IMA Expert Interview with Priya Agrawal

Lisa Fain, an ambassador for International Mentoring Association interviews a variety of mentoring experts about what interesting things they have discovered in their mentoring journeys and also taps into their knowledge and experiences to share with you.

Today she interviews Priya Agrawal, Founder and Director of The Antarang Foundation. Priya offers an interesting view into the ongoings of how young adults have been affected during the pandemic in India as well as their socioeconomic norm in education and how her organization, The Antatang Foundation, is helping the community with immediate emergency needs as well as long term education and mentoring needs. Priya shares that over half of India’s youth do not finish high school, it is her mission to work with local organizations to promote mentoring from company to young adults to help nurture their excitement for learning and instill a sense of possibility. In the end it is a win, win, win for the organization, the young adult, and the community.

Stay in touch with Priya Agrawal:
Ph: 022 4005 0164 / 943
m: +91 9821013907
[email protected]
www.antarangfoundation.org
Facebook: @AntarangFoundation
Ashoka Fellow: www.ashoka.org/en-IN/fellow/priya-agrawal

Priya Agrawal is the Founder-Director of Antarang Foundation, an organisation that systemically addresses the gap between education and productive employment for high risk youth. In a short span of 6.5 years, Antarang has impacted the careers and futures of over 60,000 adolescents and young adults. Prior to founding Antarang in 2012, Priya has spent 20 years in advertising and also leading large organisations in India’s social sector like The Akanksha Foundation and SNEHA. Priya is an Ashoka Fellow, and an Unltd India Growth Challenge Fellow. She was part of the first cohort of the Dasra Social Impact Leadership Program.

Antarang is challenging the paradigms in career linkages for children from low income backgrounds who are at a high risk of dropping out of education and falling into the informal, often exploitative, sector. She is striving to break the stereotypes around job opportunities deemed fit for these children and looking at equipping them with soft skills as well as social wherewithal to pursue a career, not just a job, of their choice. She is working with an empowering process of reflection and marriage of strengths and reality with dreams to give a path to each child to stay the course and make good of a life at a high risk of falling through the cracks.

India’s employment ecosystem lacks the crucial aspects of career guidance and planning at all levels. For young adults from low income communities who are often first generation learners, navigating the complex world of work and moving up the ladder, both socially and economically, becomes a challenge. Antarang’s model hence includes a strong and intensive mentoring component along with job placements. Mentors are carefully matched with their mentees using a simple algorithm, and are tasked to help their young mentees integrate well and make an impact at their work places. Mentors of Mumbai, as the program is called, has been a popular choice for employee engagement programs in corporate India. Mentors experience diversity and mentees gain from the experience of their mentors. It is a win-win for both.