With the aim to bring together diverse stakeholders to discuss and strategize how technology can be harnessed for social good, Vodafone Idea Foundation (VIF), the CSR arm of Vi, in partnership with NASSCOM, organized the ‘Connecting for Good: Partners Conclave’ in New Delhi.
VIF’s ‘Connecting for Good’ program implemented in partnership with NASSCOM, fosters an ecosystem to use technology for addressing social challenges in the areas of education, women empowerment, health, agriculture, etc. The program aims at empowering NGOs, Civil Society Organisations, CBOs, to drive innovation, disseminate knowledge, and upscale their interventions for greater impact. The Partners Conclave under the umbrella of ‘Connecting for Good’, is designed to discuss the role of technology to solve social issues through innovative tech-based solutions.
The ‘Connecting For Good’ Conclave was attended by P Balaji, Director, Vodafone Idea Foundation and Chief Regulatory & Corporate Affairs Officer, VIL; Dr. Nilay Ranjan, Head, CSR and Sustainability, Vodafone Idea Foundation; Nidhi Bhasin, CEO, NASSCOM Foundation; Dr. Sanjay Kumar, President, Corp. Affairs & Public Policy, UpGrad Foundation; Sameer Kanwar, Director Digital Health, PATH; Harsh Jaitli, CEO, Voluntary Action Network India (VANI); Professor Arvinder A. Ansari of Jamia Millia Islamia; and Dr. Rishikesh Patankar amongst others. It saw stakeholders introduce their innovative technology solutions, identify new areas of collaboration to expand the reach of their solution, and ideate on the way forward.
Addressing the conclave, P. Balaji, Director, Vodafone Idea Foundation and Chief Regulatory & Corporate Affairs Officer, VIL, said, “Telecom has enabled unprecedented growth in internet penetration in India. The use of mobile technology has changed the lives of individuals, businesses and society forever in countless ways. Vodafone Idea Foundation is focused at leveraging technology and purposeful innovation to catalyse social prosperity, digital literacy and inclusivity. Through our various technological interventions, we have impacted the lives of over millions of people. Today, we are pleased to host this conclave, in partnership with NASSCOM, under our ‘Connecting for Good’ programme. The powerful exchange of ideas here will help address some of the toughest real-world problems and connect people for good.”
Nidhi Bhasin, CEO, NASSCOM Foundation, said, “TechForGood is the catalyst to sustainable social transformation, especially seeing the huge surge in technology adoption across the country. As per a recent report, government spending on technology stood at $9.6 billion and is expected to grow by 11.6% in 2022. With this huge shift, it is imperative to ensure that we are empowering the non-profit ecosystem of the country with technology so that the impact translates right to the last mile. Cost-effective tech solutions that help non-profits in working more efficiently are the need of the hour and should be given immediate attention. That’s exactly where ‘Connecting for Good’ initiative plays a vital role as it infuses the nonprofit ecosystem with the right technology intervention and revamps the NGO landscape.”
Under the programme ‘Connecting for Good’, Vodafone Idea Foundation has built and implemented several technology-based solutions such as:
Area
Application
About the Application
Women Safety & Empowerment
MyAmbar
A mobile-application designed for the safety and empowerment of women
Digital Learning
DigiSakshar
A user-friendly digital learning platform offering free, on-demand, universal access to a variety of courses across different subject areas
Operations
The ManagR
An easy-to-use digital platform to improve operational efficiencies
Women Empowerment
Girl Rising
An android-based game that helps break gender stereotypes
Health & Hunger
Share Food Share Joy
An interactive voice response system (IVR) that connects people with surplus food to distribution partners
Child Welfare
Childline 1098
Mobile-friendly case reporting system (CRS) that manages and reports cases of children in distress from any location.
Additionally, Vodafone Idea Foundation has developed and launched other tech-based solutions such as ‘Jigyasa’, which equips teachers with innovative teaching practices and helps them integrate technology in classrooms; ‘Gurushala’, a cloud-based collaborative knowledge exchange platform that enables teachers to engage with each other; ‘Learning with Vodafone Idea Scholarship Programme’, India’s largest multi-lingual scholarship portal; ‘Jaadu Ginni Ka’, a financial literacy programme providing content based on a simple storytelling format and featuring engaging games and quizzes; and ‘SmartAgri’, which transforms agricultural practices into intelligent ones by using IoT solutions and enables farmers with relevant information.
