ABOUT THE MILLENNIUM FELLOWSHIP - CLASS OF 2022
United Nations Academic Impact and MCN are proud to partner on the Millennium Fellowship. Over 31,000 young leaders on 2,400+ campuses across 140+ nations applied to join the Class of 2022. 200+ campuses worldwide (just 8%) were selected to host the 3,000+ Millennium Fellows.
UNITED NATIONS ACADEMIC IMPACT AND MCN PROUDLY PRESENT PRISHITA TAHILRAMANI, A MILLENNIUM FELLOW FOR THE CLASS OF 2022.
Indraprastha College for Women | New Delhi, India | Advancing SDG 5 & UNAI 6
" Creativity and diversity along with adaptability are the key aspects of my project and joining the Millennium Fellowship would help me enhance these skills. The skills I gain from the Millennium Fellowship will make my social impact on schools and different communities more tangible and aligned with the UNAI principles and SDGs. "
Millennium Fellowship Project: Project Tabdeeli
To describe my project, in a nutshell, would be to say that it is my way to strike up a conversation on topics that have been taboo in my society for a very long period of time. The aim of the project is to make the youth who are the future of society raise questions on the institutionalized patriarchy and its stereotypes.
The norms of society impact our day-to-day life. So when a conservative society teaches stereotypes in the name of tradition and culture it does not add to the formation of aware and independent future citizens but comes from the intention to continue the legacy of institutionalized patriarchy, it is time to bring a change. The very notion of considering gender and sex in terms of binaries and not something which is fluid is problematic. The binaries then give birth to various other stereotypes such as the concept of masculinity and femininity and gender roles which one then has to abide by. It’s through a long history of struggle that questions on the binaries have been raised. But these questions are raised by the privileged few, so our aim is to develop the spirit of inquiry in the underprivileged section of society. To observe the tangible impacts of these conversations it is imperative to create conversations among the majority section of the country, the underprivileged.
Through Project Tabdeeli, we aim to strike up a conversation on the topic of sex and gender. We want to help them develop the spirit of introspection by encouraging them to raise questions about the socially constructed concept of the binaries and the stereotype that comes attached with it, that dictates a large part of their lives. To break this chain of oppression and institutionalized patriarchy and create a safe and inclusive environment, project tabdeeli is going to conduct a series of conversations with teenagers(13 - 18 years of age) from the khyber pass slums in Delhi on the topic of topic of gender and sex. Being cognizant of their mental capacity to understand this complex topic, we will be dividing the group into two: one with the age group of 13-15 and the other with the age group of 16-18. With the second group, we will be talking about topics in addition to what we will talk about with the first group. While we understand the complexity and gravity of the topic, we don’t want to go ahead with this project in the teaching format as we ourselves are learning about this topic each and every day. Instead, we want it to be conversational, and to facilitate this conversation we plan to employ things like film screening, storybook reading, and nukkad nataks( street play). We primarily want to expose children to a variety of worldviews (with a focus on gendered aspects) and show them that they don't have to accept what they're told, but may actively question, investigate, and introspect instead.
About the Millennium Fellow
A bright young overthinker, Prishita Tahilramani is an undergraduate student of English and History at Indraprastha College for Women, University of Delhi, India. An inquisitive mind on this quest for finding answers that society has failed to provide her, Prishita is trying to carve her own path. A path that leads to a better society, a society she wants to be a part of.