Nagaland: Students encouraged to lead social innovation
Officials after the event of Ashoka Changemakers Day held in Kohima for the first time in the North East region on February 22. (Morung Photo)
Morung Express News
Kohima | February 22
Ashoka Changemakers Day, a celebration of teen-led or student-led social innovation was held in Kohima for the first time in the North East region on February 22.
At least 2000 students from different schools gathered at Kevilhouü Rio Auditorium at G Rio School, Kohima, to take part in the event which is designed to trigger the development of a supportive ecosystem where every teenager in school gets the space and opportunity to become a ‘changemaker’.
Speaking during the program, Founder & CEO of Entrepreneurs Associates Niechute Doulo, who is the first Ashoka Fellow from Nagaland, gave out pointers on how to become changemakers by making small but significant changes in their daily lives. “Read your history, appreciate people, plant trees, work harder, and be litter-free. If every day, you can get up and make your own tea or mop your own room without being told or if you work harder than expected, you are a changemaker,” he told the students.
Addressing the inaugural session, Chief Secretary, Temjen Toy encouraged the students to be bold enough to air their views and ask questions. He further added that they should never ‘feel small’ or disconnected from the global community but instead urged them to think and dream big in order to make Nagaland a better place.
Delivering the welcome address, NBSE Chairman, Asano Sekhose expressed her desire to see students becoming changemakers and problem solvers in society.
Other speakers for the day included Aayush Gupta, Founding Team, FamPay; Ajit Singh, Founder & CEO, Anant Innovations; Disha Shah, Ashoka Young Changemaker and Hasina Kharbhih, Founder & Managing Director, Impulse Social Enterprises, and also Founder Chair of Impulse NGO Network.
As part of the celebration, an idea pitching session was conducted where 10 students presented their ideas for an initiative/project that addresses social and environmental problems.
Mesele Doulo of Little Flower Higher Secondary School won the competition with her pitch for ‘Express Queues in hospitals & Mobile Vans or mobile clinic to provide door to door medical treatment to persons with severe disabilities’. Roshni of Stella Higher Secondary School bagged the second position while Jentina Yaomei Shangkhu of Little Flower Higher Secondary School won the third place.
The three winners will be invited to participate in Ashoka’s National Launchpad event, which will be held in a few months.
Ashoka Changemakers Day, organized in collaboration with the Nagaland Board School Education and Entrepreneurs Associates, is an initiative of the Washington DC based organization, Ashoka, a global network of leading Social Entrepreneurs with over 3,500 fellows present in 92 countries. Founded in 1980, Ashoka’s network of Social Entrepreneurs in South Asia includes Nobel Laureates Md Yunus (Grameen Bank) and Kailash Satyarthi (Bachpan Bachao Andolan) and Magsaysay awardees like Anshu Gupta of Goonj among others.
