Dec 13, 2017
Identify Your Cause
Born in Mombay, India from working class parents who never forced her to follow on Indias’ societal expectations of womenhood, Elsa Marie D’Silva literally grew wings and for two decades became a successful employee in the aviation industry. But she had to follow her passion and commitment to solving the epidemic of sexual violence against women and girls in public spaces. She founded and created Safecity, an app that is effectively, one dot at a time, reducing violence against women and girls in many countries. A Rotarian Peace and Vital Voices Fellow, (among others) Elsa’s work has been globally acclaimed. Find out more about Elsa Marie’s career and her successful and widely acclaimed app in Episode 6 of the Social Change Career Podcast.
In this episode we discuss:
- On growing up with liberal Indian parents who never forced their expectations on her
- On being a strong women and flying solo: her two decade aviation career
- On how Elsa transitioned from private sector to the social change career working on women’s rights
- How Elsa learned about CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) and technology to solve social problems in Sweden
- Elsa did a 6 month leadership program by the Rotary Peace Fellow where she learned about an Egyptian initiative: crowed mapping for sexual violence
- The 2012 incident of the death of a young Indian women that shook Elsa and the whole country of India
- Elsa decides to focus on safety and security for women and launched a crowed map with some friends
- How on 2013 Elsa combined her private work while developing SafeCity (her app)
- How she started Safecity and started seeing results
- The impact of Safecity in India and also in Kenya, Cameroon, Argentina, Nepal, Trinidad & Tobago and Nigeria.
- Elsa’s career advice on choosing your path
- On being open to change and people around you
- How Elsa uses the skills of her past career to make Safecity a success
- Elsa’s take on failure and how she is a perfectionist
- Three tips for starting your career on social impact
Links
Swedish Institute Management Program Asia
U.S. State Department's Fortune Program
Fast FWD Philadelphia Accelerator for Public Safety
Related topics
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This episode was brought thanks to the Rotary Peace Center
Are you an existing or emerging peace leader looking to take your career to the next level? You might be eligible to receive full funding to pursue a MA or professional certificate in peace & conflict studies. Learn more about Rotary Peace Fellowships at www.rotary.org/peace-fellowships