A Recipe for Change | Faye D'Souza | TEDxYouth@DAIS
The journalist argues that systemic change requires sustained effort rooted in conviction, holding firm over time, and starting with a localized sphere of influence, demonstrating this with the campaign that led to banning child locks in Indian taxis. She details this success by explaining that they informed the public, taught them to check the locks, and petitioned government bodies, eventually convincing state and central governments to mandate the removal of the feature. The core recipe for change involves building conviction, holding steady long-term, and beginning small within one's current circle of influence.
## Speakers & Context
- Journalist; previously worked in television for **15 years**; now independent journalist on the internet and an entrepreneur.
- Topic: Sharing the story of their first successful advocacy effort aimed at creating social change.
## Theses & Positions
- Change is possible, even for a small, uninfluential source, if one is determined enough.
- Change requires a specific three-step recipe: **conviction**, **holding strong**, and **starting small**.
- The internet democratized influence, meaning individuals no longer need gatekeepers' permission to spread a message globally.
- True, lasting change is achieved not just through reasoned argument, but also through persistent *actions*.
## Concepts & Definitions
- **Child Lock:** A western feature on vehicles, designed to prevent children from opening the car door. In the context of Indian taxis, this feature was exploited to restrain women.
- **Circulation of Influence:** The starting point for effecting change; initially focusing on one's immediate network (e.g., home, school) before expanding outward.
## Mechanisms & Processes
- **Advocacy Campaign Model:**
1. **Inform:** Educate the public on the danger and existence of the child lock feature.
2. **Educate:** Show the public *how* to check for the child lock before entering a vehicle.
3. **Lobby:** Engage with government bodies to change laws.
- **Government Lobbying:** Involved meeting with state governments and central governments; securing appointments with ministers and officers was difficult.
- **Driving Change:** Demonstrating the danger with recorded videos (using someone's car and a phone) and successfully petitioning authorities.
## Timeline & Sequence
- **Incident:** Journalist covered a story involving a young woman in Pune whose husband stated the driver misused the child lock to prevent escape during a sexual assault.
- **Initiation:** The campaign began in **September 2018**.
- **Progression:** Continuous effort involved speaking to state governments in **Maharashtra**, **Karnataka**, and **Delhi**, alongside the central government.
- **Milestone:** By **July 2019**, the central government and several state governments mandated that taxis could no longer use the child lock feature, and new taxis had to dismantle it upon registration.
## Named Entities
- **Pune** — City where the initial incident occurred.
- **Maharashtra, Karnataka, Delhi** — State governments petitioned for change.
- **Mr Venkaiah** — Minister of Transport who was, at the time, the Vice President of India.
## Tools, Tech & Products
- **Phone/Video Recording:** Used to demonstrate the function of the child lock and educate women.
- **Internet:** Described as having democratized influence, allowing messages to reach the whole world without gatekeepers.
- **Taxis:** The specific vehicles targeted for legislative change due to the misuse of the child lock.
## References Cited
- None.
## Trade-offs & Alternatives
- **Small Start vs. Big Impact:** The process started "small" and with no initial connections, demonstrating that initial limitations do not negate potential for massive impact.
- **Plastic Milk Packets:** Cited as a small, personal example of where one could start applying the principle of change (conviction + reasoning).
## Counterarguments & Caveats
- Initial skepticism: The journalist acknowledged the fear that "nobody's going to listen to me" and that others might laugh at the cause.
## Methodology
- **Investigative Journalism:** Covered a specific case of violence related to the child lock.
- **Advocacy/Lobbying:** Systematically applying pressure through education (video dissemination) and direct engagement with state and central government authorities.
- **Proof Building:** Maintaining a solid record of data and solid reasoning to support the demand for legal change.
## Conclusions & Recommendations
- The recipe for change requires:
1. **Conviction:** Being fully convinced that the change is good and reasonable, requiring proper reasoning.
2. **Holding Strong:** Sustaining effort for a very long time.
3. **Starting Small:** Beginning in one's circle of influence.
- The effort must be backed not just by reasoning, but also by visible *actions*.
## Implications & Consequences
- The direct consequence of the campaign was the legislative ban on the child lock feature in taxis in multiple states and at the national level.
- Demonstrates that persistent, structured effort can fundamentally alter public safety standards through policy change.
## Verbatim Moments
- *"i want to talk to you about the first story i did that action to change."*
- *"if the child lock feature did not exist in that cab my wife would be with me today."*
- *"the child lock is obviously a western feature overseas children are normally in the back of the car by themselves and so you don't want them opening the car door on their own which is why you put in the child lock and it locks and it can only be opened from the outside but in india specifically to do with taxis it will never happen that a child is sitting by themselves in the back of a car of a taxi not a private car but a taxi"*
- *"we decided we're going to do something about it anyway never mind if we're not powerful never mind if we're really small"*
- *"first to inform as many people as possible about the child lock so that they know that such a thing exists... second to actually let people know when they're getting in the car how to actually check for the child knock... and three to speak to government to make sure that the rules change so the drivers of taxis can no longer use the child lock feature"*
- *"getting appointments with ministers and with officers was really difficult. it took us a really long time but we kept at it and we tried and tried and tried"*
- *"that's not true but each of you can make a change if you set your mind to it"*
- *"step number one is conviction you have to be fully convinced that what you want to do is good and what you want to do is reasonable"*
- *"step number two is to hold strong change doesn't happen overnight there is no overnight success"*
- *"step number three is... start in your circle of influence for where you are right now"*
- *"when you believe in something strongly enough it doesn't matter how small you are it doesn't matter how alone you are"*
- *"the recipe of change has only three ingredients but the cooking time takes a while"*