Hyderabad: In a world where success is increasingly becoming dependent on exposure, owing to the facilities, platforms and activities that are available now, the Covid-19 pandemic brought unprecedented impediments for people like entrepreneurs, artistes, social workers etc. The nationwide lockdown last year had put a practical halt to activities by such people but Wurk – People with Passion, a city-based digital platform, showcased over 700 people from the beginning of the pandemic and gave them the much needed exposure.
Originally launched as a platform to support employees with counselling and guidance, Wurk evolved drastically in the two years since it started. According to Ravi Shanker, the founder of Wurk, over two decades of his experience in senior managerial roles the corporate sector made him want to start this. “I came across a lot of instances of workplace harassment, wrong appraisals, work place politics and in most cases, people don’t know how to handle these situations. I wanted to create a platform where people have a support system, with therapists, guidance counsellors and even lawyers. Wurk was started in late 2018 to offer these services,” explained Ravi.
After conducting corporate workshops and students on code of conduct at workplaces, harassment, etc, for more than a year, the pandemic pushed the organisation to start the online platform providing the same services. “We were conducting similar workshops online but I got feedback that those issues were too serious and that made me want to do something on a lighter note and I also wanted to build a community of dedicated, passionate people who are doing everything except for a 9 to 5 job,” he said, adding, “We decided to go ahead with live videos on social media as it is the easiest way to reach out to people.”
Wurk started off with a unique series of videos called “1 Minute CM” where over 450 people from different walks of life – artists, entrepreneurs, writers, dancers, musicians, political analysts, child prodigies – were featured, with their journey being showcased along with a rapid-fire round.
“This series became a massive success as it was interesting and entertaining, with a rapid-fire round at the end of every episode where the person was asked what they’d do if they became the Chief Minister of the State for a day. People started getting noticed more from it. We received great feedback for this and later we started more series, like the kids’ series, where we did more than 150 episodes. After that, we did Art Talks with known and upcoming artists nationwide,” said Ravi. “Later we did a series in collaboration with BITS Pilani Hyderabad and the Government of India, where we had eminent entrepreneurs and startup mentors,” he added.
Currently, the platform is conducting their shows with a specific focus on women empowerment, mental health, disabilities in addition to their regular series. To follow Wurk, you can log on to: https://www.facebook.com/WurkTV
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