THE GLOBAL TIPPING POINT SUMMIT
GTPS Speakers - Day 2
20th February 2022
Session 1 – Education through Nature
Bittu Sahgal
Bittu Sahgal is the Founder of the Sanctuary Nature Foundation, Editor of Sanctuary Asia, India’s first and largest circulating wildlife and ecology magazine (1981) and Founder-Editor of Sanctuary Cub (1984), India’s oldest and only wildlife magazine for children.
He was closely involved with Project Tiger since its inception in the 1970s, and has spent over four decades writing about and calling attention to conservation issues in books, magazines and newspapers in both English and regional languages.
He has also produced 30 wildlife documentaries and has led national and international environmental campaigns across media platforms, including social media. He created Kids for Tigers, a conservation programme for school children that has reached over a million children and has been run successfully for almost two decades.
Bittu has served on a range of government and nongovernment organisation boards and committees over the last 30 years, including the National Board for Wildlife (Government of India), the IUCN (World Conservation Union), The Wild Foundation (U.S.A) and the Expert Appraisal Committee for Infrastructure, Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India.
He works with policymakers, social workers, economists and scientists at the tri-junction of biodiversity, climate change and economics, speaking at national and international platforms in support of wilderness conservation while continuing to spearhead the work of the Sanctuary Nature Foundation.
Preeti Takle
As an individual, I have been privileged to have grown up in Mumbai yet surrounded by nature. I spent long hours watching birds, earthworms, snakes, jackals, and a variety of wildlife as I there weren’t too many human companions where I lived. Hiking and trekking were an extension of my need to explore my surroundings and as I grew up, trekking the Sahyadri was a weekend activity never to be missed. As a teacher, I enjoyed introducing children to nature by conducting classes outdoors, seizing the moment to teach about what they were observing and basically trying to use nature as a resource to teach elements of the curriculum. The process of observation, analysis, drawing inferences and arriving at conclusions was thoroughly enjoyed by my kids.
Working with Kids for Tigers opened a window for me, and I realized how important it is for us urbanites to maintain our connection with nature. This began my tryst with gardening. The immense pleasure of growing and consuming your own food cannot be described in words. I now also share what I learnt through trial and error with kids, families, and friends. The added benefit of gardening was the arrival of butterflies to my garden as well as birds and bees. For me it couldn’t get better. To sum up, I am in an ongoing, never-ending relationship with nature as an avid trekker, no longer limiting myself to the Sahyadri but now exploring the Himalayas, and a dedicated urban farmer.
In the past, I have been a Preschool Coordinator at St. Gregorios High School, headed the Nature Club activities, taught Environmental Science to classes 9-12 and been an examiner at the board level for class 10 and 12. Currently, at the Lodha Institute of Teacher Education, I train fresh candidates as preschool teachers, conduct need-based workshops for preschool teachers at Lodha World School and adapt the current ICSE, CBSE and SSC curriculum to create a common curriculum for the Lodha World Schools.
Dr. Mazda K. Turel
Dr. Mazda K. Turel completed his degree in medicine (MBBS) from Grant Medical College and Sir JJ groups of Hospitals in Mumbai, and went on to pursue a MCh degree in Neurosurgery from the prestigious Christian Medical College in Vellore, India. He was awarded the Jacob Chandy Gold Medal at his graduation; a distinction that has only been conferred previously to 4 other recipients since it’s institution, 35 years ago. His prolific clinical research has garnered several academic accolades both nationally and internationally and has resulted in over 80 publications in esteemed scientific journals.
After completing his residency he visited several departments of neurosurgery across the world and earned a Diploma in Minimally Invasive Neurosurgery from Beijing, China. He then went onto complete a fellowship in Skullbase surgery and neurooncology at the illustrious Toronto Western Hospital and another fellowship in minimally invasive and complex spine surgery at the Rush University in Chicago after which he crossed continents to travel to Shanghai to specialize in cerebrovascular surgery, with an emphasis on arterial bypasses in the brain.
He is currently practicing as a Neurosurgeon at the prestigious Wockhardt Hospitals, South Mumbai, as well as Assistant Honorary Professor at his almamater, Grant medical College and Sir JJ group of hospitals. Dr. Turel is a general practice neurosurgeon who specializes in the treatment of diseases of the brain and spine andadvocates an approach to neurosurgery that is both balanced and aggressive. His practice style is collaborative, and he strongly believes that incorporation of patients, their families, and the medical staff as members of his team offers patients the best possible outcome and satisfaction.
Tallulah D'Silva
Tallulah is an architect, writer and educator. She has been engaging with children and students in schools and colleges in outdoor learning sessions for more than a decade.
Tallulah currently runs a couple of programmes for children who have no access to online classes. The backyard class and the community classroom is where children get a chance to engage with nature, everyday.
Vijaya Chakravarty
Grandmother, organic gardener, writer and a storyteller, Vijaya is passionate about garden-based learning and equipping children / young adults with the ‘know how’ to utilise the flora for the well being of people and their surroundings.
Vijaya started her career as a lecturer in St. Xavier’s college. Then her passion for plants became her profession. She is associated with Aarambh, National Society of the Friends of Trees [FOT] and Indian Women scientists’ association [IWSA], Heritage India, working in the fields of education, conservation, science and culture
Vijaya has designed and developed pollinator gardens, natural play spaces for children, biodiversity landscapes, therapeutic places for the differently-abled, recreational areas for seniors, sensory gardens, learning gardens etc.. She is currently working on developing a ‘Learning Garden Living Museum’ where the natural and built environment will promote holistic education. She conducts workshops in schools and colleges on topics related to sustainable gardening in small spaces.
Session 2 – Education through the Arts
Jalpa H Vithalani
Cosmic Heart Gallery, founded in 2012, it is a translation of her love for all things artistic. Carved into the thriving heart of South Mumbai, the Gallery, since inception has been a space that welcomes connoisseurs as well as novices seeking to indulge in the tasteful and the aesthetic.
Cosmic Heart Gallery brings together the artists’ expression, thoughtful curation and most of all a reverence for creativity to result in exquisite art and unique experiences for its patrons. With over 200 events and exhibitions, the space prides itself in showcasing the works of the new, the upcoming and the veterans in a vast range of art forms like music, film, art and photography. As Founder and Head Curator, Jalpa is completely in tune with her creative sensibilities and taps into them to create exhibitions that are relatable, comforting and transportive. She finds that versatility, unheard-of techniques and sensory stimulation come together to ignite the art-lover in every person.
Each exhibition is an all-immersive experience that feeds her belief in a world without borders. The Gallery has partnered with several organizations on the exchange of art and culture; which it considers the foundation of peaceful co-existence.
Cosmic Heart Gallery was one of the 16 international galleries invited to showcase their work at Art Bahrain Across Borders 2019, held under the patronage of Her Royal Highness, Princess Sabeeka Al Khalifa.
Jalpa is also a farmer and was one of the first ones to bring greenhouse technology into India. She is the Vice President of Western India Floriculture Association.
Jalpa is actively involved with BPW (Business & Professional Women) International, the largest organization in the world, empowering women since 1930 and present in 100 countries. Jalpa has been appointed as a member of the Arts and Culture Standing Committee by BPW International which is working on projects worldwide.
Jalpa is State Director for the NGO Humans for Humanity and works actively on causes related to women and young girls.
She is involved with freight forwarding and logistics business and Director On-board Global Aviation Services Pvt. Ltd. & JTB Jupiter Express Services Pvt. Ltd both of which are PAN India Market leaders.
She is one of first and handful Reconnective Healing Foundational Practitioners in India which is proven by science to restructure DNA.
Jalpa was recently recognized with the Women Empowerment Principles Leadership Award by AsiaOne 2020-21, CNBCTV18 & United Nations Development Corporation (UNDP).
Jalpa has recently been awarded Jana Seva Puraskar Award by Shri Ram Niwas Goel, Speaker, New Delhi Assembly (Vidhan Sabha).
Meera Bhalla
Meera Bhalla is a qualified educator with over 30 years of experience in teaching primary and middle school classes at established educational institutions and eleven years in administration (grades kindergarten to grade 3). She is passionate about child-centered education and is a firm believer in the curiosity of the learner and their inherent ability to express.
Meera says: “I started first as a teacher and then moved on to teaching and administration with an exposure to the Indian and the International curricula. I started my teaching career in a Montessori School, where I taught for eight years. I then taught an integrated curriculum in an international school (Dhirubhai Ambani International School, Mumbai) for over eight years where I was involved in designing as well as implementing the programme. For the past several years I have been the Lower Division Coordinator at an IBPYP school (Singapore International School), looking after classes K to 3 where besides teaching and coordinating the implementation of the programme, I have been a leader, guide and mentor to a team of teachers. These years have witnessed a surge in my professional development in the form of workshops, online training and collaboration.
For over nine years I have been involved in mentoring teachers and motivating them in using the Reggio Emilia Approach in the classroom and in helping my school get the IBPYP authorisation. During this process not only have I attended different workshops, collecting resources along the way but have been involved in conducting some as well.
I have concurrently been handling the organizational work of an educational foundation (Reggio Emilia India Foundation (REIF) as programme director for the last seven years where creating professional development modules for beginners and practicing professionals, has been a focus.
In the last 4 years I have efficiently managed and organized the CAS (Creativity Activity Service) Programme and the Round Square membership at the school besides spearheading and managing events. I have been teaching and coordinating online since March 2020.
Dr. Bindu Chowdhary
With a Ph.D. in International Politics, Bindu has been In the field of education since 1979. She started as a lecturer then went on to become a Principal of a college in Mumbai in 2004.
Along with a group of like-minded people, Bindu initiated the first Waldorf School in Mumbai in the year 2000 and then a second one in 2011. Currently, she is one of the Directors of Inodai Waldorf School, Mumbai and Co-ordinator of Centre for Steiner Education & Teacher Training (CSETT) which was established in the year 2010. For over 22 years Bindu has been deeply involved with Waldorf Education.
Chetna Mehrotra
Chetna is the founder of an Applied Theatre Social Arts organization named ‘Rangbhumi: A Happy Playground’ which works with children, youth and educators in schools, NGOs and open spaces of learning across all socio-economic backgrounds to create spaces of joy and learning through participatory and immersive forms of Applied Theatre.
She is an Applied Theatre practitioner, a Drama-Based Learning facilitator, a TO (Theatre of Oppressed) practitioner, Playback Theatre practitioner, and a Movement practitioner.
Chetna is a Board member of International Playback Theatre Network (IPTN) and Pedagogy and Theatre of the Oppressed (PTO) – Board member, Women Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (Education – Maharashtra, India), and an Advisory Committee member India Drama and Arts Educators Alliance.
She has trained participants across borders and her work has been published in the ‘Pedagogy and Theatre of the Oppressed’ journal. Chetna is on the review panel of RiDE – Research in Drama Education (The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance).
She has initiated, designed and developed India’s first Applied Theatre Social Arts course in collaboration with ImaginAction ( California).
Chetna has also pioneered her initiative of Theatre-in-Education by way of teaching the English Literature curriculum in schools through Applied Theatre.
Session 3 – Education through Sports
URJA SHAH
Urja Shah is the President of Setco Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Setco Group of companies. The Setco Foundation implements the Setco Group’s corporate social responsibility initiatives.
Under Urja’s leadership, the Setco Foundation is today recognized as one of the key innovators in the field of integrated community development addressing health, early childhood development and women’s empowerment in a holistic way. From 150 preschoolers and three anganwadis in 2009, the Setco Foundation today runs seven integrated programs across 22 communities and 18 anganwadis, serving 6000 beneficiaries annually, including 2000 children, 3000 adults and 1000 adolescents. Overtime the Foundation has helped reduce the incidence of malnutrition from 70% to less than 15% as opposed to the rest of the state where malnutrition remains at 52%.
In 2019, the Setco Foundation received the Special Jury Award for Malnutrition Eradication by the Vice-President of India, M. Venkaiah Naidu. Recently the foundation’s work in innovation in early childhood development in low-resource communities was featured at the International Developmental Pediatrics Association Congress 2021. Additionally, the Foundation also received “The Best Corporate Foundations” award on World CSR Day by the World CSR Congress in 2017. The Setco Foundation’s work has also been featured in a book “Small but Beautiful” on meaningful and innovative social change, published by the Ministry of Industries, Gujarat.
Urja serves on the Board of the Trustees of the American School of Bombay since 2017. She also continues to serve on the Board of Advisors for GSFC University, Vadodara. She developed a partnership between the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and the Setco Foundation to enable the application of socially-engaged design thinking to field programs, as well as carry back learnings from the communities into academia. She was recently invited as the guest faculty at the Institute of Rural Management (IRMA) Anand to deliver a seminar on “Innovation” for Fellows of the Management Development Program.
Urja holds an M.A. in Environmental Economics and Policy from Duke University, Nicholas School of Environment, along with a Certificate in International Development Policy from Duke University, The Sanford Institute of Public Policy (Year 2000). She also holds B.S.in Environmental Science, Toxicology and Chemistry, summa cum laude, from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst (Year 1998).
Additionally, Urja also holds an AAS in Fashion & Design from the Parsons School of Design, New School University, New York, NY. While not actively pursuing a career in design, Urja is passionate about arts and artisanal heritage. She serves as a technical advisor to the design collaborative “Expressions in Thread” which creates art and tapestries using traditional artisanal embroidery techniques. The studio seeks to create art through ensuring the artisans are challenged to grow, innovate, retain pride in their heritage art forms, all the while being assured of steady, fair and supportive compensation.
Urja lives in Mumbai, India with her husband, Harshal Shah, and their son, Hrehan. Together they enjoy yoga, judo, designing, traveling, hiking, garba, watching movies, music and spending time as a family.
Nupur Dhingra Paiva
Children have a sense of pride in being able to make their bodies do something – walk, jump, climb, run, catch – seemingly small achievements which add up to build confidence. And confidence is transferable from field to classroom to friendships.
It is not so much what you say to your children but what you do with them that will remain with them as deep impressions. Unfortunately, our schools and sadly us, as parents, under pressure from it all, spend a lot of time focussing on children’s heads and less in the confidence that can come from using the rest of the body – whether to dance, run or play.
Having worked with children and families as a clinical psychologist for over a decade and having been retrained, to some extent, by our own two daughters, I have a privileged view into the working of children’s minds and other capacities. The theme throughout my professional work has been on helping parents to understand their children’s verbal and non-verbal communications in order to strengthen their bond.
I bring this relational focus to The Art of Sport with an emphasis on fathers and daughters, team and coach and the bond that team members make with each other.
RICHARD PAIVA
I believe that sport, if taught with proper guidance and technique, moulds a person’s character in a positive way and is the source of many positive values in life. I have played sport at competitive levels, with a particular passion for football. I owe much to my football coach who, when I was nine years old not only noticed my potential to play the game well, but also instilled in me the technical knowledge to improve constantly.
It is this drive to learn the sport in a manner that is technically correct as well as enjoyable that has inspired us to start The Art of Sport.
The discipline I cultivated on the field also carried over to my learning about the importance of good eating habits, in order to excel at any sport. It is this discipline, as well, we intend to instill in our girls at The Art of Sport.
I can confidently tell all parents that their daughters, whatever their current level of interest in sport, will not only learn and enjoy what we offer in a professional and safe environment, but will also grow to realise their potential, on and off the field.
Session 4 – Digital Pedagogy and Gamification
Deepa Soman
A people collector and connector, Deepa is an Economics major from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai, with a degree in Business Management from S.P. Jain Institute of Management & Research, Deepa founded Lumiere in 1996 to enable women professionals to get back to work. Deepa’s life and the Lumière journey are profiled in Rashmi Bansal’s 2013 book, Follow Every Rainbow.
Lumière works in the areas of consumer research, consulting, design and events. She is a consumer research expert, leadership coach, mentor, and expert facilitator who serves as a thought partner and sounding board to individuals and businesses.
Deepa and Milind, her life and work partner, work in leading transformation as catalysts and change agents in unlocking individual, team and organizational potential. Deepa believes in working for the cause of humankind that collaborates and connects in building a sustainable and peaceful world.
Alexander Johnson
Born in the United States and raised in Brazil, Alexander is a third-culture kid and third-generation international educator. He has a background in game development and a passion for technology. He moved to India and began working in education, where he has remained for the past eight years. He has worked as a primary school technology integrator and holds a Master’s in Educational Leadership from the University of Northern Iowa, with a focus on building teacher leaders in international schools.
Alexander is an Apple Distinguished Educator, lucky husband, proud father, and a lifelong learner. In his free time, you will find him engaged in virtual reality, reading, spending time with family or learning a new tool. He has presented at conferences in five countries, on topics such as gamification, game-based learning, and emerging technology.
He is currently the EdTech Coordinator at the American School of Bombay, where he works to ensure that the integration of technology aligns with pedagogical best practices and enhances student learning. One of his primary drives has been to meaningfully integrate virtual reality with a transdisciplinary lens, connecting it with social, emotional, and ethical learning