AIMA and Storm the Norm co-created ‘Insight Storm’ – a novel format to generate sharp insights delivered powerfully. The Inaugural InsightStorm was organized on 10th August 2016 at Hotel Taj Lands End, Mumbai. This edition of InsightStorm paired up thought leaders from two diverse fields – Art and Business and in a 30-minute session, they shared three pre-created insights around a theme, followed it up with a ‘collision dialogue’ and ended with one fresh insight each.

Below are the 3 key insights and stories shared by Ms Dia Mirza, Model, Actor, Producer and Social Activist at Insight Storm.

Dia Mirza addressing the Insight Storm 2016

Insight: Every individual is positive social change waiting to happen. Awareness plus Communication equals thoughts translating into action, simple Maths.

I was 18 years old when I won a beauty pageant and it made me a household name overnight in India and amongst many opportunities that came my way at the time, some of the opportunities made a huge impact on the way I perceive my own life and this incredible opportunity that had come my way. I was approached by the government of Andhra Pradesh to spread awareness on HIV and AIDS and we worked actively on that campaign for a year and statistics showed results and that made a big difference in the way I perceived the opportunity that had come along. I think in our early years when we are growing up, through our school education, there are many models and systems that encourage us to become participators, social participators to make a difference in people’s lives. I think as children we receive the gratitude that we get through that experience but as we grow older and start chasing life’s ambitions and wanting to do more with ourselves to make money, to grow, to become more successful we sometimes forget the gratitude that we’ve received in making a difference and I think it was somewhere in 2003 or 2004, many years after I had continued to participate in many social initiatives that I discovered that I could combine what I do with what it makes me feel. So the pursuit of opportunity did not necessarily have to be one that only correlated to the ambition to do better in life materially but also to make a difference alongside. And that was life changing for me because I haven’t looked back at a single day when I haven’t felt like my existence is not entirely insignificant and that this great opportunity life has given me in expanding my access to people to make a change and use all of it that I do through my everyday work which is whether it is making films or acting in films or anything else that I do, combine that with the social change that I would like to make and seek to make. And it’s been my key to happiness. I have made money along the way but more than that I have earned a lot of gratitude and that’s my key to happiness and I think everybody is seeking happiness eventually so yeah.

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