Tata Tea launched its iconic campaign Jaago Re 2.0 - 'Alarm Bajne se Pehle Jaago Re' - earlier this year urging people to pre-act before tragedies hit.
The campaign is now moving into its second phase urging people to drive the change they wish to see. While the first phase of the campaign showcased the 'reactive' nature of people and introduced a new form of activism - 'pre-activism'; the second phase aims to inspire people to pre-act and drive a behavioral change by signing petitions on issues currently plaguing the country - Women Safety and Sports Encouragement.
Tata Tea believes that an issue as grave as women safety will not end till the root-cause of the problem is tackled and the onus of bringing this change lies on us. The lack of respect towards women and them being considered as a weaker gender is one of the reasons behind increasing violence against them. Tata Tea is trying to bring about a change in attitude by encouraging people to pre-act and educate children to treat all with respect and equality. This positive attitude will translate into a safe environment for women in the future where they are respected. Tata Tea's petition for women safety is therefore to make 'gender sensitization' programs compulsory in school curriculums to teach young minds to respect men and women equally. Each petition is followed by a pledge for the parents to practice and teach gender sensitivity to their children.
For Sports, Tata Tea believes that there is a need to build a sporting culture in India first and only then can we hope to become a great sporting nation. The petition for sports encouragement is to include sports as a compulsory subject in schools. Tata Tea also encourages people to participate in and support at least one local sporting event and to take their children for one of these sporting events at any levels, be it in the neighborhood, state or national.
Commenting on the new phase of the Jaago Re 2.0 campaign, Sushant Dash, Regional President - India, Tata Global Beverages, said, "Pre-activism is about nipping the problem in the bud. In this phase, we are aiming to create over 1Mn pre-activists who will sign the petition and pledge to bring about a real change. In addressing issues as pressing as crimes against women, we need to bring about a shift in attitude and teach young children to respect all genders. Therefore, gender sensitization at grass-root levels is critical to bring a wave of change and create a more gender equitable society.
In the case of sports, the fundamental issue is the lack of a sporting culture in our country. Sports is still looked upon as an 'extra-curricular' activity. We need to change that and inspire our children to participate in sports for their holistic development, and even encourage them to take it up as a viable career option, only then will we be better equipped to win at sporting events not just locally, but internationally."
To instill the message of Preactivism and drive the conversation on change, Dr. Ranjana Kumari and Olympic Sensation Dipa Karmakar will be the torchbearers of the campaign and will lead the issues of Women Safety and Sports Encouragement, respectively. They will share their views on these issues, create awareness and inspire people to take action by signing the petitions and taking the pledge.