Ashoka University Leadership Summit 2017: Understanding Human Rights, Sustainability and Social Entrepreneurship

Ashoka University organized its first Leadership Summit, on the 14th and the 15th of October, 2017. The three themes for the summit were- Human Rights, Sustainability and Social Entrepreneurship.

The summit featured 52 delegates from over 25 Indian institutions and welcomed various speakers and collaborators who are experts in their fields. The keynote speakers included Rajdeep Sardesai, Debashis Chatterjee, Shaheen Mistri, Shankar Venkateswaran, Aabid Surti, Amit Singh Chadha, Alok Prasad and Jayshree Satpute. They interacted with the delegates and hosted sessions that encouraged students to critically understand and analyze the numerous facets of bringing about tangible change in the society. The summit aimed to equip delegates to tackle specific problems, and figure out how to implement practical, effective and replicable solutions to these problems. Here are some vignettes from the summit. 

The opening speaker, Debashis Chatterjee, Dean and Professor at Indian Institute of Management, Author and Leadership Coach, emphasized on the importance of “separating our occupation from our preoccupation”, while speaking on the theme, ‘Art of Leadership.’ Shankar Venkateswaran, Former Chief of Tata Sustainability and Founder, Partners in Change, discussed about the ‘Corporate Perspective and Institutionalizing of Sustainability and Conservation’.

“A simple solution to conserve water translated into saving 20 million liters of water,” said Aabid Surti, National Award-winning author, Scriptwriter, Painter, Cartoonist and Founder of Drop Dead Foundation, talking about his NGO which is saving several million tonnes of water in the households of Mumbai by repairing plumbing problems such as leaks, for free.

(Aabid Surti, Founder of Drop Dead Foundation addressing the students of Ashoka University)

The second day of the summit culminated in a case study competition and Rajdeep Sardesai, Senior Journalist, Author, TV News Anchor, presented awards to the winners of the competition which was based on the three main themes of the Ashoka University Leadership Summit- Sustainability and Conservation, Human Rights, Micro-finance and Social Entrepreneurship. 

(Rajdeep Sardesai, Senior Journalist, presenting awards to the winners of the  case study competition)

The writer is Director, Marketing and Design, AULS and an undergraduate student at Ashoka University.