Cargills International Women’s Day Festival The Change Makers

Passionate discourse, engaging dialogue and opinion exchange have been the constant on the three days of the four-day one-of-a-kind festival being held at Table by Taru in collaboration with Savithri Rodrigo.  The Cargills International Women’s Day Festival of Changemakers has been navigating festival delegates through powerful forums that focused on women and a few good men who have become change makers as Peace Prompters, Pioneers and Creative Forces, while adding The Male Perspective with an all-male panel. 

The final day of the Festival, 22nd of March, will bring on The Positive Disruptors in two sessions, Founder of Apé and Co-Founder and COO, COLLAB, Himali De Silva, Founder CEO of GoodLife X and Director of Hatch Works, Randhula de Silva, and Managing Director and  Co-Founder of Good Market, Achala Samaradiwakara, in Session One, while comedy duo Gehan Blok and Dino Corera are the panelists in Session two.  Moderated by Savithri Rodrigo, the overarching tenet of the Day is to celebrate those who have been brave and courageous to shift perspectives towards a more equitable future.  

Blok and Dino
Blok and Dino, who have disrupted and changed mindset of comedy in Sri Lanka, have been at the forefront of creating characters from everyday scenes, and these include acting in female roles across various social, economic and age demographics.  With this brand of comedy, viewers have been presented a prism of characters who can all be related with and also subtle lessons interwoven into that tapestry of laughs and clever dialogue.  Getting into character as women have highlighted countless lessons on the opinions and mindset individuals and communities have about women and how these disruptors are seeking pathways to change the negativities that surround cultural and societal barriers which are impediments to achieving gender equality. 

As they say:  “This International Women's Day celebrates women in leadership, trailblazers and changemakers who've challenged norms and set a precedent so that others may follow suit. As creators we believe it is important to challenge the status quo as they did, in creating social dialogue on gender roles to counter abuse, inequality and patriarchy.”

Himali de Silva

“With Apé and COLLAB, we created solutions to address existing gaps in the market. Apé to address the need for a platform to raise awareness of the importance of and enable a preloved ecosystem. COLLAB to assist other businesses to truly bring their brands to life, across every touch point across multiple digital platforms via their branding and content.”

It was the focus on raising the country’s strength to achieve sustainable development, and reduce poverty, while heading towards transformational change and real improvement in people’s lives that drove Co-Founder and Managing Director of Good Market, Achala Samaradivakara, to          Co-Found Good Market.  “Most traditional business environments are male dominated in Sri Lanka and business models are based on proprietary information, keeping supplier details, ingredients and sources secret and even signing exclusivity agreements.  Purpose-driven enterprises focus on creating value rather than on controlling information or intellectual property, sharing information for own decision-making.  Women leaders are happy to share information which improves learning, builds trust and relationships, and speeds the rate of change.  Good Market makes these niche ecosystems visible and reaches out to entrepreneurs who can help fill gaps, recognizing and celebrating enterprises that partner with other participants in the new economy because this drives co-evolution and strengthens the overall system.”

Randhula de Silva’s passion is to build solutions at a systemic level that contributes to the greater good of the world, driving her to work as a catalyst to empower startups and SMEs in the sustainable sectors to disrupt natural value chains and build stronger and better brand portfolios in Sri Lanka.  She has been an avid disruptor of the status quo by advocating change in topics related to innovation and entrepreneurship, building programmes focusing on women in business, peer-to-peer mentoring, open innovation, and initiating FabLabs and maker communities. “Disrupting the status quo, and doing something for the first time always brings about two things our way. One is the propaganda, and the other the possibility. Propaganda is what we get served by the change resistant world, often shouting out loud that we can’t or why we shouldn’t. Giving up because of this propaganda, is not a luxury that women can permit ourselves to have. Possibility is what we allow ourselves to be and how we challenge ourselves to grow, regardless of what we get served from the world.  The trick in all of this is to just do it!”

Founded on the theme for International Women’s Day 2021, “Women in Leadership:  Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world”, this Festival is a first of its kind featuring a galaxy of active change makers, who as thought leaders have prompted and impacted change in disciplines, competencies and careers. 
 
Seating is limited as stringent COVID-19 guidelines are being followed to create a safe environment for all participants while maintaining the intimate ambience Taru is renowned for.