Chandan Singh Banjara, Age-36,Chakdeopur
We’re proud to announce that our trainee-turned-trainer from Barpali in Odisha, Bidyabati Meher, has won the Internet Society’s 25 Under 25 Award! The Internet Society (ISOC) celebrated its 25th anniversary last month by recognising, honouring and celebrating young people who are shaping tomorrow by using the Internet as a force for good. The ceremony took place in Los Angeles, USA. With the intention to create a link between the past and the future, the 25 Under 25 Awards recognised 28 young innovators (25 awardees, and three honorable mentions) from all around the world, all under 25 years of age.
Bidyabati’s village of Barpali, in the Indian state of Odisha, is home to about 20,000 handloom weavers, famous for their handwoven ikat sarees. The weavers lacked the education, business practices, and modern technologies to earn a decent livelihood. Traditionally, most designs from weaver households in Barpali are based on memory and mental calculations, as they are throughout India. This restricts experimentation and innovation in designs. Bidyabati wanted to give the weavers freedom to experiment. With support from the Digital Empowerment Foundation, Bidyabati became a digitally-literate weaver, allowing her to introduce various digital interventions in the community. She is part of a mobilisation team that encourages more weavers to adopt digital tools, and trains scores of youth from her community in digital literacy and design.
It was, however, unfortunate, that Bidyabati could not attend the ceremony since she was not granted a US visa; but she was represented by another colleague, Aanchal Mittal, from the Delhi office.
In Los Angeles, interactions with pioneers and trailblazers of the Internet turned out to be a great learning experience and exposure for all participants and winners. It was promising to listen to stories about the birth and first steps of the Internet as well as to know how the young generation is leveraging the power of the Internet to bring about a change in their respective communities.
DEF also showcased stoles, scarves, sarees and laptop sleeves from its handloom clusters at the event in Los Angeles.
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