Guest, Speaker, Performer Bios - Meera Shenoy

Meera Shenoy, Founder-CEO of Youth4Jobs is a social entrepreneur and system changer in the disability space. She is a pioneer in skilling of rural, tribal, and now youth with disabilities and linking them to jobs, at scale. She set up Youth4Jobs 10 years back which has grown to be the largest organization in South Asia skilling less educated and educated youth with disabilities and linking them to jobs. This work has touched 9.2 million households with the message of “ability in disability”. Youth4Jobs is a one stop shop for 1,100+companies helping them to begin or strengthen their journey of inclusion. About 31,000 youth with disabilities have been skilled and linked to sustainable livelihoods, pan India.

This work (http://www.youth4jobs.org/) has won the highest National and international awards like Asia winner for MIT prestigious Future of Work award, Inclusion Innovation Challenge, and the global Zero project award for innovations in IT & employment. The work was captured in a Harvard business publication case study recently. Meera also runs “Not Just Art “, a portal for art with disability (www.notjustartglobal.org). Her inspirational book, “You Can”(with Prasad Kaipa), a Bloomsbury publication, was launched at the worlds’ largest literary festival, Jaipur literary festival. The book is in its third edition with a Hindi translation for grassroot reading.

Meera’s former work was Executive Director, EGMM, the first State government skilling mission for the Andhra Pradesh government, which she set up from scratch and took to scale. This mission influenced Government of India’s skilling policy. She then consulted with World Bank and UN across Southeast Asia. Later, she went back to support the office of the Advisor to Prime Minister for Skilling, government of India.

Her work is influenced by Mahatma Gandhi who said ,”Be the change you wish to see in the world “. She is invited to write and speak at national and international forums on inclusion and Leading with Purpose.

Meera can be reached at meera.shenoy@youth4jobs.org

KEYNOTE - UTSAV: 7/4, 9:10-9:50a

Guests, Speakers and Performers at Konkani Sammelan 2022