#TGLIFE
The second edition of TEDxPanaji was held recently at the Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG) in Panaji and brought out extraordinary achievements of ordinary people right from a student to a sailor and from a social entrepreneur to a paediatrician.
This year the theme of TEDxPanaji was #AgainstTheTide and living up to the theme it celebrated ideas that challenge the popular beliefs and notions.
The event started with a performance by the Sai Damodar Group from Margao. This bunch of youngsters from the age group of 14 to 30 years are passionate and dedicated musicians who are reviving the traditional, devotional and folk music of Goa.
IITian Manish Jain who heads Creative Learning Initiative (CLI) at IIT Gandhinagar, during his talk stressed on making our school classrooms more interactive and inspiring children to make thing. He believes that Make in India will become a success when children start making things in their classrooms and beyond with the help of dedicated teachers. He also showed some interesting toys made by his team and school students that immediately drew audiences’ attention.
Computer geek Raunak Hede who is a 10th grade student and has excellent coding skills opined that coding is a game of logic. He said that logic helps us to have a rational outlook and governs our decision making. He emphasized that coding should be introduced to children in school learning.
India’s first circumnavigator of globe, captain Dilip Donde spoke about his experience of sailing solo around the globe in 157 days. This project which was commissioned by Indian Navy, Capt. Donde said, is one of the rare government projects which was in time, within budget and had a legacy to follow. Due to his efforts now the country has eight circumnavigators.
Behavioural paediatrician Dr Nandita De Souza and director of the Sethu Centre for Child Development and Family Guidance spoke about inclusive society, starting from our schools. She said that even though there are laws in our country that gives rights to special children to be part of any school, in reality it is not happening. She stated that inclusion should first start within us and then work together towards implementing these policies.
Founder of Street Providence NGO, Donald Fernandes spoke about various banks which he has initiated which are without money. They are based on humanity and kindness. Last year he started a food bank by initiating community fridge where people can deposit leftover food. Now they have 25 such fridges in different parts of Goa. He claimed that by this exercise they save food worth Rs. 40 lakhs every month and managed to feed thousands of people who are sick, lonely and on the streets. He along with his volunteers and social media has managed to have medicine bank, clothes bank, scheme bank (where volunteers explain about various government schemes to the needy) and virtual blood bank of potential donors.
Naturopath Darryl De Souza gave everyone food for thought by speaking about nutrition and using our five senses while choosing our food. He based his talk on his life and how he reversed illness and aging by choosing natural and healthier food habits.
Architect Abhijit Sadhale spoke about traditional building practices and his passion which helped in reviving temple architecture. He stated that in India we have living traditions which are under threat due to urbanisation and migration and to reverse this trend we need to look at our roots with new dimension and work on conserving it.
The event also included a mime performance by artiste Drupad Gaonkar, who recently made a world record by practicing mime for 50 hours. His performance made a point of giving silence a chance. There was also an Experience Zone that showcased ideas from start-ups, businesses, not for profit ventures etc. Audience also relished scrumptious and traditional Goan snacks and refreshments.
