(Note: This blog post has been written in a personal, first person narrative- from the perspective of working in the Communications Team at Samarthya)
It was 1 a.m. The city outside had lulled itself to a gentle slumber but the office was bustling with activity. Presentations were being designed in a frenzy- powered by iced lattes and cold pizza. Our co-founder was deep in thought searching for a metaphor to bring together his introductory speech. Our program director sniffled through her cold poring over a document while my manager and I huddled together to draft a vote of thanks. I remember thinking to myself the same question I had grappled with over the past month, “How will it all come together?”
The clock hit 2 a.m. The air buzzed with nervous excitement.
Such was the scene at our Delhi office last month. We were taking our event preparation up a notch, gearing up for our 8th Foundation Day celebration. It was a special occasion for everyone in the team- not just because it was an event to celebrate seven years of our work, but because it was much bigger than any of us- it was a celebration of participation, a celebration of everything that we stand for and advocate.
As part of the communications team at Samarthya, I was meticulously involved in planning, conceptualizing and executing the event. In the run up to the event, my manager always made it a point to ask me how I was feeling everyday. On some days I felt excited and on some I felt overwhelmed. But every single time, I had the same question- “How will it all come together?”
On March 2, 2024, at Alliance Francaise de Delhi, I found not one, but many answers to my question.
A trusty friend, a trusty team
One thing that binds everyone together, and brings seemingly disparate tasks, agendas, workflows and teams together, is trust. Trust in the team. Trust in every individual, no matter what they are bringing to the table. A blind faith that despite missed reminders and mountains of work piling up, the team will pull through. In run up and even on the day of the event, the team went above and beyond their capacity to wear different hats and make sure the show goes on.
When I sat alone with my laptop planning contingencies, I accounted for lapses and for backup. But the salt in this recipe- invisible yet extremely notable, was trust. I learnt that trusting someone to do their job not just when everything is on track, but even when everything seems off, is how it all comes together
Us, we, ours
The event was an initiative of the Communications vertical. With 34 tabs open on my laptop, the lion’s share of the planning, backend tasks and delegation was handled by my manager and I. The event was more than just a KR on my quarter plan. It felt personal, something I wanted to give my heart and soul to. Up until the final few days before the event, I was under the (false) impression that only I felt that way.
The program team, the district team, even vendors associated with the event- everyone shone bright with a display of ownership and accountability. In my head, the other teams were busy with their own KRs, their million tasks, the firefighting they bravely do everyday. I thought the event was a blip on their radar.
But, they participated in so many key pieces of the event, without which we could never have tasted success. The Punjab team- creative and innovative even in the most stressful of time crunches. The Nagaland team- precise, organized, focused- creating pamphlets and aids for their stall at 2 a.m. The Haryana team- resilient, the calm eye in the midst of this storm- managing a wide range of stakeholders attending the event with limited bandwidth. Everyone was putting in long hours, going the extra mile to not just get us to the finish line, but to make sure we do so in splendor.
The event was not a blip on everyone’s radar. It was as much theirs as it was mine. I learnt that it is this shared, collective ownership that elevates something from good to great.
Doing it is more important than doing it a 100% right
Never having planned and executed an event of this nature, I had my qualms about pulling this off. The stakes were high. First in-person event. An ambitious concept plan. 2 person core team. At one point, I said we should consider postponing the event date. There were simply too many moving elements to deal with- a case study contest, a crowdfunding campaign, an 8 minute organisation video that had to be edited, 2 unique panels, a theatrical play- the list saw no end.
At this turbulent stage, it was my manager who gave me the courage to keep going. In his wise words, “Doing it is more important than doing it a 100% right”. This shift in perspective made all the difference.
Did we conduct the best event by a non-profit ever? Certainly not.
Are we moving on with a sense of satisfaction coupled with concrete learnings and a zeal to do better? Certainly yes.
Every agenda item might not have materialised the way we had hoped for it to. Some went smoother, some had more hiccups than accounted for. But in the end, we did all we did to the best of our abilities. And that was more important than getting all we did 100% right.
This mindset pushes one out of inertia of rest to an inertia of action. It helped me focus on life that is rapidly unfolding outside my head than dwelling on the pessimistic, hesitant one I had made up inside.
The power of a good metaphor
Our co-founder’s introductory speech was a product of hours worth of focused writing and continuous munching of fruit bowls. In the end, it was decided that adding a metaphor that binds everything together would help. Thus, the basketball-passing metaphor was born.
The speech was tied together with the simple metaphor of “passing the ball”. Akin to “passing the mic”, the story went that just as in team sports such as basketball in which we are encouraged to keep passing the ball to increase our chance of victory, we at Samarthya are trying to imbibe the same. We want to pass the ball to different actors. To government stakeholders, to other organisations, to the parents and students we work with. We want to pass the ball to help us realise our vision of building a world in which everyone has the power to speak up and shape decisions impacting their future. Achieving large scale sustainable change is a team sport. In the development sector, there are no winners or losers, there is only progress. And we will gladly keep passing the ball to keep the game in progress.
This metaphor weaved together not just the introductory speech, but the entire event itself. Everyone who addressed the gathering- the emcees, our guests of honour, our team members- everyone referred to this metaphor in what they had to share. It reaffirmed my belief in the power of a metaphor to expand imaginations, linger in people’s minds and explain the most complex of concepts in the simplest way possible.
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On March 2, 2024, at Alliance Francaise de Delhi, I was shown “How will it all come together”. Not in one way, but many.
Public participation is an often overlooked theme in public education. The idea seems abstract and not so enticing to some. It is often shrouded in the status of being “a niche cause”.
On March 2, 2024, we attempted to shatter that image. In our humble attempt, we tried to break down the idea of participation. We showcased the immense possibility it holds. We brought people together to celebrate just the idea of it. We learnt how we can get better at furthering this cause.
Democracy is most often a process, not an outcome. It can be kept alive by ensuring that the methods we follow to set, track and evaluate goals are inclusive, participatory and decentralised. It is only then that we have the highest chance of having a thriving public institution.
It is this belief that pushes us to never stop talking about participation in all that we do. Never stop celebrating it. Never stop believing that everyone, no matter their caste, creed, gender, religion or socio-economic status, must have the opportunity to participate in how their lives shape up.
With a spring in our step and a feather in our cap, we move on to newer vistas with a resolve to celebrate participation at every juncture.
