Srishti Bakshi, a 2018 alumna of the Tech Camp South Asia for Women Changemakers, has been named recipient of the 2023 Distinguished Alumni Leadership award which celebrates alumni who have attained distinction in their chosen field while fostering international understanding and collaboration in their communities and organizations. It is the highest honor bestowed upon Cultural Vistas alumni.

Srishti is the founder of WOMB – Women of My Billion. In 2016, Srishti left her corporate marketing job in Hong Kong and decided to put her skills and knowledge set to use for the benefit of humanity. She started on a journey to raise awareness and combat violence against women through financial and digital literacy that would see her traverse India from south to north, walking 2,300 miles on-foot over 260 days while meeting and hearing the stories of thousands of women along the way.

”It is the violence of the minority – and the silence of the majority – that perpetuates violence.” — Srishti Bakshi, Gender Equity Global Changemaker

Srishti’s journey is captured in the documentary WOMB: Women of My Billion, which exposes the raw emotions and realities of women living in India today. Through her actions, more than 100,000 individuals have been mobilized across all genders. Since the launch of WOMB in 2021, the documentary film has been featured in over 16 international film festivals and won 11 audience choice awards across four continents. The stories of the women she met along her journey are the feature of a forthcoming film, set to premier on OTT worldwide later this fall.

Srishti is an alumna of Tech Camp which brought together women from India and Pakistan in Dubai to empower women social entrepreneurs to increase capacity to use digital tools and strategies to improve their businesses to better address social challenges. Srishti then returned to support the Cultural Vistas Alumni Community as a facilitator for the ALLI Indo-Pacific Summit in Tokyo in 2019 which included training to help participants develop skills to enhance their civic leadership and ability to work in cross-cultural teams that promote the development of an Indo-Pacific perspective on global challenges and opportunities.

For her continued mentorship and engagement with fellow alumni as well as her inspirational movement to raise awareness of gender-based violence and its impact on women’s freedom and mobility, the Cultural Vistas Alumni Council has named Srishti Bakshi the 2023 Distinguished Alumni Leader.

”Srishti Bakshi embodies the values of the Cultural Vistas Alumni Community by developing networks for collaboration, building mutual understanding, raising her voice for the unheard, and inspiring all through her passion to connect us to solutions for the global challenges we face.” — Dan Ewert, Vice President for Program Development, Cultural Vistas

Join us to hear Srishti Bakshi in conversation with fellow Cultural Vistas alum and Chief Presenter with BBC News, Sumi Somaskanda, as they discuss building more equitable pathways to global leadership and moving from access to action at Cultural Vistas:

2023 Bridge to Access Benefit
Celebrating New Vistas in International Exchange
Wednesday evening, November 8, 2023
The Organization of American States
17th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20006
Event website & information: Bridge to Access Benefit 2023

 

More on Srishti Bakshi:

• Watch Srishti’s TED Talk
• Learn more about Srishti’s long walk across India for women’s rights and the documentary, Women of My Billion