Active Canvas to organise day-long symposium to celebrate women from various fields

As the world prepares to observe International Women’s Day, honouring the countless contributions of women across the globe, Active Canvas is organising a symposium. This private foundation focused on nature-inspired innovation, conservation, and women’s education and empowerment is presenting, Let’s Women Up, at Bangalore International Centre on March 9 that aims to shine a spotlight on their achievements, resilience and unwavering spirit.

As the world prepares to observe International Women’s Day, honouring the countless contributions of women across the globe, Active Canvas is organising a symposium. This private foundation focused on nature-inspired innovation, conservation, and women’s education and empowerment is presenting, Let’s Women Up, at Bangalore International Centre on March 9 that aims to shine a spotlight on their achievements, resilience and unwavering spirit.

The event will launch its Wonder Women Program (WWP) to showcase the crucial work local and international NGOs do in support of gender equality. “The WWP programme supports underprivileged girls who are graduating from institutions without any kind of systemic support,” says Raksha Sriram, founder of Active Canvas. “Most of these girls are orphans, and once they leave childcare homes it is very difficult for them to navigate through life, especially in terms of their careers. We help them get admission to colleges for higher education, and they are mentored till they are in a position to be financially independent.”

The event will have a keynote speech by Shaili Chopra, journalist, entrepreneur and Founder CEO of SheThePeople, performances by singer Bindhumalini, contemporary performer Veena Basavarajaiah and stand-up comedian Sonu Venugopal.  

Women leaders from different fields will speak about their path-breaking journeys and how together they can empower other women.Rangina Hamidi, an Afghan-American writer, educator and women’s rights activist will talk about the importance of women’s education and their role in world politics. 

A panel discussion with Rohini Srivathsa (CTO, Microsoft India and South ), Harini Nagendra (author and ecologist), Shobha Regunathan (architect and founder of Build-ed),Vandana Suri (founder of Taxshe, a women-run taxi service), Indu Antony (multi disciplinary artist)and Vasanthi Hariprakash (journalist and panel moderator) will also be held

“The event is a great way for our girls to interact with other women and I believe young women fight a lot in terms of societal pressure, family and culture, in a patriarchal world. It is important for women to step out and embrace their agency and to be able to carve a path for their future by themselves. To be able to do that, the best guide would be the other women in the community,” says Raksha.

Let’s Woman Up will take place at Bangalore International Center, Indiranagar, on March 9 from 10am to 5pm. Entry free.