January marked the start of a new year and a new chapter in our journey with the One Future Festival! We held space for learning, healing, and collective reflection across four powerful workshops. From navigating burnout to unlearning gender bias to celebrating sexuality education, our sessions reached educators, students, professionals, and young people across India. Let’s take you through the magic we co-created!
Navigating Burnout and Compassion Fatigue at EKA Educational and Charitable Trust
We kicked off the month with an in-person workshop for 31 educators at EKA Educational and Charitable Trust in Bangalore, facilitated by Mugdha Cheemakurthy and Sam Luthiya. These educators work daily with neurodivergent children and adults, often without pausing to recognise the emotional toll of care work.
Through reflective dialogue, emotional mapping, and a beautiful zine-making activity, the space invited them to recognise burnout not as failure but as a signal, a call for support and rest. This session centred emotional honesty and mutual care, allowing participants to both name their exhaustion and celebrate their resilience.
“I feel this workshop helped everyone open up and it was cathartic.”
— Tasnim, A Team Member from EKA
“Burnout has different manifestations. It is important to check on each other.”
— A Team Member from EKA
Facilitators Mugdha and Sam led the group through practices of self-awareness and collective care, providing tools to manage fatigue without guilt and gently introducing the idea that fatigue doesn’t mean failure. We explored together how burnout isn’t a personal flaw—it’s often a reflection of care work under strain. At OFC, our trauma-informed, feminist approach honours emotional boundaries, prioritises agency, and shifts the narrative from “what’s wrong with me?” to “what systems do I need care from?” The session helped validate the resilience of educators while offering tangible ways to nurture their well-being.
“This workshop helped me reflect on how strong and resilient I am—and that there’s nothing wrong with going through a burnout phase.”
— Sushmitha, A Team Member from EKA
Workshop on Gender Sensitisation at Xavier’s College, Mumbai
Our ongoing partnership with Xavier’s College is grounded in shared values of inclusion and justice. As a long-standing ally, we were thrilled to return this January to facilitate two engaging Gender Sensitisation workshops for their undergraduate students. Held on January 23rd, 2025, these sessions were facilitated by Mrinalini Tiwari and Anvita Walia and engaged 130 students.
Across two engaging sessions, 130 students participated in workshops. These sessions went beyond binary conversations where we unpacked power, privilege, and the everyday micro-aggressions that reinforce gender norms in academic and professional spaces. Through interactive exercises, students reimagined what inclusive, affirming environments could look like. Students reflected on how gender roles shape their choices, from daily interactions to long-term aspirations.
The workshops offered tools for naming power, recognising privilege, and making space for nuance in gender conversations, encouraging students to become advocates for more equitable futures.
Virtual Community Space on Burnout with WeWork
What does it mean to talk about burnout in fast-paced corporate environments? In collaboration with WeWork, we hosted a virtual session on Navigating Burnout and Fatigue on January 25th, 2025. Facilitated by Pallack Bhutani and Vaishali Singha, the session created space for 20 professionals to name their stressors, share openly, and reflect collectively. This provided the space for them to explore and understand the layered nature of burnout — how it shows up emotionally, physically, and socially.
“We all are in the same boat… most of us experience stress and burnout.”
— A Team Member from WeWork
This session wasn’t just about individual self-care—it was about recognising how workplace culture and interpersonal dynamics shape mental health. The conversation encouraged participants to explore the systemic roots of burnout and strategies for sustainable well-being.
“Enjoyed the session! I’m so happy I could provide my personal thoughts with ease and felt reassured that others did as well. It made me realise I’m not so different from others and I’m not alone. This is definitely something I would recommend to anyone even if they aren’t going through a burnout.”
— Niranjana, A Team Member at WeWork.
Comprehensive Sexuality Education at BAAT: Bebaak aur Azaad Taraane
Our final January workshop on Comprehensive Sexuality Education was conducted on January 30th, 2025, in Delhi as part of BAAT: Bebaak aur Azaad Taraane by The Young People’s Foundation, with 45 participants and facilitation by Mansi Aggarwal and Sahil Pradhan.
BAAT: Bebaak aur Azaad Taraane, a name that quite literally sings of being fearless and free, was a two-day conclave in Delhi that brought together young people, educators, artists, and activists to reimagine Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE). Curated by The Young People’s Foundation, BAAT invited participants to think beyond the classroom and co-create frameworks for CSE that are rights-based, youth-affirming, and rooted in joy and dignity. Our session took place on January 30th as part of a broader celebration of dialogue, creativity, and collective dreaming. The session created a safe space for conversations often buried under stigma, while celebrating diversity, curiosity, and self-awareness.
In line with this spirit, our team facilitated a vibrant, hands-on workshop in the Resource Talaab, a space to dive deep into CSE content and co-create youth-friendly resources. We split participants into smaller groups, each engaging with a different theme where they imagined new ways to communicate CSE that felt accessible, localised, and affirming. The workshop offered powerful tools to dismantle taboos and equipped participants with language and frameworks to make informed, respectful, and empowering choices.
✨ What We Took from January 2025
Throughout January, we engaged over 225 individuals across four unique workshops. Each session underscored the importance of participatory learning models. Our spiral-learning approach ensured that participants could connect their lived experiences with the larger systemic context, whether discussing burnout, gender, or sexuality.
Our engagements also reinforced the importance of co-creating spaces with partners, adapting content to organisational needs, and rooting learning in the language and reality of the communities we work with.
From online spaces to community rooms and college halls, the One Future Festival continues to hold space for dialogue, reflection, and action.
???? What’s Next?
We’re just getting started! Stay tuned for our upcoming monthly round-ups from the One Future Festival 2024–2025, and discover how our learning spaces are supporting people to reimagine justice, healing, and belonging.
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???? Write to us at partnerships@onefuturecollective.org
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