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Meet The Prajnya
2014 Gender Equality Mobilisers (G.E.M.s)
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Every year, the Prajnya
16 Days Campaign against Gender Violence brings together a mix
of public events, workshops, seminars and other activities that
take place across towns and even, media. This year, we wanted
to make a shift away from the notion that the impetus for social
change must come mainly from organisations like ours. We wanted
to return ownership of campaigns like this to all citizens, to
each of us, as individuals. We wanted to say, "No matter
what you do, where you are, what your life is like, there is something
you can do. And even if it is small, the small things add up!"
We invited 17 individuals
to take the lead on this year's campaign by initiating activities
and taking action within their immediate spheres. They are our
Gender Equality Mobilisers, or as we like to call them, G.E.M.s.
The G.E.M.s come from different walks of life; some are more famous
than others. Each of them has found a way to show support for
this cause--eliminating gender violence--in some way that is meaningful
to them and that fits in with their everyday life.
We are proud to introduce
these wonderful people to you!
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Devasena
ES is a media freelancer who works as an RJ, voice-over artiste
and sub-titling professional.
Read
more about Deva and why she is happy to be a part of the Prajnya
16 Days Campaign. And in Deva's words: G.E.M.speak
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Preeti
Aghalyam is a Professor in Chemical Engineering and Chairperson
of the Women's Forum at IIT-Madras and is a life-long running
addict.
Read
more about Preeti and why she is happy to be a part of the
Prajnya 16 Days Campaign.
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Pravin
Shekar is a start-up specialist, speaker and event conceptualizer
who runs a healthcare research and data collection organization
called Krea.
Read
more about Pravin and why he is happy to be a part of the
Prajnya 16 Days Campaign.
Pravin's main campaign activity was an
early morning cycle rally. He has also pledged to seek speaking
opportunities on why gender violence should matter to men as well,
and is organising a walk on December 13, where participants will
also share information on gender violence.
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Dr.Sudha Raja is an accomplished
Carnatic vocalist who runs the Suswara school of music and conducts
the Sargam choir group for children. She is one of Chennai's leading
music teachers, and Principal Faculty at Rhapsody - Education
Through Music.
Read
more about Sudha and why she is happy to be a part of the
Prajnya 16 Days Campaign.
Sudha's Sargam Children's Choir presented a choral concert, Voices
for Equality, that also had singing by children from the Chennai
school system. Read about it here.
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Padmini Subramaniam
has been passionate about teaching, right from her childhood when
she ran a school for underprivileged children at home. She is
also a trained singer who has learnt Carnatic music and Rabindra
Sangeet.
Read
more about Padmini and why she is happy to be a part of the
Prajnya 16 Days Campaign.
And this blogpost about her campaign initiative: Dialogues
over Dhoklas.
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Sudha
Umashanker is a freelance journalist, columnist, social activist
and storyteller.
Read
more about Sudha why she is happy to be a part of the Prajnya
16 Days Campaign.
Sudha's activity entailed a process and a product.
Read her
account of the process and then watch the product: The
Story Behind Her Silence.
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Nanditha Prabhu is trained in Mohiniyattam and is an accomplished
performer who is the founding partner of Mythri Centre for the
Arts, which caters to the holistic developement of children through
fine arts.
Read
more about Nanditha and why she is happy to be a part of the
Prajnya 16 Days Campaign.
As part of her activity, Nanditha and Martha John initiated a
process of dialogue and creative expression at Mythri, which is
documented
here.
Watch Mythri kids share some of their creativity with us:
1. Manathil
Uruthi Vendum (song)
2. Together
we CAN (dance drama)
3. The
Beauty Within (dance drama)
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Khushbu
Sundar is an acclaimed actress, television host and producer.
Read
more about Khushbu and why she is happy to be a part of the
Prajnya 16 Days Campaign.
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Kavitha
Muralidharan is an award-winning journalist and author who
is currently Associate Editor at India Today.
Read
more about Kavitha and why she is happy to be a part of the
Prajnya 16 Days Campaign.
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Ramya
Kannan, City Editor with the Hindu, writes on health and development
issues and believes that great change is often facilitated by
good journalism.
Read
more about Ramya and why she is happy to be a part of the
Prajnya 16 Days Campaign.
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Zubeda
Hamid is a correspondent with The Hindu covering health and
disability rights.
Read
more about Zubeda and why she is happy to be a part of the
Prajnya 16 Days Campaign.
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Dhamayanthi is a multi-faceted
media professional who has worked in various capacities as an
author, journalist, RJ, producer and script-writer.
Read
more about Dhamayanthi and why she is happy to be a part of
the Prajnya 16 Days Campaign.
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Sriram
Ayer is the founder and CEO of Nalandaway which engages with
children from the poorer districts of India through the arts.
Read
more about Sriram and why he is happy to be a part of the
Prajnya 16 Days Campaign.
As his campaign activity, Sriram organised a Community Cafe session.
Read the report.
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N.Shekar
is a veteran software industry executive with a strong background
in engineering design and software product development.
Read
more about Shekar and why he is happy to be a part of the
Prajnya 16 Days Campaign.
Shekar hosted a Community Cafe and here,
you can read the report.
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A trained natural healer, Jayanthi Karthikeyan is the founder
of the Reiki Sadhana Kendra and also serves as a trustee of Sri
Ramachandra Charitable Trust which is bringing Montessori education
to corporation schools.
Read
more about Jayanthi and why she is happy to be a part of the
Prajnya 16 Days Campaign.
Jayanthi hosted a Community Cafe for members
of her Reiki Satsang group. You
can read the report here.
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Indu
Balachandran is a best-selling author who was Executive Creative
Director at JWT and now enjoys writing about travel and humour.
Read
more about Indu and why she is happy to be a part of the Prajnya
16 Days Campaign.
And read the article she wrote especially
for the Campaign: Laughing
till it hurts.
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Rinku
Mecheri is the founder of Chennai Volunteers, a social initiative
that drives civic engagement by facilitating sustainable engagement
between volunteers and non-profits.
Read
more about Rinku and why she is happy to be a part of the
Prajnya 16 Days Campaign.
Rinku organised a discussion with parents and a few young adults
on cyber-safety as her campaign activity. Read
the report here.
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