Jyoti Sharma
How small collective actions create a water secure world
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About Jyoti Sharma
Jyoti Sharma is committed to improving the health and well-being of communities across India by facilitating social innovations that improve water security and sanitation. After being confronted with an intractable problem in her community—water scarcity—Jyoti fused her economics and business background to address a key healthcare concern she witnessed all around her— ailments related to water insecurity. In 2004, she founded the FORCE Group of Nonprofits with an interdisciplinary approach to addressing water conservation. A nationally acclaimed organization, FORCE brings access to clean water in communities, reducing the burden of disease. Jyoti is an Economics Honors graduate from Delhi University, business management alumnus from the prestigious Indian Institute of Management (IIM), an Ashoka Fellow, and a 2016 Taubman Fellow and Social Entrepreneur in Residence at Brown University. She has been nominated to several policy-making and advisory committees for Water Conservation, Safe Water and Sanitation of the Indian Union and State Governments. Jyoti has authored articles for international publications in addition to authoring the book, Effective Social Innovation.
Find out moreAbout This Talk
Water is a central life force for our Earth and its people. But Water Conservationist Jyoti Sharma shares that half of the world is struggling with water scarcity. Whether lack of clean water or a shortage of water altogether, water scarcity leads to water-related disease, food shortage, and an inability to make clothes, medicines, and more. Often, we perceive parallels between water and wealth - that water scarcity affects only the poor - but recent evidence shows that even wealthy nations face major issues with water security. Jyoti argues that if we each take small collective actions to conserve water, and empower fellow community members to do the same, we can create a paradigm shift towards water security worldwide.
Water scarcity is a global issue that grows in scale each day. But water security isn't a myth - it is a reality for our future. Watch Jyoti's TEDMED 2020 Talk, “How small collective actions create a water secure world,” to learn what actions you can take to build a water secure world.