Developing a Dauntless Digital India!

2016 - A year which will definitely be an indelible chapter of the global history book. What have we not witnessed! The awaited end of conflict in Colombia, a humanitarian disaster in Aleppo, the Brexit Referendum, or the momentous Presidential Election of the United States; we have been a part of a tumultuous chaos which brought peace, disappointment and sorrow in various dimensions. But on November 8, 2016, when the entire world was anticipating a Western country’s political fate, our own nation was caught off guard when Prime Minister Modi declared the initiation of demonetization. 

The onset of this sudden cash crunch in the economy led to a heated debate. But we are not here to demonize or celebrate the topic of demonetization. Our main goal is to divert the focus towards the unavoidable start of digitization because of this particular economic policy. 

India is not a cashless economy, and the arrival of the demonetization left the common citizen ambling with doubts. People were frantically looking for change, standing outside ATM lines for hours, swarming inside the banks. The current scenario of Indian Market clearly projects that the consumers prefer cash payments over digital transactions. As online banking and its monetary dealings is an emerging medium, citizens are skeptical or rather unaware about its utilization. 

A regular vegetable market or a family run grocery shop or a small time refreshment stall hardly renders the services of a card swiping machine or online money transfer. Their owners are simple people with an uncomplicated business strategy. Some of them don’t even have access to bank accounts, because maintaining personal savings by oneself wasn’t an issue until demonetization struck.

The National Institution for Transforming India, i.e. the NITI Aayog along with the NPCI (National Payments Corporation of India) launched a number of schemes to incentivize the use of electronic payments. But the major concern lies in the uncertainty of the consumer to experiment with digitization. So is giving away prizes an effective method for motivation? 

The basic way to tackle with the oblivious approach of the consumers towards online transactions is computer literacy. And we have to start now, with the students of our country. According to a report in 2012 computer literacy in India is less than 7%, and the internet penetration rate stands at about 19% as per the FICCI-KPMG 2015 Report. But does an increase in the participation indicate that all users of the internet  are knowledgeable about its responsible use? Most of the users of the Internet have been able to connect and explore the virtual world because of the widespread availability of smart phones. 

So why is digital literacy so important?

Apart from the obvious fact that computer education is a practical addition of skills in our profile, it promotes the appropriate exploitation of virtual resources. The penetration of internet might be amplifying, but does it guarantee its best use? We have to keep in mind that by adopting computer education in schools we create a window for discussion and doubts. The learners will have countless misconceptions about the Internet. Through an educator’s direction they can discover the causes and the consequences of virtual violations. 

Post demonetization many people are perplexed at the thought of using online payment methods. In such situation, children can educate their parents about safe surfing so that they can discern between the dishonest and the authentic monetary communication. 

And we at The Colorss Foundation have been doing our bit towards the promotion of computer literacy through our endeavor Project Uttejana since 2014. Enhancing the computer proficiency of students from Class 7 to Class 12, our aim is to educate and inform kids belonging to the underprivileged background about the virtual world of communication. And to make it more effective we have coupled our primary goal of computer literacy with Life Skills Sessions helping learners become confident and, accountable in terms of thoughts and actions. 

We believe that change is hard but if we look at a crisis as an opportunity we generate possibilities not just for us but for the people around us. And we want to help create an India which harbors resilience and innovation when times get rough. 

If you’re interested to join or enquire please mail us at contact@colorss.org

To know more about Colorss Foundation and our initiatives log on to http://colorss.org/

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Tejal Pednekar

Mission 1000 is 2016 finalist at Project Inspire

Mission 1000 is 2016 finalist at Project Inspire the multi-award-winning initiative presents 18-35-year-olds worldwide with an opportunity to win a US$25,000 grant to assist an existing organisation which supports women and girls in Asia-Pacific, the Middle East or Africa.

Project Inspire: 5 Minutes to Change the World is a joint initiative from the Singapore Committee for UN Women and MasterCard, to help young change-makers create a better world for women and girls in Asia and the Pacific.

Launched in 2011, to mark the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day and the 25th anniversary of MasterCard Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa, Project Inspire presents 18-35 year olds with a five-minute platform to pitch their inspired idea, for the chance to win a US$25,000 grant. Today, Project Inspire is a multi-award winning initiative, and one of the most high profile CSR programs in the Asia Pacific region.

Project Inspire 2016 will take on the theme of ‘Empowering Women Through Safety and Security’. Applicants will be asked to demonstrate how their ideas harness safety and security concepts to empower women throughout Asia and the Pacific.

Mission 1000 is 2016 Finalist at Project Inspire. Our project is among the 10 top problem solvers.

Established in 2014, Mission 1000 is a project that empowers women by aiming to teach self-defense skills to 1000 young girls, at no cost to them, every financial year. We are now holding workshops, which are led by the founder Anand Koti. Every workshop is now able to teach 50 young girls. Koti, who has a 2 black dan belt in Karate and a green belt in Kobudo, trains these girls to kick, punch and block assaults from sexual attackers. He also teaches them to meditate and how to develop a calmer and more focused disposition.

Learning self-defense skills at a young age gives these girls the confidence they need to interact in India’s society at a later age. Self-defense skills will open up avenues of self-development by providing India’s women with a safety net to make crucial life decisions.

Equipped with the knowledge to protect themselves, young girls will be more likely to consider studying independently in India’s cities or to set up a business that requires them to venture beyond their comfort zone. Girls that have attended these workshops immediately demonstrate greater self-confidence and have also been found to spread this knowledge to their own female network of family and friends. By teaching a young girl how to defend herself, Mission 1000 will be protecting her larger female network.

By equipping each child with self-defense skills, Mission 1000 hopes to tackle the sexual abuse, which include harassment, assault and rape, against women in India. As Mission 1000 believes in providing free-of-charge self-defense workshops, this programme largely relies on donated funds. 

Mission 1000 is focusing its efforts on Mahadji Shinde High School in Pune, where almost 300 girls have learnt self-defense skills. These Mission 1000 workshops target batches of 50-60 female students from the 8^th to 11^th grade. Taught by the founder of Colorss Foundation himself, Anand Koti, the students have been learning several skills on how to punch, kick and block assaults. Each child has also left each session with a boost in her stamina, self-esteem and confidence. 

Mission 1000 makes a difference to the lives of these young women. Those who have completed the Mission 1000 workshops express gratitude in learning self-defense. Some have even taught these skills to their own family members. The daily fear of being harassed is now a thing of the past for many of these young women, who are now more confident in interacting with society. 

Please help us protect these young women by helping us sustain these Mission 1000 workshops. Be part of the Mission 1000 movement by reaching out to us at emailcolorss@gmail.com or visit our website to give securely at http://colorss.org/donate/. 

By Asyura Salleh