By Lisa Koonce | Project Leader
This September, WEP Madurai students joined forces with WEP interns in New York to develop and pilot a Social- Hack-A-Thon. Together, online and in person, they "hacked" to identify problems in their own communities and brainstorm solutions. Students in both groups identified mental health and substance abuse as problems in their communities which needed more support, and the students in Madurai also focused on safe access to transportation.To raise funds and awareness, Madurai students sold food at their college park, and New York area students hosted a Run/Walk in Central Park.
In October, WEP students from Hyderabad traveled to Bangalore with WEP's collaboration Lab Manager Pratima Kamble to participate in a 4 day Course on Living Utopias: Visions and Actions for Sustainable Futures hosted by ATREE ( Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment) , a leading environmental education organization. Students engaged in sessions to re-think the economy, technology, democracy and education. They were encourged to critically reflect upon the range, nature and causes of the various crises in the world today, employ tools and knowledge to engage with frameworks underpinning the vision of Living Utopias and a Good Society, explore the ways in which justice, equity, and democracy intersect with sustainability, and feel empowered to mobilise for action at various levels.
While in Bangalore, the students also had the oportunity to meet with P. Selvi, an alumnae from the WEP Madaurai Academy, and WEP's first scholarship recipient, who is now settled in Bangalore with her husband and son, employed as a Senior Associate at an international bank and an advisor to the WEP India Board.
At WEP's October Women Leaders Connect event, US based supporters also had the opportunity to meet Selvi online for an inspirational conversation, where she spoke with Zoe Timms, WEP's Founder and Executive Director, about her time at WEP and how it supported her life choices. A video of Sevli and Zoe's conversatrion is attached below.
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