Design Thinking Workshop on Aftercare System in India
- 26 August 2023
Hello Readers,
We are back with another blog which is about the event that took place last month. Design Thinking has emerged as a powerful framework for problem-solving, encouraging innovation and fostering empathy. On the 28th and 29th of July, a captivating two-day Design Thinking workshop took place in the beautiful city of Jaipur. This workshop brought together diverse stakeholders, including corporate leaders, to harness their intellect and insight. The event aimed to explore ground realities, engage with care leavers’ tales, and visit local NGOs.
The workshop which was facilitated by Dr. Ranjan Banerjee, Dean of BITS School of Management, Mumbai along with his wife Dr. Anindita Banerjee who herself has a passion for facilitating a design thinking to help create innovative solutions for social challenges.
I remember when we thought of organizing this workshop, my team and our mentors were not sure how to conduct a Design thinking workshop in such a short span of time and whether dignitaries from various parts of the country would be able to travel all the way to Jaipur. But fortunately, everything went much better than we expected. It was the combined efforts and dedication of the Special 26 team of care leavers and our mentors working round the clock to make sure no one felt out of place during these two days’ residential workshop. To warmly welcome the delegates coming for the workshop, a team of Special 26 care leavers went to pick them from the airport/railway station with beautiful pagdi and a colorful dupatta on their arrival and took them to their place of stay. We had corporate leaders, NGOs, interested citizens passionate about the issue, representatives of UNICEF, care leavers themselves getting together to answer the question ” How might we enable care leavers to be well integrated into society”.
The two day residential workshop took place in the MIIC campus with flowery welcome in the session with introductory part. It was amazing to see people from different walks of life coming together for this workshop and trying to find collective solutions to the challenges of care experienced youth.
The main purpose of organizing this workshop was to give first hand experience of the ground reality challenges/success care leavers deal with in their day to day life after they are made to move out after the age of 18 years (as per the government regulation). The team was divided into 4 groups where along with care leavers, a team of delegates visited Childcare Institutions, a home where 6-7 are living under one roof, a bakery started by a care leaver himself and an unfiltered story told by a care leaver himself.
The visit to Devki’s bakery was a highlight, seeing our friend, a care leaver, fulfilling his dream of becoming an entrepreneur after years of his hard work and being passionate enough to pursue it. The pastries he made were delicious and I am sure his journey has just begun & will go a long way.
Visiting an HIV+ child care home was an experience in itself. Interacting with the children there was so heartwarming, happy in their own world, talking about their daily routines. Unfortunately, almost all of them did not have any idea what they would do after turning 18 when it would be time to leave the child care institutions.
On the 28th July, the event was followed by a dinner at Chowki Dhani where all the participants enjoyed the touch of Rajasthan through delicious Rajasthani Thali, along with cultural dance and music. During the workshop my team learnt the art of questioning correctly and framing them appropriately. The tools suggested by Ranjan sir were excellent. This workshop gave us a different perspective of thinking of possible way outs for care leavers’ challenges
The experience was very overwhelming, and we got a great response from our audience as well. A heartfelt thank you to everyone who participated, bringing boundless enthusiasm and unwavering passion to the sessions. Their active engagement, not only during the event but also in the valuable discussions that followed, truly enriched the entire experience. We really enjoyed the workshop and got some great insights from the participants with their impactful presentations.
The purpose of organizing the workshop for strengthening the Aftercare System in India. “Aftercare” is the provision of providing care & support to children post 18 years of age when they have to leave their childcare homes. The two-day workshop, held in Jaipur, marked a significant step towards empowering youth for a brighter future.