Unleash and Curry Leaves: My Unleash reflection

Kailash Satyarthi, Nobel Peace Laureate said "Remember you have the freedom to dream, not everyone does"  in the opening ceremony of Unleash Global Innovation Lab, which happened in the first week of December 2022 at the Infosys Campus, Mysuru, India.
1000 changemakers from 100+ countries assembled for a week in the world's largest corporate university in Infosys with that dream to be flourished. I am fortunate to be one of them, getting the opportunity to interact, share ideas, and roam around Karnataka city with some of them! 200 teams worked together to find an innovative solution to the existing dire problems of the world under 7 SDGs. It was indeed a week of Innovation! Team members from different cultural backgrounds and countries were brainstorming, planning, working, reflecting, and again brainstorming! Who counts the clock? It was like a never-ending learning experience, surrounded by some world's most determined participants, facilitators, mentors, and experts.
Attending global innovation or leadership events has always been my 'life experience'. Apart from the thematic focuses, I always find significant impacts of these in my life.
I met a participant from Zambia who was sharing about the social norms, structures, and lifestyles of the people. He once mentioned that people usually evaluate social status in Zambia by the number of livestock they have! That sharing had a great reflection on my understanding of our existing social status spectrums. Then again on another day, I met someone from another country who had provided his logic for being a minimalist!
These are two examples that I had a few hours of reflection on later in the discussion. Programs like Unleash implicitly teach us to be better human beings, practice non-judging thoughts, grow compassion among us, and above all reduce the social, cultural, ideological, or economic influence exerted by a dominant group. Going back to the Laureate again, the Indian social reformer Kailash Satyarthi that he introduces himself as a 'Global Citizen'. I was thinking about how liberate, and compassionate a person can be when she or he does not belong to any political boundary.I had a curiosity to know what other participants felt about joining such a global event and had talked with around 20 from different countries. Cultural inclusion, making friendships, international exposure, and inspiration to contribute to society with footprints were common among others.
Staying at the Infosys campus has added great value to my everyday energy consumption practices. This 337 -acre land holds a completely sustainable design. We were not allowed to enter the campus with even a tiny plastic made thing, not even shopping bags. The scenic beauty of the campus, greenery, large playground, cool building facilities that are not less than a five-star hotel, and other infrastructures were mesmerizing! I will never forget how thoughtfully the buildings were located so everyone (unless someone needs a special vehicle) must walk or run or cycle to get into them. The in-lined cycle stands, cycling to up-hills and down-hills were another adventure at Infosys. Living fully yet maintaining sustainability is what Infosys laid on me. There is a saying among the Infosys staff that 'Once an Infoscion, always an Infoscion'. I believe many of the Unleash participants would happily identify them as an 'Infoscion'.
Last but not least is the staff of Infosys. They were so observant, sincere in their duty, and careful that not even a single participant could roam around the campus without the Unleash Badge; a colorful ribbon with Unleash identity. I forgot twice to bring the badge but got no escape! Their humble request to get it from the room had always inspired me to walk for 20-25 minutes to get that!
The Unleash reflection will end with this paragraph but will be alive in my mind for a long time.
I used to watch Indian cooking videos at home with my husband and daughter. Every time a video would start, it was with 'Curry Leave' like ours, a sizzling sound of onion on hot oil. We were always curious to have some leaves and use them in our dishes! At Unleash, I had taken some meals (because it was super spicy) outside of Infosys and had some chit-chats with the owner. Knowing about our inherent wish for curry leaves, he gifted me a tree decorated with soil and tob. I was so happy and grateful while realizing that making people happy does not cost much. Bringing that from Karnataka, Bengaluru to Dhaka and now planted in Comilla, I am seeing a never-ending connection Unleash has offered me within these days.