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Published : Monday, 30 November, 2015 10:56 AM

The raging debate on women empowerment in the country is a mark of times when, the moment for true change has arrived. And who is more capable to make this happen, rather than the agents of change themselves – The Fairer Sex, and this can only be achieved through free and unabashed exchange of ideas. Come this 29th November Sunday,TEDx IIM Raipur will present a platform to a panel of all women speakers voicing issues from their repositoryof experiences and chalk out the “The Next Big Idea” for women empowerment in India.

Event at B School - IIM Raipur

At TEDx IIM Raipur, the panel of celebrated women are achievers, who had one thing in common – Courage, to make a difference. They include Smita Nair Jain, COO – Barclays Technology Centre India; Manisha Gulyani, an ICCR Kathak Artiste; NilimaAchwal, Social entrepreneur; Dr.Rachna Jain, Founding member, Jan SwasthyaSahyog (JSS); HemaBalakrishnan, Founder - Color D Earth; Seema Azharuddin, Actor-Activist and Archana Sardana, first woman Building Aerial Span Earth (BASE) jumper. We all can learn something from them who have gone against convention to achieve success, and may be then, we would be able to contemplate a way out and way forward, regarding the issues in our country.

To introduce the esteemed speakers, namely Smita Nair Jain, COO Barclays, is an adjunct Professor, Change Expert, Coach, Evolutionary Leadership and a Keynote Speaker at various events, with over 2 decades of experience across many domains. She speaks about surviving in a changing world, a world which clamors one to be sturdy and Smita is adroit in putting the audiences at ease, while inspiring them with her gifts of honesty, courage, hope and laughter. The other speaker is Manisha Gulyani, an ICCR Kathak artiste and teacher cum performer for ICC centres at abroad. Gifted with a keen intellect, she has presented & published her research articles at esteemed platforms. Her unique and distinctive ability to harmoniously synchronize the aesthetics, rhythm, essence of music and sense of time & space, has created magic on stage in each performance of hers.

Along with Ms Nilima Achwal, currently the founder and CEO of a social venture ‘Iesha’, which educates and empowers Indian youth on sexual, reproductive, and gender issues, by leveraging technology, for a more gender-equal India. She understands that educating the youth on these taboo issues is crucial to ensuring their confidence, dignity, integrity, safety, and mental and physical health. She has also co-founded BadalJa!, a platform and resource hub to inspire action toward gender justice in Mumbai.

Notable speaker is Archana Sardana, India's first woman civilian B.A.S.E. jumper, scuba diver, certified skydiver and mountaineer. Ms. Sardana has done over 300 skydives, multiple Building Aerial Span Earth (B.A.S.E.) dives across the globe and is the first woman master-scuba diver trainer in India. All of these daring feats have been achieved in an adventure sports career that initiated only after her marriage to a naval officer.

Today, at the age of 40, a mother of two and a champion in adrenaline sports, she runs her own scuba diving academy where she trains young women, school kids and disabled divers. Joining from Central India is Dr. Rachna Jain, a Gynaecologist and Founding member of Jan SwasthyaSahyog (JSS), an organisation of healthcare professionals that provides low-cost community health services in the tribal and rural regions of Bilaspur district in Chhattisgarh. With a dream to serve the poor, she had to undergo much hardship for the project to fulfil her inspiration in bringing equality in availability of healthcare. She hopes for doctors around the country to replicate their model. Also speaking would be Ms. HemaBalakrishnan, founder of Color D Earth, a social entrepreneur who works towards the sustainable and economic growth of the Terracotta Artisan community. She is an alumnus of the 10000 Women program, a Goldman Sachs funded Initiative for Women Entrepreneurs in 2009.

The other distinct speaker is Ms. Seema Azharuddin, an actor, activist, Journalist and a Senior Consultant in Management with more than a decade of experience in this field. She founded her production house Kartaal in 2010 giving Hyderabad some of the finest international stage shows that the city has witnessed. She has a master's degree in theatre from Columbia University along with her management studies.

This year, TEDx IIM Raipur is a power-packed event that is bound to invigorate meaningful deliberations on “The Next BIG Idea” for women empowerment in India. Featuring all women speakers, TEDx IIM Raipur 2015 in association with Shivnath Hyundai & Union Bank, Co-sponsored by HPCL, Outdoor partner - ASA advertising and Radio partner – Radio Mirchi, is an initiative taken by students and faculties that will raise pertinent questions about women-centric issues by leading personalities from the fields of Education, Entrepreneurship, Social Activism, Media & Entertainment etc.

For details and passes for the event, contact Mr. Vikram Singh – Ph. No. 7225018056. More details about the event is available on TEDx IIM Raipur’s Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/tedxiimraipur.

TED is a non-profit organization devoted to spreading world-changing ideas. TEDx is an independently organized event, held under a free license granted by TED. The TEDx event at IIM Raipur, themed on “The Next BIG Idea”, will feature a combination of live presenters and TED talk videos.

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