The Work I Do
And when this grand canvas, our life, is finished,
may the world in some small way or large way, be a better place
– Robert Regis Dvorak
Everybody can fulfil their potential, regardless of ability. My work is to work directly with the many stakeholders in building an inclusive and empathetic society. I have over two decades of experience of working with diverse beneficiary groups, working in classrooms and learning settings, train teachers and educators to inculcate inclusive learning practices in their work, and work with corporates and organizations in the space of diversity, equity and inclusion.
Direct Beneficiary Work
Children and young adults look for spaces to just be and discover themselves. “Special needs” is not just a politically correct phrase; it is the recognition that “normal” is relative and needs are special in seemingly “normal people” too. It is the recognition that children are dynamic learners; there are more ways to educating children than just through logical and linguistic learning. It is important for learners of all ages to be engaged intellectually, emotionally, socially and soulfully.
School systems have traditionally stressed the importance of teaching all children in a uniform manner. This has made it difficult for them to include those children who learn very differently. In fact, schools are belatedly recognizing that they are also leaving behind many students who are in class, but who too need to learn differently from the uniform approach that they’ve adopted. This stems from their lack of diversity in how these traditional systems see ‘learning’.
The core idea is to provide a scalable and credible alternative to address a growing need in society to work with and empower children with disabilities. Lack of inclusion in traditional learning systems, stemming from their lack of diversity in how these systems see ‘learning’ is particularly detrimental to those with learning disabilities, whose needs are often perceived to be therapeutic rather than for learning itself, albeit differently from other children.
My work with children stems from the belief that ALL children and young adults, regardless of disabilities, should have access to inclusive learning environments.
The Arts have an important role to play in achieving this.
Train the Trainers
Training educators is crucial to ensuring that diverse learning needs are met. The focus is on compassionate teaching and creating environments that foster happy learners. Teachers play a vital role in crafting such spaces, and there is a need for both capacity building and a focus on self-care for educators. I believe that each child requires meaningful and holistic learning spaces co-created by all those who engage with them—spaces that allow for expression, compassion, empathy, reflection, joy, and meaning in the course of learning and growth.
A teacher becomes a facilitator by understanding their own self before embarking on the journey of scaffolding another’s learning. From knowing oneself stems knowing the learner and helping the learner know themselves. My Creative Dialogue Circles are gatherings in which all participants sit in a circle facing each other to facilitate open, direct communication. These circles provide a safe, supportive space where all members of a school community can talk about sensitive topics, work through differences, and build consensus.
Aside from that, the capacity building workshops and trainings with educators emphasize learning facilitation and re-imagining classrooms by infusing existing learning protocols with artistic interventions. The intent of these trainings is to integrate the arts into teaching methodologies and compassionate learning environments within classroom and institutional settings.
In building this ecosystem of learning, I have worked with inclusive schools, mainstream schools and learning centres across India and beyond.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
My work with Diversity, Equity and Inclusion has been centred around curating and facilitating experiential workshops and trainings in corporates, ensuring a space to build the ethos of an organization to be sensitive to the diversity within.
Through Snehadhara’s Creative Connections programme, partnerships have been established with influential entities aiming to foster sensitivity towards individuals with diverse needs and promote an inclusive culture. The sessions that I have curated are meticulously crafted to address the dynamic needs of the corporates seeking to enhance their organizational culture and social impact.
I have curated workshops with corporates on themes like Gender Sensitization, Neurodiversity, Cultural Competency, Inclusive Communication, Unconscious Biases and more. These workshops and long-term trainings have been successful in creating impact and a shift in perspective for corporate leaders and employees in organizations like Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), USAID, US Embassy, amongst other.
I also curate and facilitate leadership trainings, team building and employee engagements based on the needs of the corporates.
