"Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habits. Watch your habits; they become character. Watch your character; for it becomes your destiny" -Upanishad ERA was formed in 2020 guided by these ancient words of wisdom. As a social impact incubator, ERA defined its mandate as the Education, Research, and the Arts spheres (E.R.A.). Registering a not-for-profit foundation was an arduous and expensive undertaking, so the founding team committed to run a private limited company that would:
1.
Run operations through grants, offering a compelling service proposition
2.
Spend contributions net of expenses (which includes salaries and administrative costs) on expanding the existing programs and starting new ones
3.
Maintain income disparity of a one to five ratio, between the highest and lowest paid employees
Our logo went through three evolutions. A picture is worth a thousand words.
1. Juxtaposition of the English acronym ERA on the Urdu letter “Te” ت
2. Translation of Education, Research and the Arts in Urdu, which start with the Urdu letter “Te” ت
3. Final version a modification of the English and Urdu fonts, coupled with adopting an Earth tone alongside Black. The arrow was inspired from “The Prophet” by Khalil Gibran that says:
“You are the bows from which your children
as living arrows are sent forth”
Educationists, thespians, and business professionals came together to form the founding team of ERA. As a private not-for-profit endeavor, the founding team focused on seeding projects that would plug an evident gap in mainstream education:
1.
Secondary & Vocational education gap: The first project selected was to localize Khan Academy’s globally acclaimed Science and Finance videos in Urdu, and make it freely and publicly available.
2.
Elementary education gap: The consensus in the education sector is that the most critical aspects of elementary education are to nurture self-expression, empathy and logical inference in the learner’s own language. This was the impetus for the experiential education program Storychat.
3.
Environmental education gap: Nurturing a visceral sense of the interconnectedness and interdependence of nature seemed a herculean task. The team selected the magical metamorphosis of a butterfly as the means through which to explain these complex ideas. Project Butterfly Effect built butterfly conservatories as living classrooms to try to explain this.
4.
Innovative education gap: Keeping climate change imperatives in mind, the team advocated for existing folk festivals that are a part of the local milieu for centuries, to expand their mandate to include innovative products. Such innovative products could be both tangible (technical and artistic) as well as intangible (services), using repurposed materials and human resources (interview).
5.
Physical education gap: No other practice connects with the wisdom of the ancient Indus Valley Civilization more than Yoga. The team selected the official 26&2 hatha yoga regimen done in a hot and humid environment as a holistic solution to nurture physical well being for all ages.
