Spark the Rise Grand Finale will be streamed

Tomorrow, 20th April 2012 is the Grand Finale function of Spark the Rise and Arathi is in Mumbai representing PNLIT. 

Thanks to the support of well-wishers who voted for us in the earlier round, we reached this far in the competition, and with it, national visibility that would have been difficult to get in such a short time.

Mahindra will be streaming tomorrow's event. Join the conversation on Twitter by following #SparktheRise and @MahindraRise, watch the Power-Talks live at 3 pm, and the Award Ceremony live at 5:30 pm at www.sparktherise.com, on the Mahindra Facebook page and on your mobile!

The Grand Finale will feature:

• Discussions with Spark the Rise Finalists: How can grassroots movements fuel change in India? A revolving group discussion between project champions and a group of influencers focused on innovation, entrepreneurship, and movements. Our discussion moderators include: Atul Chitnis from FOSS.IN, Geetika Dayal and Manish Joshi from The Indus Entrepreneurs, Priya Naik from Samhita, Vinod Keni from Aavishkaar, Shrey Goyal from Villgro, and Deval Sanghavi from Dasra. To find out more about the topics, see below. Time: 2pm-3pm
• Power-talks on Scaling Up—Social Impact and Value Proposition: Solomon Prakash from Ashoka India, and ParvathiMenon from Innovation Alchemy will provide insights on how social ventures can increase their impact. Communities can watch the power-talks live at www.sparktherise.com, on the Mahindra facebook page, and on their mobile. Time: 3pm-4pm
• Awards Ceremony:  The 4 Grand Finale Winners will be announced! 1 crore in funding will be given to the winning Change-makers. Communities can watch this event live at www.sparktherise.com, on the Mahindra facebook page, and on their mobile! Time: 5:30pm-6:45pm

During the discussion, the following topics will be addressed:

Innovation

1.      Google is more afraid of competition from two dreamers innovating in their garage than competition from other corporations.  Why is there so little radical innovation like this in India? – Moderated by AtulChitnis from FOSS.IN.
2.      Nine out of ten innovative ideas never see the light of day.  How can we bring more innovative ideas out into the open? – Moderated by Geetika Dayal and Manish Joshi from The Indus Entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneurship

3.      What can non-profits and for-profits learn from each other about how to tackle goals (from key deliverables to marketing to scaling up) effectively? – Moderated by PriyaNaik, from Samhita
4.      What are the five biggest pitfalls for new startups, and how can they be avoided? – Moderated by VinodKeni from Aavishkaar.

Movements

5.      What are the most effective ways for establishing partnerships—whether with volunteers, donors, or business partners? – Moderated by ShreyGoyal, from Villgro
6.      How can grassroots movements change India?  And what can we learn from successful examples? – Moderated by DevalSanghavi from Dasra.