DASRA PHILANTHROPY FORUM
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Dasra Philanthropy Forum 2019
Garden Court Hotel, Palo Alto | Thursday, 5th December

09:00 - 09:10 am
Opening Address
Vishal Kapoor, Dasra

09:10 - 09:20 am
Keynote Address
​Tarun Jotwani, Dasra Board

09:20 - 10:15 am
The Power of Now:
​Making the Case for Giving to India


​India’s development problems are complex and urgent, and contribute disproportionately to global development issues. Are funders adopting the kind of innovative, and impact-oriented strategies needed to create step-change impact? With the Power of Now: Making the Case for Giving to India Report, Dasra emphasizes the need and opportunity for a new kind of philanthropic investment in India. The session begins with a presentation of research insights, followed by a panel conversation with champions of giving to India. The panel will explore their giving journeys, including approaches that have helped accelerate their learning, overcome barriers, and leverage India’s philanthropic ecosystem.
Presentation:
Srivatsan Rajan, Bain & Company

Panel Conversation:
Amit Bhandari, BioUrja Group

Deepak Raj, India Philanthropy Alliance

Sapphira Goradia, Vijay and Marie Goradia Foundation

Srivatsan Rajan, Bain & Company (Moderator)

10:15 - 11:00 am
Ready, Set, Grow:
​The Fundamental Role of Capacity-Building


India’s non-profits play a critical role in bridging the gap left by the country’s lopsided economic growth. The time for small and isolated interventions has passed. If the country is to meet its development needs, non-profits need to scale their impact by investing in themselves, and sustain their impact by investing in communities.

​This panel convenes leading Indian social entrepreneurs who have catalysed livelihoods in India through women-led cooperatives, vocational training, and career development for disadvantaged youth, to articulate the importance of capacity-building support in amplifying impact.
Panel Conversation:
Priya Agrawal, Antarang Foundation

Neelam Chhiber, Industree Foundation

Raj Gilda, Lend-A-Hand India

​Lisa Kleissner, KL Felicitas Foundation (Moderator)

11:00 - 11:20 am
Refreshments & Networking Break

11:20 - 11:30 am
Walking the Talk:
​My Journey to India


On a business trip to India in 2002, Karen and her colleague Jenn visited the Sharanam Centre for Girls, a small shelter for orphan and destitute girls in Dharavi, Mumbai. Transformed by her experience, Karen quit her well-paying corporate job in 2005 to move to Mumbai with Jenn and start Aasha, an organisation that raises funds for Sharanam. In this talk, Karen shares her journey from corporate America to crowded Mumbai, her learnings as a western funder, and what keeps her motivated to continue her work with the girls of Sharanam.
TED-style Talk:
​Karen Doff, Sharanam Centre for Girls

11:30 - 12:15 pm
Sustainable Futures:
​Rethinking Food, Water & Energy Systems to Mitigate Climate Change


It is clear that our current systems of food, water and energy consumption are unsustainable. As populations increase, the pressure on existing resources grows and we need the best minds in academia, business, civil society, philanthropy, and government to come together to create innovative, at-scale solutions. In this panel, we convene experts in the field of inclusive sustainability to discuss the future of consumption and the environment, highlight interventions that are creating impact today and explore the role that collaborative action can play in fostering a sustainable world. 
Panel Conversation:
Steven Gorelick, Stanford University

Ananthapadmanabhan Guruswamy (Moderator)

more speakers to be announced

12:15 - 12:30 pm
In The Field:
​India's Development Challenges in Numbers and Stories


Philanthropic capital is concentrated in cities and towns where funders work and live, but often these areas already have economic systems in place, which provide disadvantaged communities an avenue for upward mobility. Funders must think about applying capital to more vulnerable communities instead, where, in effect, the dollar would go further.

​This presentation throws light on the reality behind the progress made on national averages such as maternal and child mortality and access to healthcare, and digs deep into the state of affairs in one of India’s most backward states, Jharkhand, where Dasra is currently implementing an adolescent empowerment program to enable access to education, healthcare, employment, and overall agency.​
TED-style Talk:
​
​Deval Sanghavi, Dasra

12:30 - 01:30 pm
Lunch and Networking Break

01:30 - 02:30 pm
Future in their Hands: Empowering Adolescents through Systems-Change

Accounting for 20% of the country’s population, India’s adolescents represent the single largest cohort of young people in history, a majority of whom face multi-faceted vulnerabilities as a part of daily life.

​This session begins with a TED-style talk on the journey of a social leader who deeply understands these realities and of her non-profit that has placed adolescents at the center of its work.

This is followed by a panel conversation with that will explore the critical role that a systems-change approach can play in equipping India’s youth to move themselves and their country towards a safer, healthier and more prosperous future.
TED-style Talk:
Aparajita Gogoi, Centre for Catalyzing Change

Panel Conversation:
Aparajita Gogoi, Centre for Catalyzing Change


Don Gips, Skoll Foundation
​
 
Neera Nundy, Dasra
​
 
Rajesh Kasturirangan, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Moderator)

02:30 - 03:15 pm ​
Find Your Match:
Speed-Dating with Indian Non-Profits


Do you want to give to India but are unsure where to begin? Do you mistrust non-profits or worry that your money won’t be used well? Do you think that the physical distance from India is holding you back from connecting with impact on the ground? Worry no more, for we have you covered!
​
​This session gives the audience an opportunity to connect with some of India’s leading social entrepreneurs working on various issues, including childcare, education, healthcare, employability and livelihoods
Roundtable Conversation:
Aparajita Gogoi, Centre for Catalyzing Change

Dr. Sanjeev Arora, Project ECHO

Karen Doff, Sharanam Centre for Girls

Neelam Chhiber, Industree Foundation

Priya Agrawal, Antarang Foundation

​Raj Gilda, Lend-A-Hand India

​Sneha Sheth, Dost Education

03:15 - 03:35 pm
Refreshments & Networking Break

03:35 - 4:30 pm
All the Right Reasons: Using Technology for Development

Everyone agrees on leveraging technology to solve development challenges, but doubts persist on several important questions: how is technology facilitating impact in a complex ecosystem like India? What are some examples of technology deepening impact? Where does technology fail?
​
​This session begins with a TED-style Talk on using innovative, technology-backed solutions to improve disease prevention, response and control around the world. It is followed by a panel conversation with non-profit leaders who are fostering an ecosystem of technology for good in India.
TED-style Talk:
Mark Smolinski, Ending Pandemics

Panel Conversation:
Dr. Sanjeev Arora, Project ECHO

Sanjeev Dharap, Project Tech4Dev

Sneha Sheth, Dost Education

Rekha Pai Kamath, Fast Forward (Moderator)  ​

04:30 - 05:00 pm
Across the Seven Seas: A Conversation between Sunil Wadhwani and Sapphira Goradia

He’s a leading figure in Indian-American philanthropy, she’s the next generation of a legacy philanthropic family. In this conversation, Sunil Wadhwani and Sapphira Goradia talk to each other about navigating the complexities of giving to India from abroad, scaling impact across the length and breadth of the country, and injecting sustainability into philanthropy by bringing the next generation into the fold.​
Fireside Chat:
Sunil Wadhwani, WISH Foundation, Wadhwani AI
​
​Sapphira Goradia, Vijay and Marie Goradia Foundation (Moderator)

05:00 - 05:10 pm
Closing Address
Vishal Kapoor, Dasra

05:10 - 07:00 pm
Cocktails & Networking in Partnership with Avendus

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