BENGALURU : Meet Shweta Sharan, Manoj Thelakkat and Sandhya Viswan, three parents of school-going children who have taken it into their hands to assist others like them. What started as a Facebook group, Bangalore Schools, with over 50,000 parents, has now become a comprehensive parenting and schooling group. Over the weekend, they will host the first virtual education expo called Bangalore Education Online Expo, an effort by parents, for parents.
In January 2020, they organised their first expo at the NIMHANS Convention Centre. In light of the pandemic, they decided to adapt to the situation and conduct a virtual expo next. The event, which takes place on Oct. 17 and 18, is geared towards parents, educators, edu-preneurs, and school service providers. “This is the first online education expo in the city, under a virtual platform, which gives a realistic feel to exhibitors and visitors alike,” says Sharan, a media professional. With up to 30 schools and service providers, they also have special needs organisations and ed-tech companies. Their Facebook group, which has been around since 2012, has an engagement rate of 83 per cent and most of the parents are in the age group of 24 to 45 years, adds Sharan.
Trying to make this virtual expo close to a real one, they have organised panel discussions on topics such as how to choose a school, the new normal in education, homeschooling, inclusive education, the NEP, open schooling and more. “It is the only expo organised by parents who have other jobs and do this because of their passion.
We also have contests, paper presentations, expert consultations, video interfacing, and even a networking lounge,” she says. “We want to empower parents with knowledge about how education works in the country,” says Sharan. They also plan to have storytelling sessions, discussions, open houses, networking lounges and more.
Some of the other programmes include Inspire Talks, a platform for children to talk about anything that inspires or motivates them; Social Impact Project is for schools to showcase a project they have created for societal good; Educator Speak is a contest for teachers to present a paper and to express their ideas; Let’s JAM is a contest for kids to showcase their talent in one minute; Family Quiz, where the entire family can participate in a fun Q&A.
Participating panellists include Allan Andersen, Danish educationist and founding principal of Chaman Bhartiya School; Rishikesh B S, associate professor, Azim Premji University; Alka Gupta, principal of NPS, Whitefield; Adam Greig, pianist and academic director KMMC (founded by AR Rahman); and Amruta Pradhan, television and animated series screenwriter.For details, log onto bsei.in.