Theme: Power of a Just Society

In the era of constant globalization and technological advancement, the widening gap between the privileged and the underprivileged is quite alarming and harmful to the health of our community. In our event, we attempt to illustrate how disciplines like technology, culture, and economics, to name a few, can be directed to positively impact our society.
In the maiden edition of TEDxSomaiyaVidyavihar, we aim to establish innovative thinking among young minds, thus motivating them to become responsible citizens of the world. Our vision is to make TEDx Somaiya Vidyavihar a platform where the trailblazers of our society can showcase ideas that impart knowledge and inspire our community.

Nalanda auditorium
4th Floor, SIMSR building
SIMSR, Vidyavihar East
Mumbai, Maharashtra, 400077
India

Abha Agrawal

Abha Agrawal is a professor turned social entrepreneur. She went from teaching engineering students to co-founding DESI Hangover a foster community for youth entrepreneurship. By redesigning Kolhapuri shoes and marketing them on the global stage, she has contributed to uplifting the lives of rural artisans. Over the last 3 years, Desi Hangover has sold in more than 6 countries, but chiefly, it has made a whole community of artisans financially secure, enhanced education for their kids and made them aware of the true value of their art

Ashok Rathod

Ashok Rathod is the Founder and Director of OSCAR India Foundation, an organization which aims to prevent school drop-outs and encourage children to become responsible citizens. Born in Dharavi, Asia's biggest slum, he grew up seeing the ill-effects of the lack of a proper education, in the form of youth prone to drinking and gambling their money and life away. Thus, in his early twenties, he tasked himself with reforming his community. The OSCAR Foundation (Organization for Social Care Awareness and Responsibility) instills the value of education in children through football and has transformed the lives of over 3000 children.

Chandrashekhar Bhadsavle

Chandrashekhar Bhadsavle, is the person behind the success story of Saguna Baug, a popular Agro-tourism hub. After completing his Masters in Food Science and Technology from the University of California, he returned to India in 1976 “to find sustainable, worthwhile livelihood through Farming profession”. He has pioneered the Saguna Rice Technique (SRT) a no-till rice cultivation system, which just might be the answer for rice-growing countries like India to tackle problems of Food Shortage and Global Warming.

Chetan Solanki

Dr. Chetan Singh Solanki, a professor at IIT Bombay, can rightfully be named the Solar Power visionary of India. His notable projects include 1 Million Solar Urja Lamps (SOUL) initiative, aiming to provide solar lamps to 1 million students in rural India, the New Energy Foundation, promoting renewable energy in villages, and KWatt Solutions, a company working towards affordable solar energy. He is also the founding member and Chairman of Education Park, a non-profit school based on sustainable principles.

Hans Dalal

Hans Dalal is a Sound Engineer by occupation, but on a happen-chance trip to Kanha National Park in Madhya Pradesh, he became acquainted with India's National animal, the tiger. From that moment on, he has dedicated himself towards tiger conservation. He joined a course in wildlife conservation with Tiger Watch, an NGO at Ranthambore, and went on to found the PROWL NGO in 2013, which works with the Maharashtra forest department for tiger preservation in Maharashtra and Telangana.

Paresh Patel

Founder,CEO - Oasis Enterprise

Mr. Paresh Kumar Patel, is a businessman, philanthropist and an entrepreneur. Starting with housekeeping at a holiday inn, he steadily climbed up the business ladder and today, is the CEO and founder of the Oasis Enterprise.

Rabia Kapoor

Rabia Kapoor is a poet and writer from Mumbai. At 19, she has already charmed India's poetry community. Her poem, "The Introvert's Banter", has recently been making waves on the internet and has gathered nods from introverts all round.

Siddharth Sthalekar

Founder - Sacred Capital

After graduating from IIM Ahmedabad, Siddharth Sthalekar joined India's Capital Markets and headed India's largest equity derivatives. But, it all changed for him after a visit to Gandhi Ashram. During his 4-year volunteering stint at the Ashram, he has developed a greater understanding of wealth through his experiments in economics such as "Seva Cafe" and “Moved by Love”. He currently owns "Sacred Capital", a firm that helps individuals understand the role of wealth in their lives.

Sudha Gopalakrishnan

Sudha Gopalakrishnan is an artist as well as a champion of preserving India's heritage. She is the Executive Director of Sahapedia, an online multi-media library that enables exploration of the rich cultural landscape of India. With over thirty years of experience in multiple aspects of Indian arts and heritage, she has lead the National Mission for Manuscripts- a nation-wide effort to document, conserve, and place in the public domain one million Indian manuscripts, worked on the policy and practice relating to Intangible Cultural Heritage with UNESCO, and published several books including Kutiyattam: The Heritage Theatre of India.