Leslee Udwin~Human Rights Advocate, Filmmaker and Founder of Think Equal.
* Please note that this episode deals with adult content
What happens when you commit to building a new generation that does not harbour discrimination? Will the world change?
Leslee Udwin believes it will and she is on a mission to make this impact.
I first met Leslee at a special evening event. She was the guest of honour and her film, India’s Daughter was the subject. Leslee immediately grabbed my attention and heart. Her words resonated with me.
Her mission to impact others for the better started early on in her career in the film industry. She worked as an actress but after her first child was born she moved her work behind the camera. She got into film production.
Leslee describes film making as a political act of generosity. It allows you to see the world through the eyes of another human being. It allows you to feel them. If we did that as a matter of practice it would change the next generation.
Allowing us to see the world through the eyes of another human being. This is what Leslee did in her award winning, heartbreaking documentary~ India’s Daughter.
India’s Daughter
India’s Daughter tells about the 2012 brutal gang rape of Jyoti Singh in Dehli.
When the public heard about the horrific crime, hundreds of thousands poured out of the streets in angry protest. The first ever of its kind in India. As Leslee watched this unfold from her TV in Denmark she connected with the story. As a woman, mother and rape victim she felt compelled to create the documentary. She wanted to tell the world who we lost by this crime. She almost gave up but it was her daughter that encouraged her to continue.
Leslee talks in depth about the film and her experience making it. I encourage you to listen. It was the difficult time that she spent with the perpetrators that changed things for her. She said “films can create awareness but awareness is only the first step. It is not change.”
She was ready to start a change.
Think Equal
Think Equal is Leslee’s focus now. It was her work on the film, and the time interviewing the rapists that gave her insight. At first she thought lack of education was the problem. If they were better educated they would not have done this. But after spending time with the lawyers in the case she saw that education did not make a difference. Mindsets need to shift. And the sooner we get this to happen, the better.
Think Equal formed to address this need. The program calls for a system change to end the discriminatory mindset and cycle of violence across our world.
It does this by introducing practical tools that enable empathy. Social-emotional learning (SEL) in the early years is the optimal time to build. That is why the program focuses on children under age 7. It is a matter of prevention. From the results they are studying so far, it is making an impact.
Learn more about Think Equal here.
Listen to Leslee’s special offer to homeschoolers.
Interested in the program as a homeschooler? Interested in joining the Think Equal Homeschool Group?
Contact me: robyn@imhomeschooling.com
If you want to meet another mother on a mission to shift mindset in order to better support our kids check out my episode with Lenore Skenazy. Founder of Let Grow looking to impact schools and communities.
