Saajhi Samajh
Unlocking Minds: Key to the Locker Room
Let's create a better world for our adolescents with shared understanding.
A fruitful webinar with
Mr. Manish Sisodia
Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi and
Panel discussion with Experts and Key Stakeholders
- 3 June 2020, Wednesday
Thank you for making it a success.
90 mins of topical discussions
Gain insights with education and domain experts
Network, Interact & Share
Our Panelists
Our first panel comprises a few high school students who will share their perspective on the issue being discussed. This will be followed by a panel discussion with key stakeholders, moderated by Mr. Chetan Kapoor, COO Tech Mahindra Foundation. We have assembled a diverse panel of speakers comprising school teachers, policy influencers, educationists, and most importantly, parents.
Dr. AL Sharada
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Dr. AL Sharada
She is the Director of Population First and spearheads the media advocacy campaign for Gender sensitivity – Laadli, which had initiated conversations with many influencers in print and bring electronic media, writers and other content developers through awards, fellowships etc. She is a member of the CBFC and also initiated gender analysis of ads and films in Print media.
Ms. Tara Stafford Ocansey
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Ms. Tara Stafford Ocansey
She is an education specialist with over ten years of experience managing education research and implementation teams from diverse education settings across numerous countries. Currently, Tara is leading a social emotional learning (SEL) initiative with over 200 schools in Northeast Nigeria through the USAID-supported Strengthening Education in Northeast Nigeria (SENSE) activity to promote psychosocial well-being in teachers and students.
Mr. Sankalp Khanna
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Mr. Sankalp Khanna
He is an education consultant and the co-author of the SEL curriculum ‘Identities in Conflict’ that focuses on identity formation through the lens of gender, religion and philosophical inquiry. He has been teaching for the last 11 years and presently consults to the Heritage Xperiential International School about enrichment of their SEL program.
Ms. Mukta Naik
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Ms. Mukta Naik
She is an architect & urban planner by training and a Fellow at the Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi. She works on issues of urbanisation, with an emphasis on housing and migration. Her work also looks at the employment experiences of youth and women in India’s challenging labour markets. She is deeply engaged in civil society efforts in Gurugram.
Ms. Neeru Lohiya
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Ms. Neeru Lohiya
Presently working as a Mentor Teacher in Directorate of Education, GNCT Delhi. Experienced and accomplished TESOL certified Teacher of English, with 24 years of student interaction experience in State run schools of Delhi Government, trained at NIE, Singapore. Facilitate In-service and Pre-service Teacher training workshops organized bySCERT focusing on teaching methodologies, curriculum development, lesson planning and teaching strategies.
Mr. Ravi Gulati
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Mr. Ravi Gulati
He co-founded Manzil – a youth-led non-profit providing a space & learning resources for low-income children & youth. He also facilitates Delhi Government school principals’ leadership learning with SCERT, & enthusiastically mentors many other youth initiatives addressing a diversity of social issues. Ravi is a graduate of SRCC and an MBA from IIM Ahmedabad.
As we stayed locked down to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, our physically distanced world was suddenly rocked and shaken by the shocking incident in the virtual space that is now infamous as “Bois Locker Room”. This deeply disturbing incident involving adolescents has exposed the deep-rooted malaise of misogyny and misplaced masochism in our society.
How acutely has this deviant social attitude, influenced by patriarchal prejudices and gender disparity, taken hold of our young minds? Why is our education system not being able to counter this dangerous trend and weed out perverse cultural biases? Don’t we need a greater symbiotic link between formal education and parenting and familial interventions at home?
The time to confront these complex and inconvenient questions is now. How can we move forward to reform our education system to unlock the young minds from the dark shadows of societal prejudices? To know more about this perplexing issue, please join us at our annual event Saajhi Samajh at 4 pm IST on June 3, 2020 (Wednesday).
We are grateful to have Mr. Manish Sisodia, Deputy Chief Minister, Government of Delhi, along with key stakeholders such as teachers, parents, and educators to reflect on the critical questions and set the ground for a positive agenda:
- Role of school education in shaping the “inner being” of children
- Ways to enable teachers to respond to the psychological and emotional needs of children and teenagers.
- How to enrich and reinvent school curriculum – especially for the middle graders – to shift the focus towards socially sensitive issues including Gender Sensitivity, Societal Responsibility, Ethical Decision Making, Inclusivity among others?
- How can social media and technology be best leveraged for engendering positivity in children?
To know more click here.
This webinar is part of the seminar series of Tech Mahindra Foundation, titled “Saajhi Samajh” (or Shared Understanding). This initiative aims to create a broader platform for discourse on issues relevant to enriching teachers’ training in India. Through the Foundation’s flagship program on Education called Shikshaantar, over 30,000 teachers from government primary schools have been trained through a series of capacity-building workshops in major Indian cities.
In this series, two seminars have been conducted on Teacher Development. These have brought together an array of experts, specialists, field practitioners, civil society participants, government representatives, and educationists. The upcoming third in the series is being organsied as a webinar to respond to the physical distancing norms at the time of this pandemic. The show goes on to provoke societal response and to broaden outreach and awareness.
Glimpses of previous years of Saajhi Samajh
The previous edition of Saajhi Samajh, held in April 2018, was a resounding success, in which the Keynote Address was delivered by the then Director of Education, Govt. of NCT of Delhi, Ms. Saumya Gupta. A detailed report of this event is available here.
SAAJHI SAMAJH 4
First Aid in Schools - Role of a Teacher
- 10 AM IST
Working towards enhancing First Aid in Schools to create happier & safer classrooms!
An insightful session with key stakeholders from the thematic domain with
- Launch of Teachers’ Capacity Building Program in First Aid & CPR
- Release of Research Report – ‘First Aid for Improving Safety in Schools: A Teacher’s Perspective’
- 13th September 2021, Monday
Thank you for making it a success.
SAAJHI SAMAJH 4
First Aid in Schools - Role of a Teacher
Keynote Speaker
Name
Designation
- 13th September 2021
- 10 AM IST
Working towards enhancing First Aid in Schools to create happier & safer classrooms!
Event Highlights
- Panel discussion with experts on the theme
- Launch of Teachers' Capacity Building Program in First Aid and School Safety
- Release of Report on ‘First Aid for Improving Safety in Schools'
60 mins of topical discussion
Understand the significance of improving First Aid in Schools from domain experts & educators
Learn, Interact & Share
Our Panelists
We have assembled a diverse panel of speakers comprising of educationists, emergency care experts and most importantly, teachers as our core influencers. The panel discussion was moderated by our TMF faculty member at ITEI-EDMC.
Dr Vanshree Singh
Keynote Speaker
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Dr Vanshree Singh
In-charge of St. John & First Aid Training and Director, IRCS- Blood Bank
She is a doctor with post-graduation in Transfusion and Transplant Sciences from Bristol University. Working with the Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS) since 1997, she has advanced training on Blood transfusion medicine (from ICMR), First Aid (from International Committee of Red Cross) along with various accreditation certifications from the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Govt. of India. She has played an instrumental role in upgrading the IRCS NHQ Blood Bank (in 2010) and making it a ‘state-of-the-art model blood bank’- one of her many noteworthy achievements. She has also worked in collaboration with the NDMA for developing school-level First Aid protocols (Modules & App of First Aid).
Dr Subroto Das
Panelist
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Dr Subroto Das
Padma Shri Awardee Co-founder, Lifeline Foundation
He is the winner of one of India’s highest civilian awards, Padma Shri for his exemplary work on Highway Trauma Care. He co-founded Lifeline Foundation along with his wife, Sushmita (after surviving a life-threatening accident in August, 1999 on one of India’s busiest highways), with the aim of reducing the 1,50,000+ annual highway deaths in India. He is the only Indian to be honoured with the Asian EMS Lifetime Achievement Award by the Asian EMS Council in 2015, whereas The Times of India calls Dr Das ‘the country’s best known EMS expert’.
Dr Seema Sharma
Guest of Honour
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Dr Subroto Das
Padma Shri Awardee
Co-founder, Lifeline Foundation
He is the winner of one of India’s highest civilian awards, Padma Shri for his exemplary work on Highway Trauma Care. He co-founded Lifeline Foundation along with his wife, Sushmita (after surviving a life-threatening accident in August, 1999 on one of India’s busiest highways), with the aim of reducing the 1,50,000+ annual highway deaths in India. He is the only Indian to be honoured with the Asian EMS Lifetime Achievement Award by the Asian EMS Council in 2015, whereas The Times of India calls Dr Das ‘the country’s best known EMS expert’.
Dr Nidhi Kewalramani
Panelist
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Dr Nidhi Harish Kewalramani
She is a medical graduate and an alumnus of Symbiosis University as well as BITS Pilani with a specialization in Hospital and Healthcare Management. She is a doctor with strong base in statistics and believes in data driven number methodology to the core extent of all strategic and management decision. Dr Nidhi holds an experience of almost 15 years in diversified healthcare fields like Hospitals, TPA, Healthcare BPO, Healthcare KPO, Healthcare LPO, and Healthcare Education Management. Presently, she is the chairperson for Tech Mahindra Foundation SMART Healthcare Academic Council and is heading the SMART Healthcare Academy for West region. She is a designated external expert on board of Faculty of Vocational (Medical) Studies for Parul University, Gujrat. Also, she is working as member of governing council for UNICEF MahaPeconet NGO platform.
Ms Renu Sharma
Panelist
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Ms Renu Sharma
Teacher at East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC)
Presently working as a teacher at the New Seemapuri – 1st School of EDMC, she holds a total of 22 years of experience in teaching. Also, a mentor teacher, she is the recipient of the State Teachers’ Award (in 2019). Apart from being a teacher, she is an eager and motivated learner, and strive to bring innovation in her classroom. Through her innovative teaching techniques, she supports and motivates her students to give their best in every endeavour of life.
About Saajhi Samajh 4
Introduction
September 11, 2021 is recognised as the World First Aid Day to increase awareness and accessibility to First Aid. The inception of this important milestone was first established in 2000 by International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). It is important to build a protected and safe environment for all and especially for small/young children as they may find it difficult to comprehend risks and impulsivity. Hence, a healthy environment with adequate safeguards becomes an important need for their sound development and advancement.
The World First Aid Day theme in 2021 is ‘First Aid at School’.
Children spend maximum of their time in school. Along with this factor, there are a greater number of children enrolling in schools every year. Global bodies such as World Health Organization (WHO) also points out that injuries are one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality among children under the age of 18 years. Each year around 875 000 children die because of injuries and tens of millions more require hospital care for non-fatal injuries and many of them are left with some form of disability which often has lifelong consequences (WHO, 2020). Schools are institutions where children explore and develop their social-emotional and academic thinking to become productive and healthy members of society.
One of the most important ways in which school safety can be supported is by having bystanders who are well versed in First Aid and related practices. Anyone can train for first aid, regardless of educational background. Teachers become the primary caretakers when children go to school. Therefore, teachers can provide frontline protection to students in case of any unforeseen emergency if they are equipped with First Aid knowledge and understanding. They can also become catalysts of disseminating the knowledge and awareness of First Aid practices among their students that can further be imparted to the student’s family members and the community at large.
Context: TMF and its work to create happier and safer classrooms by empowering teachers
Tech Mahindra Foundation (TMF), the CSR arm of Tech Mahindra Limited, is committed to creating happier and safer classrooms by empowering teachers, educators, and leaders in knowledge, skills, and attitude domains aiming for effective school governance. Through Shikshaantar, one of its flagship programs in Education, the Foundation has trained over 36,700 teachers of government schools in major cities of India, including Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai and Kolkata. In Delhi, the Foundation has been working in partnerships with the East Delhi Municipal Corporation since 2013, and with the North Delhi Municipal Corporation since 2018, by running the In-Service Teacher Education Institutes (ITEIs) on their behalf.
Various workshops under the Shikshaantar umbrella aim towards enhancing parental involvement, the capacity of teachers and teacher educators on leadership, pedagogical skills, and competencies related to subject teaching-learning. For creating a conducive and safe learning space, Foundation has initiated multiple interventions to create awareness about child safety, mental health awareness program, empowering teachers with counselling skills to ensure students well-being etc.
Launching Tech Mahindra Foundation’s School Safety Program under its Shikshaantar Program and Release of Research Report on Improving First Aid in Schools along with Teacher Training in First Aid
The Research Monitoring and Evaluation Unit of TMF has prepared a research report titled ‘First Aid for Improving Safety in Schools: Understanding teacher’s current knowledge of First Aid Practices and the Way Forward’ based on a research study conducted by the Unit in 2020-21 in New Delhi. The report is focused on how school premises can be developed as safe and conducive learning spaces with appropriate First Aid responses with teachers being the catalysts and playing an important role to ensure the safety of children.
The findings have helped pave the way for TMF in conceptualising a School Safety program for teachers as a way forward. By utilizing TMF’s dynamic platform of teacher training and experience in healthcare skilling, the Foundation launched its School Safety program (under its Shikshaantar Program) that will impart knowledge and training to teachers in First Aid, child safety guidelines, mental health awareness program, mental health counselling, etc. As the first step, the program intends to train a total of 1,000 teachers in First Aid and CPR during the first year.
Saajhi Samajh – The Fourth Edition
The fourth edition of Saajhi Samajh was held on 13th September 2021 and included a virtual launch and panel discussion that were hosted online by Tech Mahindra Foundation. It was followed by offline First Aid and CPR training with a batch of 20 teachers on the same day. A diverse panel of speakers comprising key stakeholders across the board – school teachers, medical professionals, policy influencers, educationists addressed the importance of school safety, role of a teacher and First Aid knowledge.
In the past, The Foundation has hosted three seminars with a focus on Teacher Development, bringing together an array of experts and specialists. These events, titled “Saajhi Samajh (or Shared Understanding)”, is the Foundation’s attempt towards creating a broader platform to enable advocacy through discourse and discussion on issues related and relevant to the development of teacher training and education in India.
Glimpses of Previous Years of Saajhi Samajh
The previous edition of Saajhi Samajh, held in April 2018, was a resounding success, in which the Keynote Address was delivered by the then Director of Education, Govt. of NCT of Delhi, Ms. Saumya Gupta. A detailed report of this event is available here. The third edition of Saajhi Samajh, held on 3 June 2020, was well accepted by the youth and academia. The Keynote address was delivered by Mr. Manish Sisodia, Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi & the detailed report can be downloaded here.