Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India
With everything that has been happening around the globe at present, be it the pandemic, the climate change crisis, casteism, racism, economic downfall, it has become important to realise that there are certain things that we need to re-learn. The wheels of the normative grain of the society need to be broken and reconstructed, the ‘new normal’ has given us an opportunity to start afresh and there is no better place to do that than our educational institutions. Sri Sathya Sai Vidya Vihar, Indore recently organised its first edition of “SRIJAN”, an e-Conclave dedicated to and aimed at renewing the idea of education beyond the realm of subjects and concrete school walls.
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Ms. Evelin G Lindner in a live session at “SRIJAN”, Indore
The school is known for its vast teaching philosophy extending from academic learning to moral values and life skills. This initiative by the School aspires to create a platform for students to be able to garner insights on social and personal skills from esteemed professionals in an interactive and engaging manner. It aims to provide a positive lens to the young minds and help them look at the society from a broader perspective. To develop more compassion and undertake a healthy and sustainable outlook on things so they can not just incorporate these in their lifestyle but also lead towards a better tomorrow.
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Ms. Evelin G Lindner in a live session at “SRIJAN”, Indore
The event was graced by three times Nobel Peace Prize nominee Ms. Evelin G. Lindner, MD, PhD (Medicine and Psychology). Ms. Evelin is the Founding President of HumanDHS (Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies) and a Co-founder of the World Dignity University Initiative. Some of her most notable work includes ‘Making Enemies’: Humiliation and International Conflict (2006), ‘Emotion and Conflict’: How Human Rights Can Dignify Emotion and Help Us Wage Good Conflict (2009) and ‘Gender, Humiliation and Global Security’ (2010).
It was kicked off by an introductory speech by the Principal of the School, Ms. Punita Nehru and thoroughly moderated throughout by Dr. Siddharth Jain and Tanishqua Kanetkar. During the course of the interview, Ms. Evelin introduced her idea of dignity. According to her, keeping aside all categories of classification such as religion, caste and class etcetera, solidarity amongst citizens and states should be practiced through mutual respect and dignity. She suggests each one to look forward to dignified humility as a way of motivation and not humiliation. She further discussed her fascination with the country, Norway for its capacity to uphold the idea of equality and dignity. When talked about India, she was appreciative of the vast cultural background of the country as well as the family values and the idea of togetherness in the society.
The event was organised by a group of 8 alumni of the school, Mr. Swapnil Kothari, President of the Old Sathya Sai Students Association, Mr. Shyam Bhatia, Ms. Firoza Aklesaria, Ms. Shachi Maheshwari, Ms. Shweta Mallick, Dr. Siddharth Jain and Tanishqua Kanetkar. SRIJAN is a brain child of the Principal of the School, Ms. Punita Nehru who brought the above team together. We are grateful to our sponsors Mr. Tarun Agrawal, Mr. Akhil Bandi, Mr. Vikas Bansal and Mr. Gaurav Mehta.
The event ended on a positive note and received participation from over 8000 students, faculty and alumni of the institution paving way for many more such events to take place. The message of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam: The world is one and all its inhabitants are a part of one big family was drawn as a conclusive note for the event.
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