Page 76 - EW November 2023

People

Leadership skills schools on a payment basis. This will
enable us to raise resources to de-
edupreneur velop and nurture the large number
of leaders that India and countries
in Asia and Africa need to eliminate
AVI SONNAD is a highly poverty and take the high road to
qualified social entrepreneur national prosperity,” says Sonnad.
Rwith over three decades of The force be with you!
transnational business experience Dilip Thakore (Bengaluru)
and currently founder-director of the
Singapore-based Enabling Leader- Committed
ship Foundation (ELF). The objec-
tive of ELF, which has a headcount
of 80 full-time employees and 200 educationist
part-time faculty, is to develop
leadership skills that Sonnad and the dupreneur MOHIT PATEL
foundation believe are latent in every is founder-director of the
child, especially girl children. Sonnad: Lego, football & music formula ECambridge (UK)-affiliated The
Newspeg. In end September, Sonnad Northstar School, Rajkot (TNS, estb.
visited the foundation’s facilities velop imagination and life skills of 2016) — promoted by the family-run
in Delhi, Bangalore and Dharwad teamwork and co-operation while Talaviya Trust which also manages
(Karnataka) to take stock of their improving hand-eye coordination. By RK University. Patel believes TNS
progress. Currently, ELF is develop- playing the popular and affordable is redefining education through
ing the leadership skills of 10,000 game of mixed gender football under innovative pedagogies centred on
children in government schools in supervision, they learn the impor- experiential learning, self-discovery,
India, Cambodia and Singapore. tance of physical fitness, teamwork, and strong connect with the environ-
History. An engineering and business and unity. And by learning music, ment.
management graduate of IIT-Madras they develop a sense of aesthet- Since the school admitted its first
and Tulane University, New Orleans ics and appreciation of the arts. In batch of 25 students seven years ago,
(USA), Sonnad began his profes- ELF, we believe that every child enrolment has grown to the maxi-
sional career with the Amsterdam- can become a leader if she develops mum capacity of 500. With a campus
based Intralox Llc, a transnational these competencies over a sustained sprawled across 15 green acres,
plastic conveyor belts manufacturing period of time. Developing the Northstar claims its per student
company. After a successful career latent leadership skills of children space allocation is “one of the largest
with Intralox in Amsterdam (1992- is a gap in most education systems, in India”.
2017) and Shanghai where he estab- and ELF is here to nurture teach- Newspeg. Early this year Patel, who
lished the company’s Shanghai and ers who will teach other teachers to also has business interests in the
India (Bangalore) manufacturing motivate their students to grow into hospitality industry (Raga Svara
and marketing operations, in 2013 trustworthy leaders with Patel: deep research history
Sonnad quit corporate life and set up strength of character
ELF as a not-for-profit foundation to and sense of commu-
develop a future generation of lead- nity,” says Sonnad.
ers equipped to provide employment Future plans. Ten years
and direction to children in Asia, on after ELF was regis-
especially in India. tered, Sonnad believes
Currently ELF teachers are the not-for-profit foun-
deployed in government schools in dation has developed
India, Cambodia and Singapore to the science of teach-
teach “transferable skills” to stu- ing leadership skills
dents. These skills are taught twice a through experiential
week by ELF teachers using com- and enjoyable pedago-
ponents of the popular game Lego, gies. “We also intend to
playing football and learning music. market our build, play
Direct talk. “By using Lego build- and music leadership
ing blocks, children learn to de- programme to private

76 EDUCATIONWORLD NOVEMBER 2023