Tag: Youngistaan Foundation

Menstrual Hygiene Day 2021 Celebrations
Health, News

Menstrual Hygiene Day 2021 Celebrations…

May 31, 2021 by Rekha Nair 0 Comments #Menstrual Hygiene Day, #Youngistaan Foundation

In observance of Menstrual Hygiene Day, which is observed worldwide, Youngistaan Foundation’s Gender Program hosted a virtual session to educate young men and women about periods, myths and taboos, to discuss the Action and Investment in Menstrual Hygiene and Health. The session brought together close to 300 participants on Zoom while the event was streamed live reaching over 20,000 participants through the foundation’s social media platforms.

S.N. Nalli, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) in Institutions Specialist, UNICEF Hyderabad Field Office for Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana, Dr. P. Manikanta, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) in Institution Consultant UNICEF Hyderabad Field Office for Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana, Dr Manjula Anagani, Padmashree Awardee, Gynecologist, Obst, Lap Surgeon, TED X Speaker, Maya Vishwakarma, Founder and President, Sukarma Foundation and Arun Daniel Yellamaty, Founder & CEO, Youngistaan Foundation.

The event started with live music by Anusha Mondol. Speaking on the scenario on how menstruation is perceived across the world, S. R. Nalli of UNICEF India spoke to the participants about the initial changes that boys and girls go through at puberty, and asked people to notice the differences. “Around age twelve, boys and girls start to change. But while boys are proud to start showing off their moustaches, girls shy away and have rules, restrictions and prohibitions placed upon them.”

Much alarm and concern has been expressed at how the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting menstrual health and Dr. Manikanta took the participants through the various ways that the pandemic is changing menstrual health followed up by the practical steps that individuals, hospitals, stores, organizations, etc. can adopt to mitigate the effects of COVID-19 upon menstrual health. His 5-step action plan included: access to information, access to sanitary hygiene products, access to facilities and services, assessment of the situation and special interventions, and special attention for girls and women with disabilities.

A robust question-and-answer session with Dr. Manjula Anagani addressed questions from the mostly young participants about the pros and cons of different menstrual products and the environmental impact of each of these upon menstrual health. “Normalizing menstruation is the first step to addressing menstrual hygiene” was the common thread in the answers Dr. Manjula Anagani provided on the questions that ranged from premature menopause to the changes that women’s menstrual cycles undergo post-COVID-recovery.

After a series of Q&A, Shruthika Chowdary, slam poet, reinstated the objectives of the event by performing a piece on shattering myths and taboos surrounding periods. Maya Vishwakarma described her inspiring journey from her village in Madhya Pradesh to the United States where she noticed the stark differences between the approaches of young women to menstruation and the availability of menstrual products. On her own, Maya Vishwakarma decided to break the taboo on menstruation through her organization which focuses on providing education, access to free sanitation material, eradicating taboos and reducing period poverty.

Youngistaan Foundation’s founder Arun Daniel Yellamaty closed the session by talking about his personal experience as a child during a time when menstruation was not discussed in schools, and compared this experience with schools nowadays that have begun to encourage children to discuss and ask questions about menstruation. He encouraged more boys and men to educate themselves about menstruation and address their curiosity about menstruation by asking questions to elders and/or teachers.

Sharing the learnings of the event, Kandula GeethaSri, a college student said “I have learnt a lot from today’s session. Most importantly to stay healthy, use a menstruation cup, follow a good diet and exercise to stay fit”. Vimal, a story-teller who attended the event said “The event was very nicely organised and provided valuable information. After listening to the topic of sustainable menstruation, I am inspired to give menstrual cups as a gift to women in my life.

Group Pic
Business World

Youngistaan Foundation hosts masterclass on ‘Leadership for young women’

Mar 15, 2021 by Neel Achary 0 Comments #Masterclass on Leadership, #Youngistaan Foundation

Hyderabad, 15th March, 2021: Observing the theme of International Women’s Day ‘Women in Leadership’, Youngistaan Foundation’s Gender Program organised the ‘Masterclass on Leadership’ to orient young women on leadership roles. The session was facilitated by Shrikant Sinha the CEO of Telangana Academy of Skill and Knowledge (TASK) and Shruti Gaddam of TASK, and featured senior women leaders Anjali Bhole Desai, Senior HR and OD Advisor and Manisha Saboo, AVP and Development Centre Head of Infosys Hyderabad SEZ (Pocharam) who addressed the 300+ young female audience on topics around leadership.

The two-hour webinar covered the essential skills that young women need to be equipped with to become effective future leaders. The webinar also took the 300+ participants through important lessons that are required to understand leadership and make good decisions to become good future leaders.

The major topics addressed included: good leadership practices to incorporate, the importance of leadership thinking, the different types of leaders and self-development for leadership. A common theme throughout the webinar centered on the focus a young person should have in order to manage their work and achieve the best results possible.

The event was live-streamed on all Youngistaan Foundation social media platforms including YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and Zoom.

Addressing the topic ‘How to Be Your Own Leader’ Mrs Anjali Bhole Desai, Senior HR and OD Advisor shared that “self-reflection is one of the most underused and powerful tools for success. It provides us with continual feedback which is very important in helping us become good leaders.” She also encouraged young women to create a simple to-do-list to tackle the problem of having too little time.

Manisha Saboo, AVP and Development Centre Head of Infosys, Hyderabad SEZ (Pocharam) engaged the audience by asking them the difference between a manager and a leader, and debriefed the concept of ‘Leadership in Today’s World, What Does it Take to Become a Leader’. She encouraged everyone to dream big in life. If their dreams are not scary enough, they are not worth it.

Shrikanth Sinha, CEO of TASK insightfully shared that “when you train a woman, you’re training an entire generation”. He went on to share that “whatever resources a person has, it is important to understand and utilise it well; this is the first quality of being a leader. Women, of course, are the most resourceful people in any organization”. He outlined 6 important leadership principles to follow:

1)      Be true to yourself

2)      Be true to your purpose

3)      Be self-driven

4)      No shortcuts to hard-work or smart-work

5)      Be focused

6)      Be aware of the dos and don’ts that you would like to follow

“Focus on a career, not merely a job” was Shrikant Sinha’s advice to young people asking questions about their future career paths.

Appreciating the time and effort of each of the speakers, partners and participants, Mr. Arun Daniel Yellamaty, the founder of Youngistaan Foundation said “People don’t know how much you know until they know how much you care. Become a leader who is the hardest working person in the room, who treats everyone with a touch of kindness, care and identifies the strengths of each and every one in the organization.”

The session was interactive and each of the speakers spent ample time taking questions from the young female participants on their specific topics. This Q&A session gave the young participants the opportunity to speak directly with accomplished and experienced women leaders about education, career and leadership skills and significantly, made important mentor connections with each of the speakers.

Soumya, a student pursuing her Masters in gender studies and an attendee said “This is a one-of-a-kind session and I have not attended these kinds before. I learnt the fact that in order to be a great leader one can only start it small because leadership is a continuous process and not a one time achievement”. Dheera, a student of a government degree college said  “Today’s Master class on leadership was the most apt and needed session for me as well as the other young students. The speakers and their respective approaches to leadership have widened the understanding of me and my goals. The smog around ‘me’ has cleared a bit, making me more self aware. This has been a very fruitful experience”.

In observance of International Women’s Day, Youngistaan Foundation is hosting a month-long campaign to Enable, Orient, Sustain young women in leadership roles. The 4-part webinar series is hosted in partnership with Indian School of Business, Telangana State Police, Women’s Safety Wing and Telangana Academy of Skill and Knowledge (TASK).

The first webinar was a panel discussion hosted on the topic ‘Women in Leadership roles’. Renowned women leaders such as Sumathi Badugula, IPS, DIG, Women Safety Wing, CID, Telangana State Police, Upasana Kamineni Konidela, Founder of URLife, Managing Director – Family Health Plan Insurance TPA Ltd, Vice Chairperson CSR – Apollo Hospitals Group, Supriya Yarlagadda, Executive Director at Annapurna Studios, Akhila Yadav, Sarpanch of Madanapuram village in Nalgonda district in Telangana, Kausamb Manjitha, CEO of Kubric were part of the panel to enable 700+ young women to become future leaders.

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Youngistaan Foundation is an NGO based in India that works to improve the lives of the most underprivileged and disadvantaged people through programs that address: homelessness, poverty, education inequity, gender inequality, taboos on menstruation, emergency responses, animal rights and other issues.

Registered in 2014, Youngistaan Foundation provides a platform for 50,000+ young people to connect with other socially aware individuals and effect real change in our neighbourhoods and communities through our programs as volunteers.

Reframing Gender in Indian Cinema & Media
News

A Virtual Event on Reframing Gender in Indian Cinema & Media

Dec 13, 2020 by Neel Achary 0 Comments #Generation Equality 2020, #UN Women InternationalDay of Elimination of Violence against women, #Youngistaan Foundation

Hyderabad: Observing the UN Women InternationalDay of Elimination of Violence against women, Youngistaan Foundation’s Genderprogram organised a virtual event – ‘Generation Equality 2020’ on Saturday to tackle the misrepresentations of gender in media and cinema on Zoom, live-streamed on Facebook, Twitter and Youtube.
The event had five panellists from different domains of art and media forms namely Satchit Puranik, Pritham Chakravarthy, Harish Iyer, SowjanyaTamalapakulu, and Dhanya Rajendran in addition to Live music performed by Hannah Samuel.

The event started with soothing music to set the tone for the evening. Followed by which, Satchit Puranik briefly explained the terms ‘Gender, Art, Activism’ and highlighted that In 107 years of Indian Cinema, one has seen multiple shades and glimpses of masculinity which probably did not get the kind of attention it deserved. Maybe because the toxic ones made more business sense. He added, “The future of a community is the future of expression and responding to the times we are living in. So as youngsters, you are going to form a society.”

In continuation to the topic of Representation of Gender in cinema, Pritham Chakravarthy emphasised “We need to change the mode of storytelling where we are so hero-bummed. We should start referring to the characters as Protagonist and not a Hero / a Heroine then the society will automatically take the Gender out of it”. She also said that now is the time we actually learn to boycott watching such movies because ultimately the button is in your hand and you don’t have to go to a theatre.

Apart from Women, we have also witnessed the misrepresentation of the LGBTQI+ community in the Films. Harish Iyer shed light on how incredibly it is important to see Representation of all kinds of Gender in Indian Cinema. He further quoted “I believe that Cinema can inspire, influence, and it is a very powerful medium. That’s why it shocks and upsets me to see such a beautiful tool being misused. I am not saying makeQueer character as saviours / kind-hearted souls all the time but show queer people in all shades of queerness.”

In continuation with the talk on Gender and Sexuality in Cinema, Sowjanya Tamalapakulu underlined the importance of observing it through the lens of Caste. She questioned “Why cannot we discuss lesbian sexuality by using the characters from a lower-caste community? Why does theRepresentation of Sexuality always exclude the caste? Does that mean that certain caste people do not have sexuality? She concluded her speech by addressing her questions and on how violence against women and caste go hand in hand.

Besides Cinema, Mainstream and Digital Media also plays a huge role in representing women’s issues. Responding to the same topic, Dhanya Rajendran added “For many years, media has covered women’s issues in a completely patriarchal way. Nobody questioned the kind of language that was used to represent a woman. But at the same time, we don’t write about all kinds of women. If we are writing about women’s issues, we need to write about women from different caste and class.” She added, “We have to constantly learn, unlearn and keep telling ourselves to not be biased and be more inclusive of women’s representation in the news coverage”.

The session completed with a panel discussion and a set of questions posed by the audience. They thoroughly enjoyed the panellists discussing such vital topics.

Sharing about what they’ve learnt from the event, Dheera a student pursuing her Bachelor’s said ” I liked this week’s webinar as it opened up topics which were rarely heard of or even spoken about. The chronology of films and its representation given by Harish Iyer was very intriguing as it also showed the work and representation that needs to be done in the upcoming years of the film industry”. Jyothi, an active participant and a software employee said “This session was power-packed by eminent speakers on the panel. It was very delightful to listen to them. Personally, Pritham’s word on the limitation of roles for women was an eye-opener for me. All the panellists were wonderful and huge learning to takeback home”.

Concluding the session and the 16days of activism period, Arun Daniel Yellamaty, Founder of YoungistaanFoundation said, “You as an audience play a bigger role. So kindly be a responsible reader, and viewer. Let’s be vigilant and watchful of news that we consume, and let’s stand up for things that are vital”. He later thanked each and every volunteer for making this campaign a success.

Over 80+ participants attended the virtual event while more than 3,000 people watched it on social media platforms. This event was hosted in partnership with Lamakaan, BreakthroughIndia, and The Jimme Foundation.

Breast Cancer 1
Health

A Virtual Event to create awareness on Breast Cancer

Nov 2, 2020 by Gouri Achary 0 Comments #American Oncology Institute, #Breast Cancer, #Dr Pragnya Chigurupati, #Mr Arun Daniel Yellamaty, #Mrs Neeti Sharma, #Mrs Rinky Sharma, #Youngistaan Foundation

Observing the breast cancer awareness month, Youngistaan Foundation’s, Women of Courage -Gender program has organised a virtual event called ‘Hope| Fight| Cure’ on 1st November 2020, to create awareness on the importance of early detection, and prevention in order to reduce the fatality rate of women due to Breast Cancer.

The event had a significant talk by Dr Pragnya Chigurupati, an oncologist surgeon from American Oncology Institute; a testimony by a Breast Cancer Survivor, and alive music performance Rinky Sharma, followed by questions and answers.

During the insightful session, Dr Pragnya has shed light on severe breast issues that occur in women, the importance of early detection can avoid the removal of the complete breast and possible strategies to prevent cancer. She talked about the survival rates across the globe are increasing but in India, it is decreasing due to lack of awareness on early detection. She also quoted that people at age 40 are at high risk of breast cancers.

Apart from getting a mammography test and clinical breast examination, one has to self-examination themselves from a much younger age. She said, “In order to prevent, one has to exercise for 3 hours a day, alter their lifestyle by quitting smoking, alcohol, eating healthy and managing stress to modify the risk factors”. Apart from this, She spoke on most common myths and misconceptions and cleared during the Q&A session.

Speaking on the severity of breast cancer and its symptoms, Mrs Neeti Sharma, a breast cancer survivor said, “I was 31, relatively at a younger age when I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer. Neither any of my family members had breast cancer nor did I have High-Risk factors. But still, I was diagnosed. I was so naive and helpless for the first 2 months but later, I was able to fight it due to early detection.  Just believe in yourself and have strong faith that you would come out and fight as a winner.

Last of all, the founder of Youngistaan Foundation, Mr Arun Daniel Yellamaty said, “I  insist people, especially those above 25 years of age to be vigilant about their health and consult a doctor in case of any confusion. More number of people should voice out concerns on issues like these that have been ignored for decades”. Later, he expressed special thanks to the guests and partners of the event.

Soon after, a prominent name in the music fraternity, Mrs Rinky Sharma had intact the attention of all the participants while she was singing a few songs from her own album. The participants joined from different backgrounds such as Government Sakhicentres, youngsters from various colleges, women from corporate organizations, homemakers and many others. The event was conducted along with Cyberabad Security Council and Rachakonda Security Council.

You can watch the live recording of the event on the Facebook page of Youngistaan Foundation.