Thursday, October 8th
15:30 - 16:15
Key Learnings
- The need of constructive and systematic use of digital technology to solve social problems.
- Importance of connecting beyond the current network of friends and family for a middle class girl in developing countries like India.
- Much like physical communities, the new web social platforms need to adapt, evolve and self organize based on the cultural, socio-economic and aspirational background of the users.
Details
Discrimination against women is a universal phenomenon. In countries like India, that have a strong patriarchal culture, women are often forced to accept marginalized positions in the society. Breaking out of social barriers is both non-trivial and logistically challenging.
Connected dream is a data driven, scalable platform to facilitate connections between girls and potential role models. In order to have maximal impact on professional choices, connections are established based on factors such as cultural similarities, aspirations, goals and socio-economic background.
Thursday, October 8th
15:30 - 16:15
Tarana Gupta
User Experience Researcher & Designer - MIT Media Lab
Tarana is currently an User Experience Researcher & Designer with Laboratory for Social Machines at MIT Media Lab. Her focus is on developing innovative technological solutions for social engagement and change. In parallel, she is building a platform to reduce gender disparities in India by connecting young girls with potential women role models. Tarana has a masters in design technology from Tisch School of Arts (Interactive Telecommunications Program), New York University. At NYU, her thesis work was focused on exploring design challenges relate to crowed sourced data. Prior to NYU, she spent roughly three years working as a senior user interface designer with Samsung India. She also has a masters in design from IIT Bombay where her work focused on exploring metaphysical concepts embedded in mythological stories and imagery of hindu culture as well as their impact on the modern Indian society.