On the day that we celebrate the importance of our mothers, a special broadcast will be honouring extraordinary women (and men) who are working to make the world a better place. The broadcast, titled ‘Every Day is Mother’s Day’, is being co-hosted by entrepreneurs Laura Muranaka and Kunal Sood.
The guest speakers include entrepreneurs, conversationalists and storytellers: Rupa Sood, Roopal Luhana, Susan Rockefeller, Jane Seymour, Katie Flynn, Marianne Williamson, Marya Ghazipura, Anita Goel, Yasmin Padamsee Forbes, Oona Chaplin, Nancy Conrad, Alexandra Cousteau, Sarika Batra, Yashi Brown, Nahema Mehta, Lakshmi Pratury, and Raghava KK.
The event, to be hosted free for all at www.wetheplanet.io, will see discussions on subjects ranging from climate change to LBGTQ issues, and preventing violence against women, ending with tips on how to prepare for the new normal in a post-COVID-19 world.
New York-based Kunal created the ‘Every Day is Mother’s Day’ online event in honour of his own mother Rupa Sood, who inspired him to study the human mind in the United States after he lost his mentor to suicide. “Her love for humanity and open heart translates to how she raised her three children,” he says, adding how she taught him to care for something larger than himself, for the planet.
Kunal Sood
The founder of X Fellows and X Summit, Kunal has previously launched many movements, including First Woman, a mission to put a woman on the moon, and more recently, the global campaign #WeThePlanet to unite in action around COVID-19 and climate change.
“The goal of the day is to proclaim every day as mother’s day and honour Mother Earth as well, since we are suffering from the pandemic. So many mothers are making the impossible possible working from kitchens to the frontlines,” he says.
Starting the discussion will be filmmaker Susan Rockefeller, who will speak about the idea of ‘protecting what is precious’. “This is a mantra that my husband David and I use. It helps us make decisions with our work and philanthropy. The three pillars for us are Family, Art and Nature. Family as a foundation for love and transmission of values, art as a universal language and highest form of human expression, and nature, because if our environment isn’t healthy then we won’t be either,” she says.
Susan has been long advocating for businesses to be more green, and has also authored a book, Green At Work . The current pandemic, she believes, has shown the world how interconnected as well as how fragile we are. “We will need more global cooperation and collaboration between nations, as well as more local initiatives to boost innovation and local economies,” she says. She hopes that better technology will allow for virtual global gatherings and reduce air travel and congestion.
“Mother’s Day is a reminder to celebrate and give thanks to those who gave us life. As a mother, I understand the fierce power of protecting what I love. My hope is that this energy of love and empathy of motherly love emanates to our entire planet so we can heal and repair relationships between each other, our nations and the ecosystems that sustain us,” she says.
Every Day is Mother’s Day will be hosted at WeThePlanet.io on May 10, at 10.30 am EST, 8 pm IST.
