HYDERABAD : What can 16 young girls, mostly in their 20s, a diverse mix of them – a few pursuing Masters in universities, a few of them employees in development sector and another an entrepreneur, bring to the table? Well, they can change the world. That’s what the SILT Bootcamp, an in-person six-month part-time programme for young women seems to believe in. “SoCh for Social Change is a social enterprise is a sister organisation of VOICE 4 Girls. We hope to unlock passion for social action of young women who are potentially interested in the social and development sector.
SoCh aims to work with over 3,000 young people who will become job creators, future leaders and change-makers in the society. By the end of 2030, we believe we will impact over 30 million lives,” says Anusha Bharadwaj, the Founder Director of SoCh for Social Change. Sathvika Jandyala, program manager elaborates.
“About 16 students from Hyderabad started their boot camp on August 15, 2019. Most of them are studying and are working and are part the programme. We bring in guests speakers and experiences, mentorship and field visits are also part of the boot camp. Typically students and early professionals apply and we shortlist, the finalists based on their performance through group discussions and interviews. The Founding Cohort of the SILT Bootcamp is in session and these young women will graduate in January 2020,” she adds.
The Bootcamp has three phases – understanding social change, field immersion, personalised action plan. “It is a platform which embraces values of diversity, and inclusivity. The current cohort has 16 participants, who hail from different backgrounds. Students from premier universities like Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), University of Hyderabad who are pursuing their major in Psychology, Gender Studies, Social Sciences; professionals who have already made their entry into the development sector , and have been working with organisations like Tata Trusts, Voice 4 Girls, Room to Read, Chezuba constitute the 2019 Cohort.”
“Most of the leadership workshops are aimed at the corporate sector or at the most for the social ventures. So this will hopefully shape up like the IITs and the ISBs that we have”, said Ajith Rangnekar, Former Dean of ISB and Partner SVP India about SILT Bootcamp during the inaugural. The session also had Shantha Sinha, Founder MV Foundation besides guest facilitators and speakers such as Raj Janagam, Kameshwari Jandhyala, Dr. Evita Fernandez, Abhishek Bharadwaj among others.
The programme associations also got to visit organisations like MV Foundation, Bhumika Women’s Collective, SAHE, Abhihaara and The Conscious Storey. The programme involves meeting subject matter experts, understanding the dynamics of the society through guest lectures, filed visits etc. “I am getting to interact with a diverse set of professionals and understand how the development sector works,” said a youngster who was attended the immersive experience last Saturday where they met Hema Balakrishnan, a social entrepreneur and a travel entrepreneur from the city.The participants say thatthey feel going through a boot camp is that it puts them through some real life experience before they actually plunge into their work. “Learning through experience works best,” they add.