IDCA 2024

In collaboration with the India Development Coalition of America, the 13th North India Conference was organised on March 6–7, 2024. The theme for the two-day conference was "Innovative Practices to Mitigate Poverty and Climate Change in India." The chief guest for the inaugural function was Major Dr. Meeta Singh, Chairperson, Dignity of the Girl Child Foundation. The Guest of Honour was Mr. Hunaman Prasad Garg, AVP, Jaipur Rugs Foundation. The conference began with a prayer for the almighty's blessings and the lighting of a lamp.
Prof. Roopa Mathur, Director, ISIM, Jaipur, delivered the welcome address and highlighted the importance of investing in innovative technologies to combat climate change and eradicate poverty.
The founder and trustee of IDCA, Dr. Mohan Jain, stressed the urgent need for comprehensive solutions to the interconnected problems of poverty and climate change. He went into detail about several current efforts that target these issues, such as those that concentrate on sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, and education for underserved groups. 
Major Dr. Meeta Singh delivered the inaugural address. She outlined the crucial role education plays in empowerment. She emphasised that while education is essential, it alone does not guarantee success; it must be coupled with self-resilience and a drive to make a difference. Dr. Singh appreciated Mr. Mohan Jain for his commendable work and stressed on the importance of being the voice of the voiceless. Major Dr. Meeta Singh empathetically urged individuals to dream big and work tirelessly to achieve those dreams.
The Guest of Honour, Mr. Hanuman Prasad Garg, Assistant Vice President  Jaipur Rugs Foundation, shed light on the organisation's impactful initiatives. He acquainted the participants with Jaipur Rugs Foundation, known for its commitment to sustainable development and particularly focuses on women empowerment and socio-economic progress. 
The inaugural ceremony was followed by two technical sessions 1 and 2 on day one and technical session 3 on day 2. 
The theme of Technical Session 1 was ‘Emerging Practices in Sustainability, Climate Change & Water’. The session began with Shri Shyam Singh Rathore, Sarpanch of Jahota, who drew the attention of the audience by sharing how remarkable strides have been made towards transforming the village into a smart heritage destination. 
Ms. Stuti Kapoor, Associate Manager, Lead CSR, and Mental Wellness Advocate at Accenture, Jaipur, shared that happiness was her main driving force for choosing the social welfare route. She briefed about Accenture's endeavour in Developing Partnerships, to create social impact. 
Ms. Richa Singhi founder, Itra Foundation's founder explained to the audience how and why it is essential for everyone to have a connection with nature. She also gave some tips on how to establish a connection with nature.
Mr. Zubair Khan, Global Lead - Microsoft Business Unit, HCL Technologies, shared his viewpoints revolving around climate change and its impact on human life, as well as climate problems. He elaborated on some of the exclusive practices adopted by HCL Technologies for waste management and water conservation. 
The theme of Technical session-2 was ‘Emerging Practices in Education & Livelihood’
The first speaker of the session was Ms Nilanjana Das, Founder Director at Action Center ((ACT). Ms. Das oriented gathering with her journey towards empowering women and reducing environmental footprint through innovative paper recycling practices. 
Mr Prashant Pal, Founder & CEO, Pure India Trust shed light on the importance of making women financially independent. He spoke about the journey of making 10,000 ‘Atmanirbhar Parivaar’ and spoke about his initiative ‘Mera Gaon, Mera Vishwas’. 
Mr. Manan Alani, founder, All About Happiness shared about his life’s incident where he observed people deprived of basic things and realising the importance of having abundance in life.  Since then his determination and perseverance to share abundance and happiness became  his ultimate objective of life. 
Ms. Manisha Singh, HR Executive, Safalta.com, Shared that by streamlining the recruitment process with an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) format resume, Safalta.com ensures efficient matching of candidates with suitable jobs. 
Day two of the conference began with the technical Session – 3 on the theme ‘Innovative Practices in Health’
Dr. Pramila Sanjaya, Honorary Advisor, SIDART Stated that problems like innovative practices in health are very important and needs everyone’s attention. She shared the fact that even women’s menstrual hygiene is closely related to several of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations, making it more than just a personal health concern. DR. Pramila shared the contribution of her NGO.
Ms. Manan Chaturvedi, the founder and director of Surman Sansthan briefed about it by sharing her social welfare tale. She shared that how she helped the orphan children flourish in their life. She encouraged all to support the lives of deprived people in whatever way possible.
The concluding session of conference witnessed NGO field project presentation by the ISIM students who undertook field projects in various NGO for 15 days duration on “Citizenship & social entrepreneurship”. Students presented their learning and experience acquired during the field internship. Ms. Richa Singhvi founder Itra Foundation and Ms. Nisha Bagga, founder, Community for Safer Roads were the judges for the competition.
 Among the ten selected presentations, the top three were rewarded with the cash prizes of Rs. 6000/-, Rs. 4000/-, and Rs. 3000/- respectively for the first, second and third positions. The winners were from the NGO- Praveenlata Sanstha, (PLS), Mr. Tushar M. Kuruvilla, Mr. Rohan M. Kurvilla, Ms. Lakshita Gupta, and Ms. Himanshi Choudhary. The students who stood second were from the NGO-Naya Savera, Ms. Kanishka Jain, Ms. Moksha Jain, Ms. Gayatri Acharya, Mr. Lokesh Kumawat, and Ms. Khushi Gupta were the team members. The third position was achieved by the team from All About Happiness (ABH) NGO. The team representing ABH included Mr. Aamaiz Ali, Ms. Pragya Parnami, Ms. Rashmi Sewani, and Ms. Satyam Khandelwal.
 
The two-day event brought together students, researchers, NGO leaders, academician and corporate learners to share, learn and build on each other’s knowledge and encourage all to contribute to society in some way.  a