2009 Summer Edition: “Day Zero” Schedule

About Grassroutes

Grassroutes is a Fellowship Program which funds youth to go on road-trips for social change. Traveling
across India, meeting change-makers, working with social ventures, learning developmental issues, living
on less than $1 a day, these youth return with stories of social change; and the program enables them to
use these stories to drive campaigns and become change agents themselves.

An initiative of a non-profit for-impact society Youth Factor, and run by 20-odd year olds just out of
college, Grassroutes aims to be a novel social venture driving youth to social action in India.

The Grassroutes mantra is to use travel as a means to enable youth to be change agents.

“Day Zero” Details

Grassroutes Fellows go through a month-long orientation process prior to them embarking on their
road-trips. This intensive online process is designed to impart a working knowledge of the state of the
developmental sector in India – challenges, case studies, tools, success stories, resource bases et al. The
process culminates with the Fellows gathering at one location for a 2-day set of sessions, called “Day
Zero” which includes talks by Grassroutes advisors and exceptional speakers as a final round of
perspective building before they set out on their road-trips.

Date: 13 & 14 June 2009

Time: 0900 – 1900 hrs (on both days)
Venue: NSR-GIV Center, IIM-Bangalore.

1 Road-trips for Social Change www.grassroutes.in

Schedule: Day 1 – 13 June 2009

Time Details Speaker

09:00 Introductions

09:15 The yofa.org story and the Grassroutes concept Keerthi Kiran K

Keerthi delivers the commencement speech introducing Co-founder, yofa.org

yofa.org as a youth venture and the philosophy behind
Grassroutes

10:00 Grassroutes 2008: Backstory Goutam Ullas Mahapatra

Goutam talks about the social impact that Grassroutes Co-founder, yofa.org
achieved in its very first pilot edition during the winter
of 2008. Includes screening of videos from the road-trips

10:45 Chai!

11:00 Team Presentations 2009 Fellows

2009 Fellows discuss their road-trip plans, their

expectations and goals from the program

13:00 Lunch

14:00 Road-trip stories Abhishek Nayak

Nakul Jamadagni
2008 Fellows share the stories they bring from their
road-trips, and tips to enhance the new Fellows’ Grassroutes 2008 Fellows
experiences

14:45 First Aid 101 Husain Poonawala

2009 Fellow and doctor Husain talks about basic health Grassroutes 2009 Fellow
precautions and first aid techniques for the new Fellows Doctor
to help them during their road-trips

2 Road-trips for Social Change www.grassroutes.in

15:00 The lost art of story-telling Abhilash Ravishankar

Abhilash talks about the different tools and Co-founder, yofa.org

communication channels that social activists can use to
tell compelling stories, on which they can drive strong
social campaigns

15:45 Chai!

16:00 Take 5! – Film-Making Workshop Raghunandan K

Hrish Thota
The folks from Flaunge, the media partner of
Grassroutes, deliver a crash course in the art of Founders, Flaunge
capturing great moments, film-making with special Organizers, Bangalore Roof Top
focus on documentaries Film Festival

18:00 Off to the Grassroutes Party

Schedule: Day 2 – 14 June 2009

Time Details Speaker

09:00 Being a change-maker Vishal Talreja

Vishal talks about his story of starting Dream A Founder, Dream A Dream
Dream Foundation in 1999 as a 20-odd year old Ashoka Fellow
Investment Banker and growing it to what it is today,
with special focus on how the journey of change has
changed him from within

10:45 Chai!

11:00 One Billion Votes: The Story Jasmine Shah

Jasmine talks about creating and successfully Founder, Jaago Re!

running Jaago Re! One Billion Votes Campaign, one
of India’s largest success stories in using new media
to rope in India’s educated urban population to
participate in democracy

3 Road-trips for Social Change www.grassroutes.in

13:00 Lunch

14:00 My Motorcycle Diaries C S Sharada Prasad

Sharada tells us stories from his journey from Traveler for change
Kanyakumari to Kashmir on his Thunderbird – 28 Manager, India Water Portal
states, 19000 km, 75 days to study the water
problems India faces

15:45 Chai!

16:00 The Pink Chaddi Campaign Nithin

Nithin shares the story of a group of youth creating Member, Nirbhaya Karnataka
and running The Pink Chaddi Campaign, one of Activist, The Pink Chaddi Campaign
India’s largest social campaigns against attacks on
women

18:00 Road-trip Kickoff Sonali Gupta

Sonali comperes an informal chat between all Program Co-ordinator, Grassroutes

Fellows, the Grassroutes team, advisors and
speakers before the Fellows set out on their road-
trips

Contact
For any queries, contact

Abhilash Ravishankar
abhilash@yofa.org
+91 98866 32987

Keerthi Kiran K
keerthikiran@yofa.org
+91 90083 02973

4 Road-trips for Social Change www.grassroutes.in