Vasanti Rao founded a thinktank as a teenager and now also heads Asias’s top environmental film festival, using media and storytelling to inspire global change.
00:00So every year when since we were little girls, my parents used to take us to our grandparents
00:11house in the village in Andhra. I used to make friends with all the children in the village
00:18and saw the hard life that they lived and the disparity hit me. The disparity of urban,
00:28rural, the disparity of rich and poor, the disparity of caste. Whether you see the beggars
00:35in Delhi or you see children on the street or in the railway station, you feel why should
00:41they be begging? That really somehow was always bothered me.
00:51This was when Vasanthi Rao realised that she wanted to create a better future for children.
00:56In 1991, she co-founded the Centre for Media Studies in Delhi, a multidisciplinary non-profit
01:03organisation known for promoting environmental awareness, enhancing media literacy among children,
01:09fostering public dialogue through films, festivals, debates and publications.
01:16So in our big family, we are the only two girls. While my parents, both my mom and dad are
01:25very progressive. It's only the extended family who were all with boys who felt privileged.
01:33Especially our parents were made to realise that you have two girls and so you're not equal.
01:39Her father, Dr. N Bhaskara Rao is a renowned sociologist and researcher. When she was a kid,
01:48Vasanthi was in awe of a strict disciplined father. When he was going through a low phase in life,
01:54it was Vasanthi who pushed him and assisted him to establish the Centre for Media Studies.
01:59Vasanthi has been here for 35 years and I have seen how she transformed herself. I have seen her emerge
02:13as a leader, true leader. Research is always a team effort and the team need to be taken along and
02:22everybody needs to be motivated. And she is very good in motivating people to go along with, with a task, with a mission.
02:35I think almost 10-15 years that I started working with him, that I did this particular conference on my own.
02:43It was an international conference in Hyderabad where about 7-8 guests had come from all over the world and it was a great success.
02:51And he just came as a guest. And he was so surprised with the level and the value and the outcome of the whole thing,
03:03that I think that was the first time he and I sat together and he asked me, would you like to have a drink?
03:13That's when I realised things had changed. I was somebody who had earned a position to be with him.
03:24In 2002, they launched Asia's largest environment film festival, CMS Vatavaran, with additions not only in India but also in countries like Nepal, Bhutan, Abu Dhabi and Brazil.
03:38For years, CMS Vatavaran has been a platform for environmental and wildlife filmmakers, helping build a vibrant community.
03:49Akansha Sooth Singh, known for her award-winning documentaries, has been part of it for over two decades.
03:56It's a great platform for filmmakers like us to showcase our work to a very diverse audience.
04:02You know, there are institutes, NGOs, government organisations, school children, college children, so many diverse people come over here and they get to see our films.
04:13And I think that, as a filmmaker, is the biggest incentive for us to be here.
04:19Despite her success as a founder, Vasanthi Rao faced professional challenges, often being questioned about her position and having her calibre doubted,
04:29which made her work even more difficult and challenging.
04:33Not just that, in her personal life too, she has faced patriarchal barriers.
04:38So when I got married, it was suddenly expected that, not think of work as the primary goal, but as the family, as the primary goal.
04:47Yes, of course, for me, children are precious, family is precious, the support is very precious, love is very precious, but more important is what is the purpose of my life.
05:00All the other things just support it.
05:04And that's when you start realising what it means to be a girl in India, because that's who we are.
05:12Thank God, things have changed since then.
05:15But that discrimination exists, I think, to some extent even today, but it was much more pronounced, in my time at least.
05:25Behind Dr. Vasanthi Rao's resilience and drive have been the women in her life.
05:32Her mother helped raise her son, and her grandmothers, who ran their home while their husbands were busy with official duties, taught her not just to survive, but to thrive.
05:45Carrying forward that strength, Dr. Rao has become an inspiration for many girls and women, proving that women, with determination and empathy, can bring about lasting change.
05:58She is actively involved with the International Union for Conservation of Nature through its Commission on Education and Communication, and now leads IUCN's global programme, Nature for All, an initiative that seeks to connect children and young people with nature, helping them experience, understand and protect the natural world.
06:21Her vision remains unwavering, to use the power of media and storytelling to inspire awareness and accountability, influence policy and reconnect people with nature, leading towards a more liveable, greener and healthier planet.
06:39Then we have to keep reminding ourselves that you are doing it not because you expect something in return, but because it is part of your purpose.
06:49So I will continue my mission, irrespective of whether it is internal conflicts, challenges, hurdles, whatever, or external challenges that we will continue to expect.
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