Gangotri Youth Business Carnival, as the name clearly suggests, was a carnival of learning and developing varied skills. It was a carnival of ideating, proposing, accepting rejections, celebrating deals, reaching out to sponsors, persuading them, overcoming the roadblocks and stooping down to rise and learn and succeed and gain experience.
GYBC took shape through a random talk during a random meeting of the leaders of the Gangotri International School. Well, looking back down the lane we hadn’t presumed that such a random idea would shape into a grand pioneering successful event. We introduced the idea to our students of Higher Secondary of Science, Commerce and Humanities. The introduction was precise with regard to student taking complete control of planning, organizing and executing the entire event and as a major challenge we added the stage of applying for the roles to be taken up, appearing before a panel of interviewers and getting appointed to the role applied for or a deal as a participant to run their business for a 2-day event. Children amazed us by accepting the laid out structure in the right stride and worked towards persevering to do all in their capacities to materialize this event.
The entire group of students got divided into 2 major groups; one of the Planners and Organizers and second of the participants who will submit their business plans and do business with a view to not just earn profit but to also gain an experience of entrepreneurship.
The ball was rolling, the experience was many-fold for all involved; including us as faculties and leaders. Children applied all their life-skills, academic skills, and soft-skills to actuate the event. While the business group went in search of sponsors, the organizing team bargained with the suppliers and the school management. While the business group learnt to publicise their venture to attract maximum customers, the organizing group marketed the event using all possible modes of publicity. While the business group looked for ways to maximize their net profits, the organizing group worked towards minimizing the event cost of the business group. It was worth a sight to see young learners collaborate to devise ways to make the most through this event.
Finally, the 2-day event happened to be historical 2 days in the history of Gangotri International School. The buzz of the participating students, the customers, the performing groups, the special invitees and the alumni – all was a treat to the eyes and a reward to the soul. It was so gratifying to see our young learners turned novice entrepreneurs coming up with spontaneous schemes to attract customers along with flaunting their social sensitivity by declaring free meals and commodities for our support staff who were untiringly at their service throughout the 2 days.
Summing up, I would say that the event was beyond doubt a great learning experience for all of us involved. Its grand success was assuredly the supposed outcome of focused planning, team work, rising to the need of the hour and problem-solving in the most win-win manner to all involved.
