As we endeavor to bring you the 1st Young Jain Professionals Retreat, we want to ensure that you received value for your participation through a rich variety of activities and types of sessions. With that in mind, we will feature two tracks of sessions that have been long awaited.

Saturday, October 28th

This will provide participants the ability to meet with subject matter experts through a panel platform as well as engage in mentorship with your fellow participants and community members through 1 to 1 breakout sessions.

Facilitated by: Parth Savla, Pari Shah, Urvi Shah

1P - 3:00P [Session 4a]: MENTORSHIP TRACK (details below)

1p – 1:30p: The Value of Mentorship

1:30p – 2p: 3 Parallel Mini Panels with the following themes:

• Mini Panel 1: Creating a Work Life Balance
• Mini Panel 2: Interviewing 101
• Mini Panel 3: Aligning Passion with Purpose (Shaleen Shah)

2p – 2:45p: Mentorship Break Outs

• 15 mins each where you are given the opportunity to mentor someone or be menteed by someone
• 3 break outs

2:45p – 3p: Reflections

• Group sharing about learnings

Saturday, October 28th

This is where the philosophy of Anekantvad meets inquiry into the real life issues of gender equality and empowerment in the South Asian community which are often not brought to light. In this track, we will engage in interactive conversations about topics such as sexual assault, "gender norms" and their impacts, and deepen our awareness as Jain brothers and sisters.

3:00P - 5:00P: EQUALITY 2.0 / WOMENS EMPOWERMENT TRACK

3P – 4P [Session 5a]: Gender Norms and Dynamics

This interactive session will peel back the layers of issues related to gender norms within the South Asian community and beyond. Gender dynamics are the ways in which men and women are treated or are taught to behave differently in society, either with their own gender or with each other. These can either be behaviors which society doesn't question, are hidden within society and society may even be against changing. Using elements of interactive theater we will peel back the layers of certain realities such as sexual assault, LGBTQ issues, and many more aspects.

What You Will Learn:

1. The construction of gender dynamics within our society.
2. The prevalence of realities such as sexual abuse.
3. The impact on both women and men in our culture.
4. Practical strategies to identify and safe guard against experiences of marginalization and abuse.

Panel Discussion: Tim Huls, Valeri Bocage, Riana Shah

4P – 5P: [Session 6]: Women’s Empowerment

If we want to see meaningful change, both men and women are implicated. In this panel discussion, leaders who have worked tirelessly in there advocacy for shifting the conventional paradigm of thought will share their journey and lead us through a discussion which explores actions towards these shifts.

What You Will Learn:

1. The different barriers of the social construction of gender in everyday life.
2. Practical strategies to implement equality in the workplace.
3. New language to convey what is true for you and stand up for equality in your conversations.