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SLICE of real life (07 July 2013)
The leading media outlets across the world celebrated Impact Journalism Day this 22nd June and vowed to publish solution-based stories on the problems, minor or major, affecting human life as well as society. The principal objective of Impact Journalism is to drive positive changes in the socio-political and socio-economic frameworks of society. Various social issues and social crimes are the main targets of this noble initiative. It is the responsibility of not only media. Common men can participate too. After all, their unity and collective power work towards revolutionizing the system. SliceofRealLife.com got in with a few thoughtful entrepreneurs to share their views on how common people can pursue impact journalism in day-to-day life:
Mr. Bhavesh Sanghavi, founder & owner of Bhashan T-shirts, belongs to the band of successful young entrepreneurs in India. An inspiration for aspiring entrepreneurs, Bhavesh merged his entrepreneurial interests with his responsibility towards society. He chose T-shirt as a medium to highlight social iniquities, move the youth towards driving positive changes in the nation and encourage them for social entrepreneurship. Here is what he says for the readers of SliceofRealLife.com:
“If HISTORY can speak, then it may also tell that it’s the COMMON YOUTH which always saves the country. Today, many people believe that to do something for the country you have to be in a position which is nationally reputed. But for me, I do not accept this reason.
I believe we need to grip the fiery torch and work to re-ignite it with the same essence as the past. We need to be the change agents and inform the new generation about the civil rights.
I feel I am doing my bit by encouraging the youth and also motivating them to let them express what they feel and bring about a CHANGE in the society through the medium of my T-shirt brand named “Bhashan”. For example, We have a design called “R U Corrupt”, which means while we blame our Government Officials for being Corrupt, we need to ask ourselves first aren’t we the ones who urge them to be Corrupt by bribing them to get our work done? So, it’s better to get the work done in a proper systematical manner.
We often hear people saying, Youth are the leaders of tomorrow and I believe, they indeed are and they must be involved in all decision-making processes that affect their future on all levels.”
Mr. Ashwani Kumar Narula, the Founder President of PeoplePlus Software Inc., came up with Hamari Suraksha Software Solutions to check the growing concern about the security of women, households, corporate and intellectual properties. Hamari Suraksha Software Solutions is an identity management and background tracking firm. A technology entrepreneur with over 25 years of experience and revolutionary thoughts, Ashwani Kumar Narula has made the website Hamarisuraksha.com available for senior citizens to register their identity with the information of their tenants and domestic workers for the sake of security. Here is what he says to the readers of SliceofRealLife.com:
“A bunch of people living, working and growing together create a society. They have the power to bring positive change in the society. The first and foremost responsibility of people is to serve the community that they themselves have created. Safety is the primary concern of the society we live in. But sadly in our country people don’t take security seriously. Everything is on God. Deeply shaken and saddened by the current situation of law and order in India and increased terrorist activities I decided to take to task the lacuna in security information through evolving technology.
Hamari Suraksha Software Solutions Pvt. ltd. is an identity management & background tracking firm. It is of great significance to individual homeowners, RWA’s, corporates, business factories, security agencies and other service providers such as infrastructure & facilities management. They can add and maintain the identity information of their employees, contract or subcontract workers, domestic help, tenants, workers, security guards, drivers, cooks etc. “Please do not wait to be a victim first, to join this drive.”
Mr. Santanu Mishra is a social entrepreneur with several identities – an alumnus of IIM Ahmedabad, an Associate Member of ICSI (Institute of Company Secretaries of India), a veteran lawyer and co-founder of Smile Foundation. Out of his passion for social entrepreneurship, he established Smile Foundation in collaboration with his friends to give back to society. A national level organization, Smile Foundation works across 25 states of India in the niches – education, healthcare, women empowerment and livelihood. Santanu Mishra believes in collective power of the mass for driving positive changes in society. Here is what he says to the readers of SliceofRealLife.com:
“If you want to change lives, no one can stop you. If you don’t, no one can help you .Smile Foundation always believes that the real development can never come until & unless the civil society participates in it. Community or society development is a very subjective topic. The basic problem is not just developing society but how to develop it.
Since our beginning in 2002, we have always been trying to develop efficient and accountable models in project management, bringing multiplier effect in social development, and involving civil society as a partner in the development process. If each member of a civil society gets involved and takes responsibility of only one child, then no one can stop our country from being a developed nation, free of corruption and ill practices.”
Mr. Vinit Parikh, a budding social entrepreneur, believes in the outcome of converging social needs and the power of web media to bring about a digitized change in society. He has been providing technical upliftment to several social organizations: Rotaract, Jamnabai Dongarshi Kanya Chhatralaya, Shri Virji Devshi High School, Vrudhashram, Advitya, Enelek and IIT Bombay. The founder of Creatiwitty, a web and graphic designing firm, Vinit Parikh thinks that social organizations can motivate the youth to work towards society by focusing on their love for technological advancements. Here is what he says to the readers of SliceofRealLife.com:
“Do you need a social or political identity to bring about a Social Impact? Answer is NO! Just stand up and speak out for what you feel is incorrect, unjust and wrong. Think before you act upon it, measure the outcome and the output of your actions. If everything is positive, then you are on the path to bring about a positive change in the socio-economic and socio-political structure of society. “
Asmita Tandon is a writer with thoughtfulness and a poet with conscience. She voiced her protest against rape in the poem The Beasts Run Wild, published by MSN. The noted author of Love on the Rocks, she is in the headlines for her latest release, Jacob Hills. A harbinger of change, Asmita took up pen to fight against social crimes committed to women. Here is what she says to the readers of SliceofRealLife.com (check interview with Asmita Tandon):
“The common man isn’t as helpless as he is supposed to be. Uttarakhand, for instance, is flooded with water, decaying bodies and pilgrims. Their numbers are running in thousands. Amidst this mayhem comes the news that locals and shopkeepers are not only refusing shelter to the stranded, they are charging them exorbitant amounts of money for a bottle of water and a bowl of rice. You wonder what’s wrong with them. What’s missing? “Empathy”.
In our daily lives we are surrounded by situations where someone could do with our help; a girl being eve teased or a government official harassing a poor man or little children begging for a living. This is the moment that the common man needs to seize, to step up. There are innumerable instances that we simply walk past because it has nothing to do with us.
If every individual were to put himself in the shoes of another, there would be no crime, no wrong doing and no corruption. Do you think the thousands who left home to take a dip in the holy Ganges knew of the horror that awaited them? It could have happened to any of us. Empathy is not merely a word; it’s the power that you and I possess to make a change wherever and whatever situation we find ourselves in.”
