At the Women Economic Forum in April 2018, there was a session on “Engineering Change for a Sustainable and Equitable World”. Johanna Salgado, Competency Coordinator at Rosario University (Bogota, Colombia) and Co-founder of Crispy Fruits Company, Outreach Partner, Zayed Future Energy Prize, who was moderating the session said, “Imagine you’re in a war, you cannot make a difference without the proper resources and education. We need to all join hands to create an equitable and sustainable world. Our environmental and sustainability challenges are the forefront challenges of our time, and we need to work together towards creating an equitable and sustainable world.
Sushila Ram Varma, Advocate and Chief Consultant and Founder of the Indian Lawyer & Allied Services, said, “There are various means to achieve sustainable development. I would like to talk about policies. The first change is to view legal problems in a subjective and compassionate manner. A few judges are too clinical, and they should handle cases more subjectively to deliver justice better. Justice should be delivered with a humane process. There should be speed in handling cases, so the final goals can be reached in the shortest time. Then there should be an amicable settlement of disputes. India is on the threshold of major changes to attract investments. We help the government create a sustainable growth in investments. It is our motto to service each client with sincerity and efficiency, and these are my suggestions to create an equitable world in the legal profession and a sustainable world.”
“It’s a great honour to share this moment with you. Back in 2001, I was a marketing executive at a technological company. Being a working mother was impossible in Spain. I started to investigate, read and learn to create gender equality. We worked with people so they can balance their career and family life. The social dynamics have changed in Spain. Elderly people are outnumbering the youth. Our responsibility is to educate our children to create a better world. Look at the world through the eyes of a woman“, said, Paula Mattio Lastra, CEO, Aleph Communication, Spain.
Romaine San Francesco, Environmental Consultant, Nebula Enviro Solutiona, said, “My work is with Mother Earth. My grandmother was a great mentor. She inculcated the love of nature within me. I was raised in Chennai but I disappeared to Goa and came back to Chennai to solve its environmental problems. I wanted to grow trees, so I joined the Forestry Department. I took a bunch of children and started one of the biggest forest nurseries in 6 months. We moved on to mangroves and even went on to work for waste management. I combined rainwater harvesting, organic farming, growing trees and mangroves. I worked with the government then I worked with children to impart my knowledge. Go against nature, and nature will go against you. Live like water, flow.”
Marion Neubronner, CEO, NeuEducation, Singapore, sent a video message saying, “We accelerate and amplify conscious leadership. My community in Asia, Africa, North America, Australia is there with you even if I am not there with you.”
“It is disheartening how we from different corners of the world have similar stories to tell as women. I also grew up on the great Indian myth that I just had to study hard and everything would be fine. Things looked shiny on the outside, but they weren’t on the inside. I had a lot of health problems, and I was told that I need to take a break and I was burned out. I started writing and vented out my feelings. I started to write about what I felt strongly about. There was resonance with the things I wrote and the readers. I wrote a book Elixir which tells the stories of women and the similar lives. I also began to realize that the charted path which we were shown as children were not there. The world is not equitable and sustainable right now. The stories we tell our next generation really matter. It’s time we tell real stories. Let us try to create a sustainable and equitable world“, said Sinjini Sengupta, Author & TedX Speaker, Erstwhile Actuary.
Gayatri Pahlajani, Chief Sneeze, The Big Sneeze, said, “I used to moonlight as the radio jockey. I always wanted to do something alongside my day job. I went to London School of Economics to study gender and media. At no point in my life was I happy doing just one thing. I started my organization, the Big Sneeze where we have 5 services ranging from ghost-writing books, making films, voiceovers, etc. My ghost-written books have sold a lot of copies in India. We should look at entrepreneurship as a way women can build an equitable world.”
“The trip up to the top was really difficult to me. I come from a period where women had a difficult time. To go out from the barriers from my home front, I had to work hard. Women as a workforce is already a tough thing. I was a journey within. My strength, honesty, perseverance, and my learnings from the environment and natures provoked me to go further. I do a lot of learning, after a hard day’s work I make sure I read for 1 or 2 hours. I can survive without food, but not reading. I love being with women because that gives me strength and joy and makes me a better person“, said Indrani Deb, Director, Prag Electricals.
Diksha Anand, the CEO, WePersonalize, said, “We are the change and we are the ones who have to sustain. My father would often ask me why I am not a boy. I am an accidental entrepreneur. I am proud to have a recognized brand in India.