Social Innovation Challange: Day Two

Day 2

With the Co-director of Lahore University Social Innovation lab still absent there was a change to the usual schedule. Instead we had session in our project groups with the ever inspiring Josie Francis who today reminded me how insightful she is when she made the observation that sexual assault in the UK is invariably committed by suspects known to the victim. Stranger rape in the UK is indeed very very rare. Unfortunately, after Josie’s statement we learned stranger rape in India (or at least in the experience of Jindal students) was common. However, this was useful as stranger rape then became a legitimate target for our efforts. We then started to think about how we would go about solving problems through the conduit of improving our new friends eating habits. I learned, as I did at the University of Southampton mental health lab, that asking why? , why? , why?, is a useful method of interrogating a problem. I had previously found it a bit childish and unprofessional so need to come up with a way of asking it without sounding like my 11 year old cousin.I began to work more comfortably with the Jindal students as you would after a few days. We were tasked with producing a solution to the healthy eating issues we had discovered using stationary, pens, string and biscuits, along with our thirst to do well and imagination. However, and I’m not ashamed of it at all, our group did not come up with a solution and instead chose to represent one of the problems through a role play. Sodexo are the Universities caterers and we found that students feel the contractors do not do every thing they can to encourage healthy eating. This what not the result I expected as I had thought we had an issue with lazy students who liked fast food. After another lovely lunch we returned to work. We started to discuss the project and began to narrow down our topic to tackle over the next few days. In the evening we travelled to a restaurant. The women in our group who are strong, intelligent women I am proud to work along side, noticed women were absent from the roads and road side restaurants. (Dhaba) Our thoughts were it was due to safety but perhaps this was because were had been hearing stories regarding women’ s safety. However, I doubt it was anything else. The meal we had was at Amrik Sukhdev was a high end high priced restaurant and low and behold more women started to appear. Perhaps women who can afford and expensive meal can also afford to travel safely to such eateries?

Southampton Social Innovation Challenge – Empowering Women in India 2015

Southampton Social Innovation Challenge   India 2015

Day One:

After a delayed start the group convened without the Pakistani students due to border Visa issues. This was very disappointing as I was looking forward to seeing Indian and Pakistani students mingle and witness them become the future of breaking down the nuclear charged animosity between the two manufactured states. We carried on however, and began with a talk from Pathik Pathak. I had never heard him give a talk or seminar or lecture before and found him very interesting. He made me realize that I was going to be able to use the skills I learned here and they would be transferable. I just had to know how to sell it. Pathik came up with ”multi disciplinary” and ”multi diverse” both of which I will use in future CV’s or interviews. Its something I have always done anyway but now I have a better way of putting it. We then had a talk in relation to the digital side of social innovation and heard how context, scepticism of the internet in general and use of industry specific language were all important. After a well deserved break we gathered again to look at software that was supposed to help us visualise networks and links of people. I found it very confusing as relationship building (a skill I have always felt confident with) has always been a physical thing or at least talking on the phone – not drawing them out. I guess its just not my learning style. The Indian students looked as though they were buying into it. It was then our turn to produce some work and were given new sources of ideas relating to social innovation projects. On http://www.babele.com I found I project in India that I will present to the rest of the group tomorrow. It really stood out to me as at this time I am interested it things that are achievable and related to youth intervention. Something I dabbled in while in Hampshire Police. Socially, we became friends with more Indian students and we are looking forward to speaking to them more in breaks and evenings in the next ten days. Josie Francis (Programme Manager at the Social Innovation Lab at University of Southampton) continues to be inspiring and I only hope I can work with her enthusiasm and energy. My expectations have not fully formed as yet but this worries me not as when the time comes to set myself goals I will do so as a better informed participant.