In an event of scale like the Trailblazers Conclave 2.0, you want to make a difference to your audience. Give them something to take back home and feel good about. While the presence of India’s best athletes and the quality of sessions was incentive enough, the endeavour is always to go one notch higher. How do you try and make sure that at least some from the audience feel empowered to take up sport? And for us, it was about both able-bodied and Para sport. How do we encourage kids with disabilities to follow the example of the Paralympic Champions on stage? How do we make them feel part of the action and make the conclave more inclusive?
Also Read: Trailblazers Conclave 2.0 was a celebration of sport in totality
From the planning stage, we had entered into a partnership with Manovikas Kendra and had invited their Tal Tarang, their children’s band, to perform at the opening of the conclave. The idea was simple – let the kids perform in front of Olympic and Paralympic Champions and senior corporate leaders, and give them an experience they would forever remember. Make the experience special. Invite them not just as spectators of the event, but also make them the lead act at the inauguration.
We are delighted that it all worked out. The kids were brilliant and, may I say, the audience loved it. A packed hall at the ITC Royal Bengal giving the children a standing ovation will forever be a memory that I happily think back to.
But the best moment came at the end of the performance. Chanakya Chaudhary, Vice President Corporate Services at Tata Steel, and Abhinav Bindra both came up to me and said they would stand behind the kids in the photo op, and that the young faces should be the subject of the picture. Each one of our champions were on stage, but they weren’t the show-stoppers. The kids were. It made their day and it made the conclave.
The start lifted spirits and the smiles on the faces of the kids and their parents said it all. It was one of those moments when we were all one. Men and women who are achievers of the highest order, alongside young men and women with disability, who are seeking an identity of their own. It was a photograph of optimism and hope.
One of the parents said it best. “I am proud of my son,” she said as tears rolled down her cheeks. “Abhinav Bindra watched him perform and clapped for him. Who says he isn’t a normal child?” The conclave was a success even before it began.
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