Former deputy assistant to President Barack Obama Mr. Henry F. De Sio addresses gathering

Change the Script, 2017 (CTS 2017), an annual conference that brings together educators, academicians, researchers and organizations working in the space of education and life skills for a two day conference. was held on the 20th and 21st of January, 2017 at the “School of Ancient Wisdom, Devanahalli in Bangalore, CTS 2017 is envisioned to become a powerful platform for building and sustaining a vibrant movement to support young people in the 21st century.

Why Change The Script now? With the world changing faster than ever before, it is time to ask ourselves what young people need most to thrive in the 21st Century. The needs of our societies are changing and young people today urgently need new skills to navigate this complex, unpredictable world.

Various organizations and individuals are all, within their own spheres working at providing young people the critical skills and the nurturing environments to help them thrive. But in order to build critical understanding about life skills, there is a need to build a supportive community of like-minded organizations and individuals, keeping young people at the core of intentions and actions.

CTS 2017 has renowned and respected people working in related fields from across the globe participating in the conference. Hon. Henry F. De Sio, Jr, former deputy assistant to President Barack Obama; 2008 Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Obama for America; part of Ashoka's framework change efforts - Everyone A Changemaker™; Dr. David Pearson, Consultant Clinical Psychologist; Dr. Fiona Kennedy, Consultant Clinical Psychologist; Ravi Gulati, Co-founder Manzil – a youth-led non-profit; Monal Jayaram, Director - Research, Curriculum Design & Evaluations from Kaivalya Education Foundation; Amrita Nair, Co-founder and CEO of Apni Shala are just some of the facilitators and participants in addition to a host of change makers in the field of education like Principals, facilitators, government officials, NGOs.

Speaking on the occasion Hon. Henry F. De Sio, Jr, former deputy assistant to President Barack Obama; 2008 Chief Operating Officer (COO) at Obama for America; said “ Very soon 65% jobs that exist today will cease to exist. We need to prepare young people for a future we don’t know of because we cannot let them be sidelined. We need to equip them with the right skills to thrive, skills like empathy, leadership, team work and creativity”.

Speaking about the significance of the conference Vishal Talreja, Co-Founder & CEO, Dream a Dream said, “Young people today need support systems that understand them, listen to them, help them wade through this complexity and help them thrive. They need Life Skills that will help them overcome adversity and change the script of their lives. Each of the participants through their work are providing young people the critical skills and the nurturing environments to help them thrive. Hence together, we are better positioned to develop more holistic, coordinated and exponentially game changing solutions to issues faced by young people. We believe, in coming together, we will be building a supportive community.”

Dr. Fiona, Clinical Psychologist from UK and one of the key note speakers said, “Dr. Fiona, Clinical Psychologist from UK and one of the key note speakers said, “A fast changing world, technological revolution, an ever demanding work culture - the challenges presented to young people by the 21st century are myriad. In such circumstances allowing children to work at their own pace, encouraging them to bounce back, be resilient and walking beside them in the journey is critical. It is time to relook at our expectations from the new generation so that they emerge successful through these challenges. Dr. David and I are glad to be a part of this conference that will help co-create innovative approaches in learning