Mumbai 15th May 2018: The third edition of Saksham, an initiative curated by the WWI School of Media & Communication witnessed a day long activity dedicated to raising social awareness amongst the students of Whistling Woods International (WWI). The knowledge drive was formulated with an aim to spread awareness about different causes for the betterment of the society.
The event started with a blood donation drive followed by a panel discussion on the role of new media in Cyber Safety. The institute also organised an Art Village – wherein local NGOs had put up different stalls selling food, artifacts and various other merchandises for the causes they have chosen to work closely with.
The panel discussion - ‘How New Media can promote Cyber Safety’ saw Mitali Srivastava (Co-founder & Managing Partner, Utopeia Communicationz), Mustafa Shaikh (Correspondent at India Today & Aaj Tak), Prashant Mali (Cyberlaw & Cybersecurity expert), Ritesh Bhatia (Cyber Security & Data Privacy Consultant) and Heikham Radhika Gupta (Counselling Psychologist and Artist, WWI) grace WWI with their presence. They educated the students about cybercrimes and how one can protect themselves from being its victim.
During the interaction with moderator Rahul Puri, Head - Academics, WWI, Prashant Mali discussed the legal parameters regarding cybercrime. He provided students with information on different types of cybercrimes, the role of the police department and shared statistical data about cyber frauds. Sharing his thoughts about the potential of cybercrime eradication, Mali said, “It will only curtail when awareness spreads, when there is cyber security awareness in your institute, in your city, in your country and when there is a cybersecurity culture.”
Mustafa Shaikh rightly added that the first step towards cybercrime prevention was choosing the relevant browsing data and being cautious before providing any type of information. On a similar note, Ritesh Bhatia shared, “If you are not the consumer, you become the product and you are now feeding information worth lakhs.”
A cyber victim herself, Mitali narrated how she overcame and fought cyber bullies and trolls to her victory. She added, “I think a crime is a crime and a criminal is a criminal. A person does not have to be in physical space to cause damage.” Radhika then elaborated on psychological effects caused post the cybercrime. She spoke at length about how the fear of being exposed causes guilt, depression, shame, thereafter often leading individuals to commit suicide and the necessary steps that one should take to overcome the same.
The panel discussion ended as the guests were handed over a token of appreciation by Meghna Ghai Puri, President, WWI. Concluding the event, Meghna added, “Whistling Woods International has always been at the forefront in bringing the positive changes in the society. Upholding this tradition, we at WWI have pledged to educate our students about cybersecurity, which is the need of the hour. In addition, associations with various humanitarian causes have also been an extremely important facet for the overall development of skill and talent in our students.”
About Whistling Woods International
Whistling Woods International is India’s premier Film, Communication and Media Arts institute. Founded by one of India’s leading filmmakers – Subhash Ghai, Whistling Woods International (WWI) is one of Asia’s largest Media Arts institutes. ‘The Hollywood Reporter’ has rated Whistling Woods International as one of the Ten Best Film Schools in the world in 2014, 2013 & 2010. WWI offers courses that vary in duration from 1 year to 3 years catering to all major verticals of the Media & Entertainment industry, namely Acting, Animation, Cinematography, Direction, Editing, Music, Producing, Screenwriting, Sound, Visual Effects, Media Management, Fashion Design and Visual Communication Design. All the courses are accredited to the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS).