Lenovo calls for a tech pitch to empower Yuwa girls

The 'Pitch to Her' campaign called out to tech enthusiasts in India to hack real-world issues with technology and propose interesting ideas of change for rural girls in Hutup village of Jharkhand.

Lenovo launched a digital campaign 'Pitch to Her', in association with Yuwa, on the eve of India's 69th Independence Day. Yuwa is a social development platform for girls based in Jharkhand that imparts training in football, provides free education and creates awareness about social evils like child marriage and domestic violence.

As part of this initiative, Lenovo called on the brightest minds in India to hack real-world issues with technology and propose interesting ideas of change for the rural girls and the community in Hutup village, Jharkhand. Last year, Lenovo cheered for Yuwa and brought its story to millions of Indians by taking the 'Yuwa Girls' to the USA Cup - one of the reputed international football tournaments for young girls in the world.

The campaign has a dedicated website www.pitchtoher.com that gave people an opportunity to field innovative, technology-based ideas to Yuwa. The entries will be judged on practicality and creativity by a bunch of Yuwa girls themselves, and winners will get an internship funded by Lenovo. Through 'Pitch to Her', team Yuwa is looking to unleash simple, practical yet quirky solutions that can involve anything from art to music to product design or even utility apps, that can be implemented within four to six weeks.

The campaign culminated on August 15. To understand the daily challenges faced by the girls, volunteers could interact with them via Skype or Google Hangout, before making the final submission. The winning ideas will now be implemented by Yuwa, the volunteers and the girls.

Speaking about the campaign, Bhaskar Choudhuri, director, marketing, Lenovo India, said, "We are proud of our association with the Yuwa girls. Despite hailing from a small town like Hutup in Jharkhand, they have the firepower and understand that technology gives them the required platform to achieve their dreams. The primary objective of 'Pitch to Her' is to engage young individuals in empowering the Yuwa girls and to create an unforgettable, fun experience for volunteers."

Franz Gastler, executive director and co founder of Yuwa, added, "This is a great opportunity for people to unleash their creativity and present out-of-the-box ideas that will help them experience a slice of life with the Yuwa team at Hutup and also be a part of driving change in one of the most disadvantaged parts of the country. People know the Yuwa girls for football, but off the field they're every bit as impressive. They're changing their own lives and the lives of girls in their communities. We're thrilled to partner with Lenovo to empower girls to connect them to a wider community. Society teaches girls to fit in while Yuwa coaches them to stand out."

Besides this, Lenovo has a team working in Hutup to let the girls experience and learn about computers, internet and science. Lenovo Lab, powered with computers, tablet devices and smartphones, also went online. While the pitch process was going on, the girls carried out activities like creating a Wikipedia page for Hutup, adventure photography, music making/musical hangouts and harnessing solar power.