a lot of as: do we use devices for them, how fake information, they may not even may we have access to devices in realize that it is not actual.  order to get information? We are having a lot of trouble right now with As in the United States, we have fake kids accessing online virtual learning, news around our current elections because of access to the Internet and as well. How we think about the we have to know how kids navigate pandemic, how we deal with social those technological barriers they distancing and sanitization and how have in order to be successful.  we pay attention to the kind of factual knowledge that COVID-19 Students need to be really critical spreads is important. Certainly, there when they access information from is a lot of harassment that children credible sources. You need to validate face on online platforms and it has what they found from multiple been recorded that about 34 percent sources, so as to see whether it is true of children have experienced or it’s something that has just been cyberbullying and online ragging, put in by someone. In addition to during which they feel that their information, you need to be able to privacy has been invaded. Through evaluate, critically synthesize and email, people are attacking and summarize and still have your own stalking and young people need to perspective based on the science of be aware and understand how to what it means or how it goes in the navigate and think of them in their next direction. How do people use social identities.  that information once they have it? This is again social responsibility, To summarize the things thatwe know teamwork, corporations and pictures and need to develop in relationship that we use in real life applications. to information technologies, we are looking at developing skills to What I think is most interesting manage information technology. today is that a lot of our kids are Asking questions is important, such developing new knowledge through

180 | Let Us Dream Conference 2020 their work online and on virtual Martin Klein - It is a great pleasure platforms. So many of them are more and honor to speak to you on this skilled than what we adults are and panel during the Dreams Conference. they are creating knowledge-based We agreed that each speaker has evidence and the understanding only five minutes and I can tell you of the world through their lens what I want about critical thinking and generation. That is making it and information literacy in five different for consumers to acquire minutes. Firstly, I agreed with Dawn information. I also believe that we on what she said, because these are really need to be thoughtful about the things we recognize in Europe. the kind of information we acquire We see all the issues of fake news and generate. and the bubbles on as we all know digitalization is getting grounded. My last expression, just to synthesize Critical thinking, in my opinion, is what I have been saying is that we to think about digitalization and data reallyneed to help theseyoung people protection. This is another issue of to upgrade their skills, information this topic and digitalization is not uptake and critical thinking, going to disappear again. In fact, it acknowledging information literacy, has to come and define day-to-day becoming responsible consumers practices in every field.  and information secrecy, especially at this time, when information Social networks and public media is so accessible online. We know are part of our everyday lives. Which that developers acquire knowledge one of you could live without a through social media, but we also smartphone nowadays? I think need them to become consumers nearly no one. We must keep in and friends in the online community mind that the monetization of our and use their personal skills as well as everyday lives is the ultimate goal of information technology to become many business models. Many tech good citizens, as they venture into companies try to gather as much the global world.    data as possible by offering programs

Social Sector: Panel 1 | 181 free of charge, in order to gain new The young man smiles and remarks, insights from these collected data. how about 2 million dollars for each? You know the code. If you do not But the owner again refuses to sell have to pay anything, you are the the company. So the young man product. I will tell you a short story leaves. But he comes back the next and I think that this might be taken morning and says that he cannot to be difficult and dangerous.   wait forever, so they could quote their price. The boss stands up and Let’s assume you work in a small says: “We are not for sale, but if you company with about 50 employees. really want, you can give us a quarter One day, a young man walks through of a billion for each one of us.” The the door of a company and insists that young man gets up and goes around he would like to be the new owner. the door and said, “Send me your He asks for the price of the company. account number….” The boss and the employees are amused, but they tell him that this This is only a fairy tale, nevertheless, company is not for sale. Yet, the this story did take place in just this young man says that everybody has way. I talk of Mark Zuckerberg the a price and he would give everybody CEO of Facebook. He came and made 1,00,000 dollars. Thereupon, the his way to the office of the WhatsApp mood change and there is a lot of founders. They saw him as a cool, indignation. Then they say no way. young and bright man six years ago The boss answers that he would not (2014). He paid the highest purchase sell his company. The young man price of 90 billion US dollars for a says “Fine, it is not a problem. I will company that had just 55 employees give each one 5,00,000 dollars.” The and then he did not make profits. majority of the employees start to But today, WhatsApp has 1.5 billion discuss but the boss still refuses. He users from all age groups worldwide.  is firm that they are not selling the company, not even if he promises to The reason why Zuckerberg bought pay a million dollars per employee.  WhatsApp was that it had just

182 | Let Us Dream Conference 2020 started connecting 1 billion people how they could shape our thinking with each other, which is incredibly and moving. I think this has been a valuable. There are several ways to dream - that there will be another make money from it but advertising world. As we are in a conference with was probably not one of them. a strong Let Us Dream vision, we Have you ever seen advertisements can also dream about this. I would on your WhatsApp? It is all about like you to think about this and look the data and data protection is forward to discussions.  about information protection, a fundamental right. People are really Vishal Talreja - I appreciate Klein and inhibited in their freedom if they Anderson-Butcher for their remarks. do not know who knows what about However, we have protracted a them, when and on what occasion. very different spectrum of this People who are not sure that their conversation on critical thinking and behavior is being recorded, stored, information literacy. The lens I want used and transmitted will try to avoid to add in this conversation is what attention.  critical thinking and information literacy would look like for young Everybody should decide for herself people growing up in marginalized and himself about the disclosure communities, who somehow do and use of personal data. At the not have good backgrounds. Let beginning of this decade, it was a me give you a brief background of big task and challenge. So critical our organization, Dream a Dream, thinking and information literacy is which is a Bengaluru-based non- very important, in order to be aware governmental organization that has of these things, which are all just a been around for two decades, focused business model. These are digital on children from underprivileged business models and we have to be backgrounds, to help them develop aware of it. We have to teach to our life-skills and competencies and children and our students to be aware respond to complex, fast-changing of the products and Apps we use and

Social Sector: Panel 1 | 183 and uncertain futures in order to Bengaluru, especially in the last adapt to a new world.  six months, receiving a WhatsApp message that the government is In addition to the important reason distributing rations and medicines why young people, especially from for COVID-19 at the community the rural backgrounds, need to hall. He received this message and develop IT skills is that in their early spread it out in the community. years, because of their adverse The next day, the whole community experiences that possibly included congregated at one place for food hunger, neglect, lack of emotional rations and medicines, but no one care, love and support and in extreme turned up to give them the rations. cases exposure to abuse, they have What do you think will happen? not developed the developmental High levels of disappointment, mindsets that are needed to engage anger, distress and anxiety. What the in learning and building up their young man has been subjected to is capacities to thrive. So, our program misinformation. What he did not is for people who want to develop know was to assess the information that milestone. and check if it was true or false.  Secondly, it is  about building the So the ability for one being able to read a piece of information and assess capacity needed for an uncertain, whether it is true or false, the ability to find multiple sources, which validate complex future. We work with about this kind of information, whether online or offline, is at the core of three million kids across India’s information literacy and critical thinking for me. Secondly, I did not teacher training program’s direct want to say what Klein said - that you are the product of a technology- intervention and through integrating driven world. How many young people who are actually working social-emotional learning-based curriculum within public school systems. When we talk about critical thinking and information literacy, imagine the scenario of a young man growing in a community in

184 | Let Us Dream Conference 2020 with a rural background understand in addition to what Anderson said that? This is why we need to help about misinformation and fake people use WhatsApp, Smartphones, news. . We are seeing how groups Facebook and Instagram. Most of are creating this polarized view, be it them probably couldn’t have read through race, religion, class and caste. the terms and conditions when Imagine young people growing up they were signing for it. These at and suddenly suspecting the name times become a lifeline in terms of the person who helped them to of engagement, communication, develop for 15 years as someone who building relationships including is not to be trusted anymore. It is seeking jobs and livelihood for young because there is a WhatsApp message people. You don’t necessarily need talking ill about his/her community, the data you are putting out, which is for instance, someone asserts that the being used for profit.   spreading of COVID-19 across India or the superspreaders of the virus This might be the case of millions of are from a particular community.   youngpeopleenteringthisgeneration, which is rich in technology. They This kind of polarized information have to use technology in order to creates a lot of anxiety and distress survive, thrive in jobs and earn their among young people, because they livelihoods. So the second lens of do not know what and who to trust, information literacy is to understand what and what not to believe. Many the pros and cons of technology and a time, they are just swerved by this the implications of using technology “herd mentality”. It could perpetuate without understanding what it could or lead to violence, or to reactions do to your data.   that break the peace and harmony in a particular community. We have The third lens of critical thinking and seen young people in India when information literacy is that we are the country went into lockdown, also living in the time of high levels as they decided to migrate back to of polarization across geographies, their villages, because they lost their

Social Sector: Panel 1 | 185 livelihoods and food provisions. The specifically on how to make people villagers did not want to welcome balance that? For example, to refrain them, because they thought that the from using devices that drive more immigrants were bringing back the misinformation is important. When virus to the village. These people people need to search for jobs, health were stuck and they could not enter or information on the pandemic, the village, and they couldn’t come how can they be conscious and aware back to the city either, as the borders that they will be engaging? were closed and caused a lot of anxiety. Anderson - Butcher - I am happy to go first. One of the challenges is that I think it is important to recognize I am a parent of two teenaged boys what not to invest in children. To and at times we feel helpless, that think critically means not investing we cannot set these boundaries and in information literacy and leading expectations for our children, so that to misinformed, young children, who they can balance their kind of virtual may be from a rural background. I and their real in-person mode. I have hope we will have more conversations friends with whom we can talk about around that.  parenting and supervision. You know that it is a very important protective Moderator - Joshua Comer - factor that relates to all kinds of good Questions are swarming already. I outcomes, whether it be academic, have my own question to take the substance prevention or decreased lead here. Of course, the common violence in the community. Parents thing that is emerging in the question know how to monitor school work is concerned with dependency, and often supervise children’s time, the need for more information, but they are doing these things in commercializing devices and the their homes. At the moment, nearly desire to think for yourself. What every child has a digital device that advice might you dispense for they can access 24/7, as the parents people working with young people, are not shutting them down at

186 | Let Us Dream Conference 2020 certain hours of the day, nor are they Vishal Talreja - I think I have limiting the number of hours that a different perspective on this, children spend with their devices.  especially on how we support children and young people. I think it Children have access to their digital is also important for us to take a step devices either for gaming or virtual back and recognize that this is not a learning. My colleague in Canada problem created by young people. said that children spend nearly 10 - How do we also hold companies 12 hours per day on virtual platforms accountable for information literacy, and sometimes in the middle of the especially when they are making night, when parents do not know. technologies that are polarizing So one thing I feel is that adults are our societies, in a way causing and needed to help kids navigate their creating unnecessary evil. Good technology boundaries to when, companies, for example, would how, to what extent they use them write on cigarettes ‘big boy world’, and for what.  but we know that it is injurious to health and would kill you. Similarly, I also believe that adults must learn can we hold companies accountable online platforms to understand for the same kinds of things, for the implications of children being information so, that young people on duty, or just on social platforms can make those early choices. Today for ten hours a day and how they young people cannot think critically might be doing. These are some of about this, because they do not have the things we really need to help full information, which is disclosed our kids to navigate. It comes back by providers. So how do we empower to supervision, monitoring and the government to put in policies oversight and that is what we should that can hold technology companies be doing as adults in relation to our to account, not just young people or behaviour and expectations.  parents responsible?

Social Sector: Panel 1 | 187 Martin Klein - I agree. It is only Moderator - Clearly, with all other a problem and it doesn’t depend things you have brought up, we on age or anything else. There is are getting a number of questions, a big question of trustworthiness, looking for advice with facts, of facts and scientific proof as well as course. Given all the issues you raised scientific community. In my opinion, and the facts that you mentioned, it the trustworthiness of the Facebook is hard to avoid the suggestions. In group is numerously impaired by fact, as the divide wants to adopt a number of data breaches. We and embrace more platforms with can call the frequency of errors in additional devices or otherwise, the the Facebook group’s handling of gap continues to widen. What criteria confidential data. If you are rounding would you advise that people should it every day, it’s like you are no longer choose and rely on, to influence wandering anymore.  their traits to enter or remain on the platform today? What we need is a lot of work in education and universities, so that Vishal Talreja - For me it is about we can connect with each other, in transparency. How transparently order to make it possible for young a platform puts up information it people to travel around the world. uses about us and whether a person Though now it is difficult, but in decides whether it is ok for his or her one year, I think it will be possible information to be used in a certain to get in touch with other people, way, are important questions to pose.  cultures and communities. It is very important but very difficult, because Dawn Anderson-Butcher - It is a it depends on resources, possibilities really difficult question, because and also on freedoms. We need to for me a person who works with share this knowledge around the and studies the youth would find world with universities. This is the platforms engaging. It is part of another topic to look at.   their social networking community, where they have a sense of belonging

188 | Let Us Dream Conference 2020 and connection. We need to then need to look at multiple sources make sure that connections and and for reliability across different experiences are precious and the platforms. We then make decisions value of a young person does not in relation to the consistency of those hinder their development in some experiences that they have spent way. I think helping some young over time and again that is another people to determine the kind of kind of skill they need to develop for value and learning added to their success. I may not have answered development is something we can do your question, but that is where I a better job of.  want to get in touch with the young people. Maybe you have some ideas I mean helping them to make too.  decisions that work in their best interests on a social learning Martin Klein - There is one question platform is key. It builds me up too I always ask myself when I am on a and creates my social networks. platform. That is, what is the business It is a positive peer group and I get model of that platform? How do they a sense of confidence and esteem get money? Is it to get attention, or to from this experience. I am trying to connect to people? Is it because you remain in this network, but I know stay as long as possible on your screen that I am being victimized. That may time, as you know that they try to contribute to part of my anxiety and take your attention so that you stay/ creates a stressful life for me. I think keep for long on the screen? . What those kinds of skill-sets for young you said, Dawn, is true. To articulate people are really, really important.  what is positive for you, who do you know from your city, community, That is about social identity region and so on, who can you trust and necessarily not about their that you have good intentions and information or accessing valid or ideas to work with you and also those credible information. That will be who can understand if this platform another issue for young people. We

Social Sector: Panel 1 | 189 is ok or not … these are important from this change and are we getting issues. enough? That was a very good point. We are left with one more question, Look at the elections in the USA. probably with a short answer. If we There is a big divide and no one add something to the curriculum, as believes the other group, as everyone we all are from different systems to is saying that “we are better than support positive steps that you have them”. The other thing is to look all argued about today, what would for alternative platforms, in order that be?  to get a variety of information and things out of other countries. I was in Vishal Talreja - I will go first. I will Bengaluru in February 2020 and I approach it in a different way. What always looked at the Times of India I will add to the curriculum would for news, while I looked at The New be the values of peace, tolerance, York Times in the USA. When you togetherness and the respect for get information you will critically the other. Because, if you link the think about your own area as well as foundation of these values in a your country with the information curriculum to the people, when this you get. So there are two things here: kind of information overload and What is the business model and on misinformation happens, then the the other side, get more information foundation of those values will help from other fields. I think it is a good young people who might want to be idea to work with.  drawn into this misinformation, hate or more love, nurturing and respect Moderator - All your answers for one another. So, I would actually have addressed the question so invest more in the foundational from you Vishal, we need to see values.  the transparency, understanding the impression why you are getting Martin Klein - I think one of the it and your models. You have to most important issues is to learn to deal with that, what we are getting listen to each other with empathy.

190 | Let Us Dream Conference 2020 This is so important - to see how you United States. We try to find ways could fit into others’ shoes. If you to help children understand and have to listen to others, no matter digest their social situations to fight where they come from, if you learn the discrimination, marginalization this, then you know that you have to or social constructs that keep attend every curriculum.  them where they are, so that they can enhance their opportunities Dawn Anderson - Butcher - I have for development. We help them one thought that is built up from to fight those political and social Visha and Martin Klein. In addition constraints and make a better world to empathy, listening, caring, for tomorrow. I think this is really respecting and tolerance, in our work missing in our curriculum and we we talk about social responsibility, need that sense of accountability doing the right thing and being a and responsibility.  leader. I think what we miss in our curriculum is getting the youth to be Moderator - Listening, value involved in leadership roles. Instead consciousness and empowerment of giving them or keeping them on are crucial, as you all said. I think our side, let us give them skills or this conference should set a good just let them do whatever they want. example and sitting here talking We want to empower young people about this helps us to embody today. They should feel a sense of some of those strengths and wishes responsibility and accountability to for the future. We all have time to then be different, become leaders, speak. I wish I had more time to ask lead towards change, create a questions. We are out of time now common ground and connect with and I want to thank our panelists for people in synergistic ways, regardless your thoughtful contributions to this of backgrounds and expertise.  very important topic. I think that is important, as we miss a lot of that in our curriculum in the

2PANEL SOCIAL SECTOR Theme: Impact of Coronavirus Pandemic on Community Response Services Myra Sabir (Moderator) Prarthana Kaul Associate Professor in the Department Co-Founder and Director of Gift Abled of Human Development at Binghamton organization. University, New York, USA. Donna Lloyd Rajesh Tandon Executive Director of Comfort House. Founder and President of Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA).

192 | Let Us Dream Conference 2020 Good evening and welcome to the a team, we always have protocols Let Us Dream 2020. My name in place to address those temporary is Myra Sabir and I am very pleased emergency situations. However, to be the moderator of this session. we were not really prepared for The session is titled ‘The Impact something significant like COVID-19. of the Coronavirus Pandemic on Yet, at the onset of the pandemic, Community Response Services’. So we were pretty impressed with how here we are referring to those services quickly our rural southern Indiana that help us to serve the community responded.   in crisis or during a time of need. What is the impact of COVID-19 Our local health agencies started around those services? Each of our using the emergency notification panelists has five minutes to talk and systems to keep our community our audience is asked to write your updated about the pandemic. Our questions in the chat box. After the businesses, non-profit making panelists finish, we will respond to organizations and local government questions and engage in dialogue agencies really kicked it in to establish with you. Donna, can you begin? new pandemic protocols and efforts to keep people safe. Even schools Donna Lloyd - Sure! Good morning. developed and implemented virtual My name is Donna Lloyd and I am learning platforms really quickly the Executive Director of Comfort and following the shelter in place House Child Advocacy Centre in mandates that many of our local and Southern Indiana in the United States regional governments put things in Midwest. At Comfort House, we place. Employers began to provide work as part of a multi-disciplinary these very flexible “work at home” team that is responsible for the schedules. So it was pretty amazing investigation of allegations of child to see how quickly our community abuse and more specifically child was able to come together right sexual abuse. So, as an Agency or as up to the doorstep of the children’s

Social Sector: Panel 2 | 193 advocacy centre, where we work on interactions between the children the investigations of  child abuse. We and adults, with whom they normally were not quite prepared.  would come into contact. Especially those adults, who are the most likely We did not estimate early on at to recognize the signs of abuse and least that the stress related to this report them.  pandemic would be likely to result in  child abuse. Why? Well we knew We know that year after year, more a lot of families would be impacted than two-thirds of child abuse cases financially and also that a lot of are reported by teachers and other families would be losing child care community professionals and there and home-schooling their children, is no group that reports more than In addition, we knew that a lot of educators. In 2018, educators were these families have parents who are responsible for the 21 percent of the already struggling with mental health 4.3 million referrals made to child or substance abuse issues, so we were protective services. So, as a child worried as a  result of COVID-19.   advocacy centre community, with this information, we responded in A lot of parents and children the best way that we knew how to would be missing out those vital what it looked like. The first thing appointments with their mental we did was to look at social media health providers and doctors. With platforms, like many other agencies, the day schools and day care centres putting the message on positive closed and fewer children showing parenting tips to deal with stress and up for those doctors’ and mental anxiety and then gave reminders for health providers’ appointments, the our community to be on the lookout question we asked ourselves was - for child abuse and the ways in which who was going to be reporting the they can report it.  increase in child abuse, because COVID-19 was limiting those human

194 | Let Us Dream Conference 2020 As the schools began to conduct recently reported that between remote learning classes, we also January and June this year (2020), provided our educators with we served 40,000 fewer children professional resources, what early nationwide compared to the same warning signs and action steps they period last year and we do not have could take and some communication any reason to believe that the actual strategies theycould be using through incident rate declined. We believe these remote learning sessions. As an that it was a direct result of fewer agency, we look at our normal face- contacts between the children and to-face prevention programs in the those trained to recognize the signs virtual platforms. We want to make of abuse.  sure that the children continue to receive the message that they need So, were our responses adequate to to tell adults about unsafe situations. overcome the impact of COVID-19, However, we were now helping based strictly on the numbers? Well, students to identify safe adults it does not look like they were, but outside the school limits.    did our responses have an impact? We think so, despite the many unknown Finally, we have been working in factors related to COVID-19, and collaboration with other youth due to the long-term impact. Our serving agencies to organize own organization will continue to school supplies, clothing and food evaluate some of those actions as we distribution sites, to prompt some move beyond COVID-19.  face-to-face contact with those schools in their families during this Prarthana Kaul - At GiftAble, we work pandemic. Unfortunately, despite with people who have disabilities.  our efforts, the National Children’s We focus on three areas of health, Alliance  which is an accredited education and livelihood. When it body for the network of children’s comes to health, most people with advocacy centres in the United States, disabilities do not have access to

Social Sector: Panel 2 | 195 health systems. Let us say I am deaf are seeing? (Myra Sabir answered and I still remember meeting a deaf green, lavender, yellow and pink).  woman. I say: “You look very weak, Ok! Can I request you to close your what happened?” She was saying: eyes for five seconds and tell me “Ma’am, I was carrying in my ninth what colours are you seeing? When month, when my water  burst. I had our eyes are closed, I am sure we all to rush to the hospital. I was not see just black?  aware of the pregnancy process and I bore the pain.” I went to the hospital You see no colours, though I was the next day and found that the showing you the same Rubik’s cube. baby was stillborn. These instances That is exactly what the visually are happening every other day, so impaired would see. If I get this to how can we work on health to make a visually impaired person and tell it inclusive, especially for people him to play the Rubik’s Cube, he with disabilities? As 70 percent of might not be able to. That is why our population lives in rural areas, we made these tactile cubes, so that how do we reach out to them, as a we can feel and play. That was the maximum of only one percent of whole idea of starting the Gift Able - those people get jobs in organized to spread awareness.  sectors? How can we get other people on board and understand their Thirteen years ago, I learnt sign livelihoods?   language. I would meet any deaf person and was fully excited to   tell It is encouraging if we have supplier him that my name was P-r-a-r-t-h-a- diversity, with products that are n-a ( spelling it out with sign language made by people with disabilities gestures). The immediate response I for  others with disabilities. When got was the question - are you deaf? I say for people with disabilities, I said no. I am not.  They continued let me ask you this question in ten to ask if someone in my family was seconds - What are the colours you deaf and I again answered in the

196 | Let Us Dream Conference 2020 negative. So the hearing impaired victims, conducted some training person said: “If you are signing, sessions and at the same time started maybe you are deaf.” We wanted working with volunteers on inclusive to change that notion and started health and education modules. Now conducting a lot of sign language a change has started to happen. We awareness workshops in our country.  could complete training one whole batch of the visually impaired, who The change today is that if people are now ready to attend interviews gesture their names, the response and work in jobs, just like the deaf, they get is - hey, are you a volunteer who are now ready to get jobs. All this of Gift Able? It is a change that is happening during the pandemic, has started happening, because which is the positive side that we can people have started taking that step, talk about. I will be open to questions especially during the pandemic. later.  Initially, we were sceptical about how we should switch to the virtual Rajesh Tandon - Good evening! mode, as all our projects are in Wonderful listening to Donna and the rural areas. We are working on Prarthana. Let me tell you a couple of health, education and livelihoods. stories. The first one is about the rural With the advent of the pandemic, we areas in Rajasthan. . In indigenous shifted to the virtual mode. Today, communities, access to primary the change we saw in the past six to health care centres is very weak and seven months seemed to be positive.  poor. Per capita outreach of public services is much lower than what is We started to work virtually, with available to other local communities. thousands of volunteers. We have As the pandemic hits, all the frontline built a digital library, which have primary health care, nutrition and thousands of story books for the childcare workers were withdrawn. visually impaired across the world. So, all the antenatal and postnatal We have reached out to acid attack care that used to be given was also

Social Sector: Panel 2 | 197 withdrawn. We have a concept of like Delhi, where I live, or in larger  community drives and community metropolitan cities, like Mumbai or outreach through anganwadi and Bengaluru. These maids come from ASHA workers, which are frontline the poorer eastern region. As soon women workers, who provide the lockdown was effected, these antenatal and postnatal care and also maids were thrown out and most of some nutritional support to infants.  them were evicted from their homes, because they could not pay the rent All was withdrawn, particularly in suburbs of Delhi and Gurgaon. from those locations, where the only Within two months, we realized that source of such service is public health they were going hungry and all the centres. There was no private option, public services, which were available especiallyin adistrict called Banswada to labourers, were shut down, so what in Rajasthan. With great difficulty, we happened? were able to find out what was going on  during the past three months of In the first case, local community the lockdown. Imagine in a country that has 50,000 child births per day. leaders and local indigenous The communities were not getting prenatal and postnatal care, delivery community-based health services, institutional delivery or access to ambulances to pick them. practitioners came to the rescue. This was one scenario.  The same health practitioners that The second scenario I want to give is from an urban area. We have the formal health system devalued nearly 10 million domestic workers in India, called maids, in some earlier, calling them followers of places. Most of them are migrants and they work mostly in big cities ‘voodoo science’, which was the only means available to a woman who was about to give birth and postnatal care had to be offered. These were trained midwives who lived in the villages and performed these functions. For the last 30 years, we had been describing them as

198 | Let Us Dream Conference 2020 incompetent, not knowledgeable nobody should be unemployed and and not professional, but they were nobody’s wages should be cut. But the only ones available and did a these women were very vulnerable marvellous job. They brought local and their wages were cut, yet they knowledge and capacity to their got organized and started having work.  these campaigns. So two simple messages at the end of these eight The migrant women labourers and or nine months were: one, invest domestic workers got organized. in local leadership, knowledge and They conducted surveys within capacity and two, vulnerable people themselves, fought through the are competent to get themselves phone and asked each other if they organized and if you get out of the had received their wages and where way, you will enable them to play and how the children were kept. Our their own roles.  team, which was working with them, was an educational team. They got Moderator - Myra Sabir - I am in touch with us and said this is our going to tie down to what Rajesh and data, so let us take it to the public, Donna said about somehow shifting the media and government. So we responsibility to the community, or reached out to some newspapers, was it a natural outcome? Were some television channels  and of course of the responsibilities shifted to the used social media. But the voice community? As Rajesh said, the was of women migrant labourers, people responded effectively. I want domestic workers and maids. They to ask if it is possibly an evolution in conducted the survey and produced service? Is it something that needs the findings and argued for their to be maintained? How could this be rights. maintained? Clearly, the government cannot serve everybody and shifting On the one hand, at the national level, to the community is a good thing, the government was announcing that because it expands to who can help

Social Sector: Panel 2 | 199 and how that can be sustained. momentum will continue. People Anybody can answer.  are recognizing, taking steps to actually bring in that change Prarthana Kaul - I suggest that it among employee engagements. It is should be more about spreading happening, as corporates are taking awareness and getting more people steps to make sure that employees to join. So when I say that Gift Able are volunteering. It can be as simple sustains itself throughout the year, I as recording the books of the visually should be giving you this example: impaired, or just having sessions one of the corporates said that we on sign languages. I think it should have 900 employees who have been continue, the momentum should working tirelessly and we want to go on, and it should not stop at any recognize them. Now we want to give point.    them the hamper that is made by people with disabilities. But are you Moderator - Donna Lloyd, do you see in a position to deliver it to houses, any value in community members because everyone is working from being able  to recognize the signs of home? I said why not. We took up the abuse and being also reporters, or do challenge and worked with artistes you think that should be limited to who have disabilities all across India, professionals?     making sure that we followed all the safety guidelines. Today, we could Donna Lloyd -  We definitely think deliver those 900 hampers to the that having the community become 900 employees of that company. aware of the signs we are watching has brought in a lot of value. It is one Similarly, during festivals, like of the things we facilitate. We enable Thanksgiving, which is like Diwali a prevention program for adults, in India, we have been able to educating them on the signs to look work with artistes across India, for and report. In the state of Indiana, who have disabilities. I think this all adults are mandated reporters,