Last Month at OFC | August 2019

A recap of what the team at One Future Collective has been up to, in the past month.

August has been an exciting, exhilarating and utterly eventful month at OFC. Here’s a snapshot of all the things we’ve pulled off this month.

Launch of the first One Future Fellowship, 2019

The first One Future Fellowship which will go on for three months, commenced with gusto on the 4th of August. We have 14 amazing fellows who form our first cohort and come from diverse backgrounds and who’ve commenced their social leadership journeys with us with in person training, social impact projects and additional coaching. We have successfully completed four weeks of intensive yet interactive and fulfilling days of co-learning and knowledge sharing with them.

Ideas Lab: Feminist Justice Legal Centre

We hosted an Ideas Lab discussion on the 5th August which aimed at bringing in experts and professionals from various backgrounds to brainstorm ideas and practical possibilities and collaborations with respect to our upcoming FemJustice Legal Centre and its working. The discussion saw a participation of 18 people and was very interactive and participatory.

Workshop: Queer 101, HR College

We hosted a workshop on Queer rights and identities at HR College on the 6th of August led by Vandita Morarka. The workshop saw great participation and was well received by the students.

Workshops: Apne Aap Women’s Collective

We hosted a Mental Health and self-care session on the 8th August and a session on Sustainability on the 22nd of August for the 14 girls at Apne Aap Women’s Collective in Kamathipura. The sessions were led by Vini Doshi and Prerna Laddha respectively.

Workshop: Rage Becomes Her

The Sanskaari Girls Book Club collaborated with Bibliotherapy for a discussion and interactive workshop on Soraya Chemaly’s Rage Becomes Her on the 10th of August. The event saw a great turnout, some really engaging conversations and was a wonderful success.

Workshops: Sophia College for Women

We had engaging and enriching discussions with a batch of 35 students from Sophia College’s Women’s Centre on women and their civil and criminal legal rights led by our founder Vandita Morarka. These workshops were held on the 13th and 16th of August.

Workshop: Legal Rights, SIES

Our founder, Vandita Morarka, conducted a workshop for 100 teachers in training on Sexual Harassment at the Workplace and other legal rights around sexual violence at SIES college on the 14th of August.

Launch of the Feminist Justice Legal Centre + Open Mic Night

We hosted an Open Mic night on the 17th of August at Haiku Jam, in Bandra, which was a night rife with fiery, oratory and feisty performances. The day also saw the soft launch of the much awaited and anticipated FemJustice Legal Centre, a space where the process of seeking justice can be a transformative tool to combat gender-based crimes, while also recognising the survivor-client’s agency, lived reality and desires for justice. To find out more about our project, click here.

Workshops: Sexual and Reproductive Health, Shikha Academy

We kickstarted our series of sessions on SRHR at Shikha Academy with a workshop on adolescent healthcare, nutrition and menstruation for parents and educators on the 20th of August. Our founder, Vandita Morarka led this session.

Sanskaari Girls Book Club Meetups across cities

This month, we discussed Meena Kandaswamy’s Ms. Militancy alongwith Jerin Anne Jacob’s article on Meena Kandasamy’s work, ‘The Poetry of Meena Kandasamy: A Tool of Political Dissent’ across cities. The discussions were engaging and rewarding in toto thus paving way for healthy and significant discussions around pressing issues of gender justice and the like in our country.

ILGA Holistic Security Training, Seoul, South Korea

Our founder, Vandita Morarka attended the ILGA Holistic Security Training programme held in Seoul, South Korea from the 26th-29th August. This was an initiative falling under the ProtectDefenders.eu mechanism. 18 human rights defenders from 13 countries across Asia spent five days focusing on psycho-social and bodily well-being.

E-book release: LGBTQIA+ Myths and Facts

The e-book, authored by Shruti Ventakesh and Haima Simoes, aims at dispelling myths around and against the LBGTQIA+ community and was launched on the 11th of August. This e-book helps debunk the most common myths surrounding homosexuality, bisexuality, trans people, asexuality, non-binary identities, intersex people and other misconceptions related to gender and sexuality. You can access it here.

Team Townhall

We had our team Townhall on the 31st of August, where we shared our retrospective comments and opinions in evaluating the past months and projects, engaged in brainstorming and intensive learning and planned for the upcoming months at OFC.

We also conducted PoSH Training for three companies in the month of August.

Upcoming events

Queer Quiz Night- 4th September

OFC’s Queer Resource Centre is super excited to hold a Queer Quiz Night on the 4th of September. Mark your dates and attend this fun, informative quiz night which will help you dive into India’s queer past and present. To RSVP, click here.

Youth Meetup: Mental Health and the Workplace

Our next youth meetup will be held on the 7th of September at Cafe Coffee Day, Bandra and will be based on the theme of Mental Health and the Workplace. The meetup will focus on mental health concerns and self-care for working youth. To sign up, click here.

Certificate course: Queer Sexual Health

We will be hosting a two day certificate course on Queer Sexual Health in association with the Canadian Consulate in Mumbai on the 14th and 21st of September, 2019. To apply, click here.