From Zoom to Zoomba – International Women’s Day 2021

It all began at an ANDIE (Academic Network of Dynamic and Inspired Educators) team meeting in January 2021 when we were reminiscing about the previous International Women’s Day… a grand celebration spanning three days in March 2020, shortly before the pandemic hit and the country went into lockdown. The conversation naturally turned to front-line workers and their efforts during the pandemic. Some, like the medical fraternity, had been felicitated at award ceremonies and lauded by the press for their proactive role in containing the spread of the virus. Others, like the teaching community, had been forgotten and their role trivialized. If it were not for their commitment to their vocation, a major chunk of the population would have had to forego an entire year of learning. They switched so seamlessly between the blackboard and the screen that it seemed like they were born with these skills. Only they would know the tremendous efforts they had to put in to maintain some semblance of normalcy in the lives of their students. The team thus thought it would be apt to celebrate the teachers’ achievements this Women’s Day. This was the origin of ‘From Zoom to Zoomba’.

On Sunday, 07 March 2021, teachers from across Mumbai schools arrived at St. Andrew’s Conference Hall, Bandra for an evening of edutainment. The smooth flow of events and success of ‘From Zoom to Zoomba’ would not have been possible without the help of GAP (Grand Academic Portal) and the Women’s Cell of St. Andrew Parish.

To read the full story, do go to page 58 of vol. 8 (July 2021) of EduFOCUS here.