- Aparna Jayashankar
Since our last update in August, Team Shakti has come a long way!
Our key accomplishments from August - November 2019:
We successfully finished developing Shakti’s first prototype! The tech platform that supports our call-in platform is up and running.
Our Shakti phone number is being tested and improved and will be released shortly.
We are testing our platform with experts from the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences' Center for Wellbeing, our partner.
We are using this feedback to continue improving our content.
We met with about 10 different stakeholders and officials from different government agencies and departments. We additionally visited sites like women's police stations and counseling centres established in partnership with Ministry of Women and Child Development.
Interactions with them has helped us make our content more relevant by reflecting systems and processes on the ground, not just legal information.
We have also built partnerships with several government and non-government entities in Bangalore.
Shakti has created a new program, through which we develop content on issues such as Elder Abuse, Child Abuse, and Domestic Abuse, to provide key information to intermediaries on how to best help individuals who are facing these issues.
This content is conveyed in the form of one-page briefs that can strengthen knowledge of intermediaries and institutions regarding these important issues.
We have increased our social media presence to provide more frequent updates from Shakti. We launched a social media campaign during teacher’s week in India to disseminate information that may equip teachers to better deal with cases of domestic violence at school.
We partnered with the Tata Center for Development at the University of Chicago, Delhi, to co-host Shakti’s launch event in Bangalore in February 2020.
We have begun designing and implementing our Volunteer Program to expand our capacity to help women in Bangalore.
Where are we going next?
We are currently in the ideation stage to develop a WhatsApp Bot, Messenger Bot, and a Website Bot through which people seeking help can use Shakti through text.
Shakti’s content will soon be available also in Hindi and Kannada, in addition to English.
We will test call-in platform with beneficiaries.
We will host Shakti Launch Parties in early 2020, located in both Bangalore and Chicago.
We are soon launching our Volunteer Program and are currently accepting applications.
Apply here!