This month, a bunch of dreamers from across disciplines, from different parts of the country, will head to Goa for a one of its kind ‘Unconference’.
Professionals from entrepreneurship, film, performing arts and music, fringe, and visual arts will exchange notes and figure out ways to expand their horizons collectively in the course of two days through a series of sessions, workshops, panel discussions, presentations and master classes.
To be held on March 28 and 29, The Goa Project (TGP) is a social experiment. As Vijay Anand, one of the brains behind the initiative explains, “It is an experimental platform, to bring people from various spectrums of society and get them to cross-breed thoughts and new initiatives.” Specifically youth. “It’s a platform for the convergence of thoughts among the young and the upcoming, who are making grassroots level changes in their respective domain,” V.V. Preetham, the other host of event, adds.
The Film Track, for example, has lined up professionals who would talk on everything from how to get the crowd and fund your new film to how to get it out in the theatres. Hence, a filmmaker may just be able to find the right kind of entrepreneur, musician, marketing designer and artiste to collaborate with for a project. An artist maybe able to find a way to sell his paintings and tap into networks of other professionals. A techie might see solutions he can provide and an entrepreneur would see unforeseen opportunities in various spheres.
“A photographer may be inspired to embrace film. Or get on to the other side of the camera. Or learn origami. It’s a holiday that could prove to be life-changing,” as Javeeth Ahmed, manager of the Film Track and one of the key volunteers behind the Chennai Roof Top Film Festival says.
Caitlin Marinelli, who heads the marketing efforts of TGP, says “It’s an opportunity to put diverse energies and mentalities through a tunnel of inspiration, to see what comes out on the other side. Because, the work we do is necessarily confined to the constraints of things and the people around who we traditionally surround ourselves. Progress and problem solving, to the extent that India needs it, requires a larger, collaborative approach.”
“A nation as diverse as ours, with our cultural and thought diversity requires such experimental platforms to embrace cross-discipline collaboration as a primordial need to make such grassroots level changes,” Preetham explains the group’s vision to bring radically different disciplines to one platform.
The project was born out of a need for such platforms. As core planner, Sumeet Anand explains, “There is no such platform that enables such a diverse collective to come together and facilitates cross-pollination and connect among these people and their ideas.”
What results do they expect out of such an experiment?
“In the short term, people will probably leave having learned a new skill, stepped out of their comfort zone, or met new partners for projects they are working on,” says Caitlin. “But these individual instances of confluences should collectively lead to a thought movement, where we recognise the value in other perspectives and walks of life, and cross-collaboration becomes the rule, not the exception.”
To register or propose a topic you want to talk about, visit >www.thegoaproject.com . Registration fees will be waived for chosen speakers.
