Daring to change society
Indira Kartallozi looks grim till you see her laugh. Aaranya Rajasingam looks like a Tamil film heroine. Till you hear her talk.
Indira Kartallozi
They are both natural and confident, and it comes as no surprise that they are social entrepreneurs: a daring, innovative breed that works to change society.
We met Indira and Aaranya at the British Council library in Colombo on an evening.
They shared the platform to talk on “The role of social entrepreneurship in protection and promotion of human rights, gender equality and child protection.”
Aaranya Rajasingam. Pix by Amila Gamage
The lead-up to the string of events of which this evening is a part, began last year, when the British Council hosted FUTURES- a social innovative forum.
As the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities, the British Council is also a leader in developing and supporting social enterprises across the world. In this evening’s endeavour, they were supported by CSR Lanka and the Global Compact Network Sri Lanka.
The key note speaker of the evening Indira, is founder and director of chrysalis Family Futures, a social enterprise in the UK that stands for protection and empowering of human and socio-economic rights of vulnerable and marginalised families and children.
Her address shed light on the difference between social activism and social entrepreneurship.
Activism can at times be powerful, but it can often also be unsustainable and even counter-productive: say like protesters who, with a big ‘dog and pony show’, may only manage to create phenomenal traffic at the Lipton Circus.
Entrepreneurship, unlike activism, provides sustainable solutions to real issues. Social entrepreneurs are “change agents”, bringing about such changes as renewable energy, mobile cash, and innovative healthcare services.
The other speaker of the evening Aaranya Rajasingam, though demure in looks, possesses as much grit as Indira. She has trudged with determination to places few men dare visit. As part of Viluthu, Centre for Human Resource Development, Aaranya has worked to promote local social enterprises in the North and the East. She stressed on the importance for local social enterprises promoting human rights and gender equality in the country.
Both women spoke with the sincere enthusiasm of those striving for positive change and not just the betterment of a single minority of, say, miners or lesbians or gypsies.
The two speeches were followed by a panel discussion. The audience, though relatively young, came up with many, eager questions which proved that social entrepreneurship is “hot” here and now. To most of the young audience the expertise of the two speakers was rain on parched earth which they lapped up bright-eyed.
The evening ended with promise of more such invigorating projects in the near future.