Unprecedented times call for brave steps and so did this pandemic which required a nationwide lockdown. However, a country which has a population of 1.3 billion people with different levels of understanding needs continuous reminders about the perils of this virus.
This is where this organisation established in 2011 called India’s International Movement to Unite Nations took lead in a way that would make people twice their age proud.
Comprising of a team of 26,000 students the organisation which has a vision to unite the world- the Indian way, came up with a novel solution to keep people indoors. Much before having luminaries advising people to stay at home was in vogue, 21 of the most influential Indians including the likes of Dr Shashi Tharoor, Rahul Dravid, Saif Ali Khan, Chef Sanjeev Kapoor, Manish Malhotra, Sonam Kapoor amongst others came together in a video made by I.I.M.U.N. which was issued in national safety and interest. It was not only one of the most circulated videos but also played on national television channels as well.
When the nation was staring at another imminent lockdown and when the mood of the nation was despondent, these young students in consultation with their advisors which include Mr Deepak Parekh, Mr Godrej, Mr Ajay Piramal, Chiefs of Armed Forces, Boman Irani amongst others- came up with an idea to infuse positivity.
#KuchTohKarona was launched on Instagram, it had 5 seasons comprising of 100 episodes with a different celebrity each day in a moderately sarcastic and humorous fire side conversation with I.I.M.U.N.’s dynamic president, Rishabh Shah trying to spread smiles.
Guests included Advisors such as AR Rahman, celebrity masterchef Vikas Khanna, cinema icons like Sonakshi Sinha, Suniel Shetty, Jackie Shroff and politicians like Kapil Sibal, Subramanian Swamy. Tens of thousands logged in daily to get their daily doze of the positivity vaccine. Simultaneously, official mascot of the organisation Leslee Lewis composed the track ‘Ek India’ featuring the top artists from the country including Shreya Ghosal, Shaan, Bappi Lahiri, Benny Dayal among several others to uplift the mood of a nation.
As online schooling became a part of the new normal, and zoom fatigue caught up- the solution was the same, but only in a new bottle. You cannot replace the touch of a teacher with that of a computer, but you can change the teacher for a session with a celebrity teacher. I.I.M.U.N. was back at the drawing board with another initiative called the School of Leadership on Zoom & Tum Bhi Karona on Instagram.
This comprised of a new interactive live learning experience every week on over 75 subject areas such as journalism, politics, math, communication, rediscovering India to name a few. These were not taught by academicians but by celebrity professionals. A new perspective in education was born. Sarvesh Shashi taught Yoga, Shiamak Davar taught dance and Vicky Ratnani taught cooking. Today, you have funded multi million dollar applications doing exactly the same thing- an idea that was first implemented by a 16 year old.
Student volunteers whose primary focus was to conduct conferences to sensitise their peers to glocal affairs across 220 cities and 35 countries were now turning a new leaf.
From having participants do yoga, debate on glocal affairs and attend talks by luminaries which were interspersed by performances to now these same students using what they knew best- combining people from different walks of life for a social cause. In the pandemic year more than 3000+ luminaries have graced the I.I.M.U.N. platform helping increase productivity amongst youth, spread smiles amongst millions and build a better world. An organisation true to the idiom Stronger together
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