- Over 1300 students from more than 25 colleges of Mumbai University
Akshara Centre inaugurated its one-of-a-kind youth festival, ‘Y Talks – The Art of Action’ on February 22, 2023, in Mumbai. The event was attended by over 1300 students from more than 25 colleges of Mumbai University. The event was to celebrate the power of youth and bring the conversation about gender equality between women and men.
This event is held in collaboration with the National Service Scheme (NSS) of Mumbai university. The MOTO of “Not me but You “allows NSS students to do something for the community and starts the first process of change. Akshara has been working with NSS for more than a decade, believing that Changing the Hearts and minds of Individuals is important and gender equality is non-negotiable. In addition, this event was held and organised in collaboration with Sree Narayan Guru College of Commerce, Chembur.
Y Talks provided a safe reflective platform through more than 12 interactive games and 3 engaging workshops for the youth to express themselves, interact with peers and be part of change together.
The workshops included speakers like Masoom Minawala, a Global Influencer who has more than 3.5 million followers and has added her voice to this effort to bring gender equality, and Debasmita Das from Agent of Ishq to bring the conversation around love, relationship, risk and consent and Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) who has been spearheading the fight against sexism and objectification of women in media of India.
Ameesha Adatia from Akshara Centre Speaking on the overwhelming experience stated, “It is about time that young men realise what gender equality is and young women learn to assert and claim it. The Y Talks being launched this year is a platform to create a safe space for dialogue, reflection, and sharing experiences. It is a space where young people can speak their minds about personal, social, or topical issues. It aims to move the gender needle and create a whirlwind of action with our youth”
Masoom Minawala, being a part of Ytalks said, “I have always used fashion to express my individuality. However, defining personal fashion is not always easy, especially for curious teenagers. Style is a way to say whom you are without speaking, and body positivity is the confidence to embrace and celebrate who you are. Together, they create a powerful statement that transcends fashion and inspires self-love. So, kudos to Akshara for organizing this event and allowing me to share my personal experiences to highlight important issues amongst the youth and shape their minds to embrace and love themselves, the way they are”.
About Akshara Centre: Akshara Centre was cofounded twenty-five years ago with the belief that the lives of women need positive change and that gender equality is non-negotiable. As an integral part of the women’s movement, Center has been engaged with various interventions Nationally and Internationally. The center believes that men need to be part of this process of change. We work individually to change the hearts and minds of young women and young men, we work towards a larger gender narrative change by undertaking education, training and campaigns and importantly we work with the government to improve their responsiveness to violence against women, to improve services and policies as well as bring gender inclusion in the government’s planning processes. We have been associated with UNWomen, the Committee for the status of women, UNHabitat and the World Social Forum.
Editor in Chief : Mewati SItaram
