Unleash the potential of millions of children through the power of technology- that was the theme of the 5th Annual Pratham Boston Gala held on Sunday, October 21, 2012. Pratham is the largest NGO in India dedicated to children's education, impacting more than 33 million children in its 18 year old history.
 
As the 300+ guests at the event entered the reception hall, they were welcomed by MIT Media Lab volunteers who shared a demo of Scratch, an interactive tool for children's learning.  An example of the intersection of technology and education, a pilot of Scratch is being planned through Pratham's broad network of schools across 21 states.

The main event in the hall commenced with the touching song Luka Chupi from Rang de Basanti sung by featured singer Vasuda Sharma. The Boston chapter head Vikas Taneja welcomed all the guests to the fifth annual gala and Emcee Jharna Madan introduced the first speaker of the evening, Molly Easo Smith, Executive Director Pratham USA.

Molly shared insights on the education landscape in India and what Pratham was doing to make a difference. Making the problem of illiteracy in India real to the audience- Molly highlighted, "Look at the 10 people at each of your tables- now imagine 4 of them at each table cannot read or write." She further highlighted the impact of Pratham's Read India campaign which reached 33 million children by building successful partnerships with teachers, volunteers, and government schools. Pratham's mission was to not only bring children to go to school but also make sure they are learning. However, there was 100 million more children to be reached and what would accelerate the impact of Pratham? It was the power of technology.

Continuing with the proceedings of the event, Boston Advisory Board member, Raj Mundhe introduced the year's Honoree Anant Agarwal, Head of the edX online initiative. Anant Agarwal highlighted the power of technology through his experience leading Harvard and MIT's online education collaboration. In a day, the online platform had reached 150,000 learners- that was more than all the students MIT had educated through its 150+ year industry. Such was the power of technology.

Sanjay Mirchandani. Chief Information Officer (CIO) of EMC and keynote speaker of the evening, took the technology message home as he showed how technology could transform Pratham. With "Big data" technology, Pratham's Annual Survey of Education Report (ASER) which surveyed 600,000+ children could be analyzed at a new scale to invest in the schools and children that need it the most. Technologies such as Scratch and low-cost tablets would ensure that children learned effectively. He urged guests to join the Technology initiative spearheaded by the Pratham Boston chapter by visiting the site: http://www.facebook.com/PrathamBostonTechnologyWorkGroup. 

To make sure all the guests took a memory of the event and Pratham with them, Sanjay introduced the concept of Selfies to all the guests. A selfie is a self-taken picture of oneself. He asked all the guests to take a selfie of themselves at the event- a high point as close to 300 flashes of cameras brightened the hall as people captured a moment of a special evening dedicated to the important cause of educating millions of children in India.

Building on this high point, Pratham Boston Advisory Board Member, Gita Rao led the pledge drive along with two volunteers from the Pratham field. A fitting celebration, the event concluded with a musical performance by Vasuda Sharma and her ban, who enthralled audiences with a range of unique compositions from Jazz to Rajasthani folks from their album Attuned Spirits. Lead singer of the band, Vasuda Sharma, quickly transitioned to fast-paced Bollywood numbers bringing the guests on to the dance floor with her.

The gala was a special evening celebrating the cause of children's education in India and the power of technology to transform it even further. Get involved by visiting Pratham's facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/PRATHAM-BOSTON/378810839320?fref=ts or Pratham Boston's website at http://www.prathamusa.org/chapters/boston.

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