2020

This event was a very unique one and the first of its kind. The discussion was regarding social media using the movie 'the social dilemma' as a reference. It was conducted through an online platform. Samvãd screened the film on the night before the event on 19th September 2020 for participants. The theme and format of the discussion were refreshing and the movie thought-provoking, piquing the curiosity of an anxious audience. As the event progressed, the audience started interacting with the panel, becoming passionate orators in the process. The event commenced at around 4 PM and lasted for about an hour and a half. As the host, Mansi outlined the event structure. Apoorva introduced the club briefly and was followed by Alark who briefly summarized the movie. The moderators, Mihir, and Pranav proposed some questions relevant to the film’s content to influence the flow of the discussion and ensure the different facets of the movie are covered without getting stuck over a single point for long. The participants voiced their views, solutions, and experiences. The event consisted of 5 questions and 5 rounds of discussion. A few clips relevant to the crux of the issue were streamed between the rounds.

The panel pondered on the following questions and came up with a multitude of solutions and strategies to tackle them.

1) With the reality of Social Media coming out, will cyber ethics play a crucial role in the future of IT startups?

2) Given the advantages of Social media, is completely banning them a practical solution?

3) What is the best system that can relatively preserve privacy as well as provide a good business model, thereby beneficial for both companies and users?

4) An unfortunate consequence of Social Media is the creation of online echo chambers that nurture extremism. How can we tackle this issue?

5) Bad faith actors often utilize social media addiction and algorithmic recommendation systems to convert people into irrational fanatics. What can be done to prevent this?

Education encourages, empowers, and enhances the budding future of a nation. It is our responsibility that we discuss the new education reform that has the potential to revolutionize education in this country. We were joined by 25 inquisitive participants to discuss all the various facets of the policy and their implications. We dealt with questions such as:

Does this policy have the ability to do away with decades of the societal stigma associated with unconventional career choices and dropping out?

Is the impetus on regional languages well placed or could those resources be utilized elsewhere?

How feasible is it to implement such a long term policy?

The crucial observations made by the participants led to a high-quality constructive discussion.

For this session we had a unique way to go about the discussion. To promote more participation in the discussion we decided to implement an innovative format. Each participant had to choose one topic from the following:

1. Trade and commerce

2. Work culture

3. Tourism and international travel

4. Globalization

5. Family and social relations

6. Future Pandemic preparation

7. Change in education sector

8. Health Sector reforms

The participants had to present a proposal for major changes in that sector in the near future and a way to keep up with them. The audience would vote on the proposal, following which the speaker would explain the reasons and analysis behind the proposal. This was followed by a second vote. Thus the speaker had to use their presentation as well as research skills to convince the audience and pass their proposal.