THE GLOBAL TIPPING POINT SUMMIT
GTPS Speakers - Day 3
26th February 2022
Session 1 – Active, Sensorial, Play-Based Learning
Nitin Orayan
Nitin is an Author, Spiritual Teacher and Educator who was born and raised in Mumbai, India where he completed his schooling and post-graduate studies in Mass Communication. He began his career in Publicity, creating multi-media launch campaigns for pharmaceutical and consumer products.
In the year 2002, at the age of 39, he took a much needed break from the fast paced Corporate lifestyle in the city, and retreated on a sabbatical by the riverside near Vajreshwari, a pilgrimage centre on the outskirts of Mumbai. Nitin connected wholeheartedly with village life as he sat by the river and narrated stories to village children. He began meditating and penned his first book, Integrate the Self.
Two years later, he left the city for good, to work in the villages and found his true calling, serving as a creative teacher to the village children in Ganeshpuri, well known for its hot springs and temples, on the outskirts of Mumbai. In the year 2006, he took a leap into the world of social service, setting up a non-profit educational Trust named Learning Space Foundation, to serve in the tribal areas of Thane and Palghar districts.
Today, Nitin lives in a remote area near the Ganeshpuri-Vajreshwari villages, and works towards channelizing resources to better education for the rural tribal child.
He writes regular articles for wellness, Yoga, and spiritual awareness portals, and has published three books in different genres, two of which have been translated and published in French, and made available worldwide.
More details on his work are to be found on his website https://orayan.in
Dr Anju Chazot
Anju is the founder-director of the Mahatma Gandhi International School (MGIS) established in 1998 with the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation. She teaches Languages, Theatre and Philosophy at MGIS. She has a Doctorate in Education (Teacher Training) from King’s College, London.
Anju has over 25 years of experience in innovative teaching, conducting parenting workshops, teacher training and conferences across India, France, Switzerland, USA, Canada, Russia and Australia.
She has created Generated Resources Learning (GRL), an innovative, joyful and multi-sensorial pedagogy that has been disseminated with CBSE, NCERT, Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) and Kendriya Vidyalaya Sagathan. She is on the expert committee for Toy Based Pedagogy, Holistic Progress Card and National Focus Group for curriculum development and training. She is a published author and columnist and is currently developing ‘Pedagames’ (pedagogy through board games) and a curriculum for the expansion of human consciousness in school education.
Lovena Gonsalves
Lovena is a Montossori Directress in the Besant Montessori School in Mumbai. She is passionately involved with Madam Montessori’s approach to education and has participated in numerous Montessori conferences in Hyderabad, Bangalore and Prague. She has also regularly attended Montessori Refresher courses at the Ratan Tata Institute in Mumbai.
Lovena has completed a few short term courses in Counselling, Special Education and Learning Disability. She strongly believes that Education is the key to the betterment of society. She feels proud to be associated with the Montessori philosophy of Education for past 20 years and strongly recommends it to parents as a powerful but stress-free form of education. She sees herself as a highly motivating, responsible and happy individual.
Dr. Jayanthy Ramachandran
Drawn to Sri Aurobindo and The Mother since a child through readings that came my way from Pondicherry ashram, I am convinced about Sri Aurobindo’s vision for the future unfolding itself even now, and in working towards a transformation of the nature both at the individual and the collective levels for the realisation of this vision. Integral Education holds the promise for the future and it is in this area that I am drawn to and involved in, as I constantly keep learning.
I obtained a basic degree in Science (B.Sc.) from the National University of Singapore and later a Masters degree in Education (Science Education) from The King’s College, University of London in 1996. I went on to obtain a Ph.D. in Education from the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological Institute, Singapore, with a thesis on ‘Values in Science Education’ in New Delhi and Singapore Schools, in 2015.
I have been in the education field since 1993 as Secondary School Biology teacher in Singapore, heading the media resource centre and the School Project-Work Section and also as a member of the school management team. I have also mentored many young teachers into school experience and spearheaded project work at school level and innovative student engagement with overseas participation. I have been the Principal of Mirambika Free Progress School since 2014 and have been taking care of creating a conducive support system in the school for the practice of Integral Education. I have also been a convener of workshops with practitioners of the school as part of an outreach programme for teacher education colleges in Delhi as well as in-service teachers. I have been involved in working with youths aspiring to practice Sri Aurobindo and The Mother’s teachings as a sadhana.
Sudarshan Sonawane
I see myself as an educator, committed to the upliftment of rural tribal children through Education. Since I joined the Learning Space Foundation in 2016, I have been working on a digital learning program called E-Tech. The digital curriculum provided by BCPT, was being taught in Zilla Parishad schools.
From 2017 to 2019 I have worked in ELD-VPS programme (English Language development in vernacular primary schools). As a part of it, I have worked as a trainee outreach educator. The programme was about teaching English to students in rural and remote areas. The purpose of the program was to teach English to students using digital devices (Projector/Laptop/computer) and other handmade material. In addition to teaching students, we were training Zilla Parishad teachers too in the teaching of various subjects in English.
The “Education at Your Doorstep” programme has been launched to bring students from rural and remote areas back to education despite the disruption caused by the Corona epidemic. The purpose of this programme is not only to teach the students the curriculum but also to ensure their holistic development. My work in this programme as a Content Creator includes detailing the Syllabus, Preparing Lesson Plans and Demos, and setting weekly implementation outcomes and goals for the ground Volunteer Team.
Session 2 – Inclusive 1: Social Justice Issues
Ayushi Banerji
Ayushi is Co-founder of The Gender Lab, which works to build gender equality across rural and urban India by enabling school children and young people to question the gender narrative they exist in. She makes this happen by engaging them in critical thinking, reflection and social action in their communities, which shifts their mindsets, behaviour, and actions. Ayushi is a World Economic Forum Global Shaper and Steering Committee Member of Fora- Network for change , an Acumen India Fellow and a trained creative facilitator, exploring how engaging in arts can truly transform a person.
About The Gender Lab
113 million adolescent girls are an invisible population in India. Due to socio-cultural practices and conditioning, they are denied autonomy and a chance to discover their potential.
The Gender Lab is changing this narrative by empowering adolescent girls in schools with 21st century skills to become change makers in their community and break gender stereotypes they live in. The Lab delivers this through a fellowship of young women from across India who have themselves battled gender bias when growing up. They mentor these girls through 10 months and in turn help them build leadership skills and self awareness.
Through this work, we who lead the Lab also realized the need to engage adolescent boys as allies. We create a safe space for them in schools to build awareness around gender, redefine masculinity and engage them in community action.
We believe that through this we will promote the voice, agency and leadership of girls and women in India.
Juhi Pande
I currently work as a senior consultant with an education consultancy called ABC (Aparna Bhasin Consultancy). We work to develop holistic, contextual and integrated curriculums, train teachers and build comprehensive strategies for schools and educational institutes. Prior to this, I was selected to be a Teach for India fellow for 2 years and worked in a government school in Mumbai. This off-ground and as well as on-ground experience with key stakeholders like parents, students, teachers, school management and governments has helped me understand the education landscape in India and has provided me with a diverse insight into inclusion and see the lack of it especially in areas of gender, disability, colour and caste.
Babar Ali
Babar Ali started a school named “Ananda Siksha Niketan” (Home of Joyful Learning) in the backyard of his family’s home when he was 9 years old, thus bringing affordable education to an impoverished area of West Bengal, India. At the age of 16, he was named as “Youngest Headmaster in the world” by the BBC. Currently the school has 300 regular students and a staff of 10.
As a TED fellow and public speaker, Babar Ali inspired many individuals and organisations with his mission “Education for All”. For the last 18 years since its inception, more than 6000 students benefited from the free education provided by this institution. His biography is a part of the syllabus of curriculums across the globe. He is currently pursuing a M.A. in English Literature.
The Hon’ble President of India mentioned him and his work in his speech for the nation on 25 January 2020 and he has earned mention in Forbes List and the International Literacy Association. In 2009 he won the Real Hero Award by CNN-IBN, Indian of the Year Award (2010) by NDTV, Literacy Hero Award (2015) by Rotary India Literacy Mission and Ink Fellow (2015,).
Prasad Dagare
I have been the Subject Coordinator for Performing Arts at Chatrabhuj Narsee School for the past 4 years now. I am engaged at CNS as a theatre teacher for grades 8 through 10 and I facilitate the IGCSE Drama coursework for grades 9 and 10.
I am also actively engaged in TYA as a performer, director and musician with Gillo Theatre Repertory here in Mumbai.
After spending 6 years developing and designing content for the K-12 segment, I realised that education is a lot more effective when the learning happens through doing. I personally feel that learning via games is the way to go. Engrossing games make learning a fun experience and the effects are lasting! That is what lies behind my inclination to design a lot of my content in a game-based format.
This belief was further solidified by my exposure to theatre and drama outside theatre. I have taken up the task of using my skills as an Instructional Designer and my involvement in active theatre to develop a form of hands-on learning. Theatre in Education is what I am working towards.
Ashok Rathod
Born and brought up in Mumbai’s Ambedkar Nagar slum, Ashok saw many children from his community leave education in pursuit of earning money. Some children even fell prey to drugs, gambling, and illegal activities. In his personal capacity, he discouraged many from taking such a route but realised that this challenge was big and complex and required a unique approach.
A staunch believer in the power of education, Ashok was inspired to start OSCAR Foundation despite his little means. OSCAR began with a handful of children and one simple rule – Attend school during the week, and you may participate in football sessions conducted by OSCAR. Over the last ten years, Ashok has inspired over 12,000 children from India’s slums to complete their education. His unique approach of using Football as a tool and an incentive to engage children has attracted interest from various Sports for Development organisations, including FIFA Foundation, Common Goal and Manchester City FC.
A recipient of many prestigious awards such as the CNN-IBN Real Hero Award and the Apollo Tyres Go the Distance Hero Award, Ashok is also an Ashoka Youth Venture Fellow (2008), Acumen India Fellow 2021 and has spoken at many international and national leadership forums on the cause of education.
Session 3 – Inclusive 2 : Differently-Abled Learners
Dr. Sujata Bhan
Dr. Sujata Bhan is a Professor and Head of Department of Special Education, SNDT Women’s University, Mumbai. She is an internationally published writer and teacher trainer.
Prof. Bahn has developed a standardized tool, Functional Skill Inventory for the Blind (FSIB), for the functional assessment of children with vision loss. She has written and edited several books like Understanding Learners: A Manual for Teachers and Inclusion: A Rhetoric or Reality, to name a few. She has developed course material for special education courses at graduate and post-graduate level for various open universities like Indira Gandhi Open University (IGNOU), Bhoj University, YCMOU, and Mauritius Institute of Education. She has contributed many chapters in books on special education. Her research work has been published in international and national peer reviewed journals.
Prof. Bhan is consulted by various State and Central Government Institutes like NCERT and Rehabilitation Council of India for development of policies and curriculum for education of children with special needs. She has been part of Research projects conducted by Perkins School for the Blind, USA, UNICEF, UNESCO, British Council of India and Sight Savers International.
She is empanelled as a visiting member for many national academic bodies like assessor for NAAC, RCI and NCTE. She is a member of Advisory Board of DEGSN, NCERT and many more academic bodies.
Her international experience includes a UGC educational exchange Scholarship for doctoral research at Mauritius in 2005 and an International fellowship at Sweden in 2012. She was invited by University of Macerata, Italy, for an academic programme in 2019. She has been invited for many international conferences.
Prof. Bhan is a strong proponent of inclusive education. She is involved in training mainstream teachers in inclusive pedagogies. Her passion lies in creating a workforce of teachers who can make a difference in the life of a child with diverse needs.
Nisha Grover
Nisha Grover is a special educator working in the field since 1974. She established Akshar Trust in 1988 in Vadodara, for the education of children with deafness. Akshar runs an Early Intervention Programme, a school for students from preschool to Class 12, in both Hindi and Gujarati, and a teacher training programme.
She has held various positions, such as President of the National Convention of Educators of
the Deaf, India, for 2 consecutive terms (2010-2016). She has been on the Governing Council
of Ali Yavar Jung National Institute of Speech and Hearing Disabilities (Divyangjan); on the
Expert Committee for Course Curricula of DTY (HI) & D.Ed SE HI under Rehabilitation
Council of India; an Examiner for D.Ed SE (HI) RCI recognized Centres; committee Member
of Vadodara District Probation and After Care Association. Nisha Grover is now an
Executive Council Member of Indian Sign Language Research and Training Centre (ISLRTC),
Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Govt. of India.
She has contributed to a publication of Rehabilitation Council on ‘Communication Options’.
She has been one of the three editors for Bhasha Research and Publication Centre’s
publication on ‘Indian Sign Language’ as a part of documentation of Indian languages for a
‘Peoples’ Linguistic Survey of India’, 2013. She has directed a film on ‘Total Communication’
produced by Akshar Trust for the Rehabilitation Council of India, 2011. She has presented
papers on special education at various forums.
Nimesh Desai
Nimesh Desai is a psychiatrist and a trained public health professional, having worked in mainstream mental health settings of the public academic sector. He has also been actively involved in different NGOs, especially those working with PIDDs and has been the President of Manovikas Charitable Trust wherein one major thrust area is Inclusive Education – including higher education.
Dr. Varsha Gattoo
Dr Varsha Gathoo is a professional working over three decades in the field of Special & Inclusive education. For over 25 years Dr. Varsha Gathoo has been the Head of the Department of Education at the Ali Yavar Jung National Institute of Speech and Hearing Disabilities (Divyangjan) Mumbai under the Department of Disability Affairs, Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment Government of India. She is a Fulbright Senior Research Fellow, LEND fellow of University of Connecticut USA and also a recipient of Rotary International Ambassadorial Scholarship for pursuing Master’s Degree at the Washington University USA. She is the expert committee member at the Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI) for development of training programs and has been the Chief Examiner of RCI affiliated courses and Chairperson of the Sub-committee of Hearing Impairment at RCI. She has been the founder Chairperson of the Adhoc-Board of Special Education and has also been on Research and Development committees at the University of Mumbai, SNDT and member of BOS of University of Pune & AIISH Mysore. She is an expert member in various NCERT, Pratham and CBM assignments. Dr Varsha has successfully guided more than 50 Master’s degree research dissertations and 7 PhD scholars have completed their Doctoral work and been awarded PhDs. In collaboration with Washington University she has adapted the Grammatical Analysis of Elicited Language- A test tool to assess language and has also developed a Test of School Readiness. She has been an invited speaker at both International and National conferences and has published articles in national & international journals. Her key areas of research include early intervention, School readiness, Emergent literacy skills, curricular frameworks, Adaptations, UDL and Inclusive pedagogy. Dr Varsha Gathoo has also contributed to professional development manuals of World Bank and Mauritius Institute of Education and recently has contributed to the development of Competency Based Curriculum of CBID for RCI in collaboration with Melbourne University. She has developed teacher training manuals for IGNOU, YCMOU, NSOU and Tamil Nadu Open University Dr Varsha Gathoo has received the vocational excellence award of Rotary and also a national award for innovative practices of NCERT to her credit. She has held various positions such as the All-India President of National Convention of Educators of the Deaf-India for 3 consecutive terms. Dr. Varsha Gathoo has been awarded the Best Teacher Award amongst all the affiliated colleges of the University of Mumbai for her valuable contributions in knowledge, teaching, research and dedication.
Dr. Shyamala Dalvi
Psychologist, special educator. She has been working in the field of education for the past 25 years. She has done Masters in Psychology and in Special education followed by a Doctorate in Inclusive Education.
Dr. Dalvi began as a Master trainer at the S.N.D.T University, training pre-service teachers and conducting psychoeducational assessment for a period of eight years. She continues to be a guest lecturer at the University and National institutes.
She has worked in schools for over ten years leading the process of including children with disabilities into the mainstream. Her work included training and guiding in-service teachers, parents and students, setting up NIOS for children as an alternative system of examination, conducting assessments and developing short term courses for teachers in inclusive education.
She spent four years in an educational company, providing educational support to schools. This included developing content for textbook, training teachers in inclusive pedagogy and being a part of CBSE as an assessor for School quality assessment and accreditation (SQAA).
She is a resource person for inclusive education at the National Council for Education research and Training (NCERT). For the Maharashtra State Government she was a part of the advisory committee and master trainer for school assessment and accreditation .
She worked as a State Consultant for Inclusive Education with UNICEF, and is currently Lead, Inclusive Education ZEE Learn Ltd. Her passion remains building Inclusive school environments and teacher empowerment.
Session 4 – Social, Emotional, Ethical Learning and Mindfulness
Mahera Goel
Mahera Goel is a learner with a healthy mix of compassion and curiosity. “Learn to Change the World” – An Alumni of the Harvard Graduate School of Education (Masters in School Leadership), her goals are synonymous with the institution’s mission. As an educational administrator and leader, her passion is to promote student voice, choice and achievement and the growth of professional learning communities with a collaborative vision that makes powerful teaching and learning the central focus of schooling.
A Mumbai University graduate topper, with a Bachelor and a Master’s in Education, she is currently the Principal of the Early and Primary School at Fazlani L’Academie Globale, an IB World School in Mumbai. Her professional journey of fifteen years with teaching and learning while playing diverse roles as a Classroom Teacher, Teacher Leader, Instructional Coach, IB Primary Years Program Coordinator and Head of Learning and Teaching (PYP), has helped her seek ways to further personalize learning and to deepen the relationships that sustain schools and students.
She was invited by the IB Educator Network to train as a School Inspection Team Leader, Workshop Leader and PYP Consultant to schools in the Asia Pacific region. She was elected as the first Chairperson of the IBPYP Mumbai Network of schools and a Member of the SAIBSA Executive Committee. (South Asia International Baccalaureate Schools Association) providing an opportunity to lead and mentor a network of educators and leadership teams in India, Singapore, Thailand, China. Australia and United States of America. She has been recently elected as the Vice Chair of the IB Heads Association for the West Zone. She has been an eminent speaker at the ECA, SAIBSA and IBO Conferences and Meets and has won numerous awards.
Maherra Desai
Maherra Desai is a Clinical Psychologist, Medical Researcher and Co-author of: The Coronavirus, published by Penguin Random House in 2020 which is the world’s First Deep Research Book on the Pandemic.
She is the Site Manager of Clinical Research at the Jaslok Hospital and Research Centre, Mumbai, and visiting faculty at the S.N.D.T. Women’s University and St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai.
Maherra has been actively involved in spreading awareness on the psychosocial impact of the pandemic across platforms like TEDx, Al Jazeera, India Today, CNN Network 18, NDTV India, and Times Now, amongst others. Currently, she is writing books on spreading mental health awareness for school children. Offer her Japanese food or a good cappuccino, and you instantly have her attention!
Dr. Mark Macleod
Mark has taught Children’s Literature, Australian Literature and Creative Writing at universities in Australia and around the world; most recently in India. President and Publishing Director of Dirt Lane Press, he has been Publishing Director at Random House and Publisher at Hachette Australia. A former national president of the Children’s Book Council of Australia, Mark has won awards for distinguished service to Children’s Literature and for many titles published under his own name imprint, Mark Macleod Books.
He is adjunct Senior Lecturer at Charles Sturt University and is the author of poems for adults and children, and picture books for children. His latest collection of poems for children, The Secret Boat, will be published in 2022.
Abhilasha Khetan
I found my calling for education while working with children at Disney World. A major component of my professional calling includes bringing Educational Equity and Social-Emotional Learning to the forefront. Resilience, collaboration and an unwavering commitment towards a better tomorrow can enable us to achieve an ideal education system.
Sophie Le Dorner
I design a shared learning culture to turn individuals into learning leaders. I am a cross between Alice in Wonderland and the Energy Bunny (Duracel). I bring light to multiple learning pathways that boost the learning.
Sophie Le Dorner is an educational consultant, author and speaker. She works internationally with organisations that are committed to creating a mindful and agile (adaptable) learning culture to foster engagement. She has built her strong international educational experience from working within companies, schools, universities, and the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Few educators have worked on as many different levels, with as many different parts of the education system. Whether it’s directly with students, with family units, classrooms, school programs, or with the administration, Sophie’s educational style is inclusive and exploratory. In particular, she specialises in building a learning culture through an Agility of Mind approach for educational organisations and companies. Her mission is to adapt in a changing world, to learn and teach, and to train new generations of eager learners to do the same.