In this blog, I would be delving into the learnings and experiences from a transformative collaboration that I embarked on with two co-Fellows from the Banyan Impact Fellowship, Arbeena and Jahnavi. The collaboration was facilitated through a professional development grant opportunity, provided by AIF Banyan Impact Fellowship.
When we first encountered the idea of collaboration, and started discussing it during the Midpoint conference in February 2024, I was a blank state. Excited about the prospect, however, I tried to keenly listen to the ideas that Jahnavi and Arbeena proposed, and suggested a topic of my own. I did not know until the Midpoint conference, that this would also be a chance to learn about my cohort’s girls from a partner organization Kshamtalaya, and most of all, did not anticipate the transformative effect on the cohorts and on us.
PREPARING TO CONDUCT A WORKSHOP
The days spent preparing for a workshop on cybersecurity and safety were hard, but some of the best. This would be my first time conducting a workshop for young girls directly. I had the opportunity to conduct them at AAs (Aim for the Awareness of society) in Indore and at Vikalp Sansthan at Udaipur. Taking inspiration from Arbeena, Jahnavi, and those directly around me, I sought to plan simple activities that would also be engaging. My biggest fear was that the workshop would be uninteresting. But starting on that journey, getting constructive input and feedback, and some encouragement, kept me going. Who knew that the material would also educate me on recognizing online threats, looking out for my own device’s safety, and sharing content responsibly! The days turned out much better than I had anticipated.
CULTIVATING CONNECTIONS
Most of all, the experience helped me witness and appreciate the beautiful bond that Arbeena and Jahnavi had created with their girls. One of the main ways I understood this was from their abilities to create and share a sense of what topics their girls would understand, and then break it down even further. During our PDG visit, when concepts about art, gender, or cyber safety were hard to break down, Arbeena and Jahnavi, having understood their girls, stepped in to relevant examples that were equally relatable. So much so that the girls started to share similar incidents or situations they have faced. For example, in the workshop on cybersafety, the girls began to volunteer and speak about messages and scams that they are familiar with, and how they dealt with these scams/ threats to their personal and online safety. They were able to relate to what was being spoken about. Some of the girls discussing relevant topics and speaking about them post the workshops, was proof that the workshops had planted interesting ideas.
BREAKING THE ICE
One of the biggest learnings was how Arbeena and Jahnavi helped the younger girls to open up. They did these through simple icebreakers and activities. One such activity that they held at Kshamtalaya in Udaipur, was to get the girls to walk, run, and stop on Jahnavi’s instructions. The girls giggled and participated eagerly.
Yet another one that they did was to call on the girls in a random manner, by passing a ball to them, and get them to introduce themselves in a fun and creative manner. By creating a sense of eagerness, suspense and including enjoyable activities, as well as roleplaying funny and imaginary events relevant to emotions, values and communication, Jahnavi and Arbeena eased the girls into the topics they were introducing.
EMBRACING FLEXIBILITY
One of the biggest takeaways and what left me in awe of their workshops was how they adapted it to make it easily understandable, depending on the batch they were speaking to and its specific context and geography. With Arbeena’s workshop on value prioritization and communication, she discussed patriarchy, sex, and gender in a simple yet effective manner at Vikalp Sansthan. At Kshamtalaya, she broke it down even further, to match the understanding of a younger age group. Here, she focused more on value prioritization and discussed miscommunication using simple games and activities.
Jahnavi also worked with a previous understanding of concepts that girls have, and had them represent the concepts with symbols through art. With fun activities and discussions following them, she kept the girls engaged throughout. Through art, she beautifully brought in the idea of emotions and expressing and regulating them.
Some of the outstanding qualities that emerged from the collaborative exchange is the presence of mind exhibited by Arbeena and Jahnavi, their ability to gauge the audience to get through to them, and empathy in mentorship.
CONCLUSION
The PDG effect started even before the days of conducting the workshop and follows through much after the workshop has ended. As I reflect on the whirlwind of emotions and experiences that characterized our PDG (professional development grant) exchange, I am filled with gratitude to have had the opportunity to learn from and grow alongside such inspiring individuals. Together, we expanded not only our horizons but also implanted knowledge and ideas into the minds of the next generation.
Towards the end, the PDG experience is not just the workshop exchange. It is also about creating an environment of trust and openness, along with the connections we forged, with the girls, and with each other and the memories we created along the way.
