SAAGA 2023 was a unique women-led event in association with IEEE WIE Kerala Section and IEEE Kerala Young Professionals. It was conducted on April 1, 2023 and brought together 86 aspirational students and young professionals to be inspired, network, and upskill themselves by meeting women leaders from diverse backgrounds and experiences. It also had two separate workshops that gave them unique insight into positioning them for the future.

The mission of Saaga is to empower and celebrate women from all walks of life by providing a platform for them to share their stories and expertise.

Through the first event, Saaga 2023, the organizers aimed to create a supportive community of women who could learn from and inspire one another. The organizers envisioned a future where women have equal opportunities to succeed in their personal and professional lives and are supported by a strong community of like-minded individuals. The success of Saaga 23 can be attributed to the diligent efforts of Thiruvananthapuram Hub members, who took on the responsibility of inviting speakers from diverse segments of society. Their meticulous planning ensured the smooth progression of all the scheduled programs. Notably, one of our hub members, Reema Shaji, also served as a speaker during the event.

Saaga 2023 consisted of the following segments:

• 
  The Bridge: A conclave with four women leaders from diverse domains - Anjana Gopakumar (Content Creator), Aisha Nazia (Strategy and Growth Facilitator | Sports Management Expert), Reema Shaji (Global Ugrad Scholar) and Ananya R (DEI Advocate in Tech | TEDx Speaker). They interacted with the participants about the point where they identified their passion, the struggles they faced, internal conflicts, the joy of doing what they do, and transitioning from student to career.
  


• 
  "#iam20": A 15-minute interview + interactive session with Nama Dutt, (Test Engineer at codeofduty innovations). She shared her experience in taking up a career directly from school, which provided a different perspective on career choice.
  


• 
  Networking with Lunch: The participants got to meet a bunch of promising resource people over lunch and refreshments. They were acquainted with multiple other students, young professionals, and professionals from diverse organizations. It provided an opportunity to network and collaborate.
  


• 
  Letters with Voice: A unique segment where the moderator read out anonymous letters from women who went through specific traumatic incidents. These were then addressed by the two expert panelists - police officer Harshita Attaluri IPS and renowned psychologist Shaarika Menon (CEO of Mindport). The aim of this segment was to help the participants hear from the panelists what needs to be done, even if what they faced was a long time back.
  


• 
  Hands-On Workshop 1: How to Land a Job in the New Digital Era: A workshop on profile building and personal branding with Gaurav Nandu (Product Marketing Manager, Zycus). The participants left the venue with a resume, Linkedin profile, and knowledge on how to attend interviews and engage in professional communications.
  


• 
  Hands-On Workshop 2: Breathe, a live transformative workshop on Vipassana: A powerful technique that can help one cultivate mindfulness and inner peace. It was conducted by Dr. R Gopakumar (Assistant Teacher, Vipassana Meditation).
  

Saaga 23 was part of a series of initiatives towards women empowerment. Among these forthcoming projects is an AI workshop. The ultimate aim with Saaga is to emphasize professional development while also considering the broader aspects of women empowerment.