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Tag: Josh Talks

  • Josh Talks and Meta wrap up a successful election awareness initiative

    Josh Talks and Meta wrap up a successful election awareness initiative

    Mumbai: In a transformative initiative to inspire and empower the youth, Josh Talks, in partnership with Meta, concluded a successful series of Citizens’ Townhalls across Bhopal, Jaipur, and Hyderabad. With a reach of approximately 1.3 million across social media platforms such as Facebook, and Instagram, the events successfully engaged citizens across five states, fostering civic awareness and encouraging active participation in the democratic process.

    The Citizens’ Townhall aims to educate and empower youth on the importance of exercising their vote and the power and responsibility that comes upon each citizen, as part of being a democracy. It seeks to heighten voter awareness among diverse communities, particularly focusing on engaging first-time voters.

    The series commenced in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, and continued to Jaipur, Rajasthan, culminating in Hyderabad, Telangana. The events featured esteemed bureaucrats, including Rituraj (IAS, 2015), CEO of Zilla Panchayat, Bhopal; Dr Snigdha Sharma, Principal of Government College, Jaipur; and Sarfaraz Ahmad (IAS, 2009), joint CEO of the office of chief electoral officer, Telangana.

    The Citizens’ Townhall series not only provided a platform for open dialogue but also facilitated engaging interactions between students and prominent policymakers. The impactful sessions inspired students to exercise their right to vote, leading to interactive Q&A sessions that enriched the democratic discourse.

    In conjunction with the Citizens’ Townhall series, a comprehensive social campaign spanning five states — Mizoram, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Telangana — was executed with the primary goal of encouraging citizens to exercise their right to vote. As part of this initiative, unique stories of citizens emerged, shining a spotlight on individuals actively working to empower citizens and ensure their exercise of fundamental rights. The social campaign, through its strategic outreach, aimed to instil a sense of civic responsibility and educate citizens about the significance of their participation in shaping the collective future.

    The series emphasised the symbiotic relationship between informed citizens and a robust democracy, demonstrating the power of engagement and dialogue in shaping the perspectives of the younger generation. As Josh Talks and Meta continue their mission of building an informed electorate, the success of the Citizens’ Townhall series stands as a milestone in their collective commitment to fostering active participants in the democratic process.

    Josh Talks CEO Supriya Paul expressed her delight at the success of the Citizens’ Townhall series saying, “Engaging nearly 900 students and reaching 1.3 million citizens across 5 states is a testament to the impact of our initiative. This success reinforces Josh Talks’ unwavering commitment to creating a lasting impact on society by developing responsible citizens and empowering youth to make a difference—the core values of Josh Talks.”

    As part of the initiative, Josh Talks has also identified unique stories of citizens who are working to empower other marginalised groups to exercise their fundamental rights.

     

  • Josh Talks appoints Darpan Sah as vice president–YouTube

    Josh Talks appoints Darpan Sah as vice president–YouTube

    MUMBAI: Regional content and upskilling platform, Josh Talks has appointed Darpan Sah as vice president–YouTube. In this role, he will be leading the expansion of Josh Talks’ content channels on YouTube, which are already present in 10 regional languages and three categories.

    In a career spanning over a decade, Sah has worked with various corporate brands across the industries. Before joining Josh Talks, he served as the chief sub-editor at new-age Hindi digital news brand, The Lallantop where he played an instrumental role to scale their subscriber base from one million to 20 million. He was recently awarded at the ENBA Awards 2021 for two shows that he produced at The Lallantop – Ek Naya Paisa and Kharcha Pani.

    On the appointment, Josh Talks CEO & co-founder Supriya Paul said, “Majority of our viewers come from Tier 2+ cities and have different content preferences. Our team closely monitors these needs, identifies gaps, and creates videos that then get 85 million+ views every month. Our goal for the next few months is to double down on this distribution by expanding into more regional languages, going hyper-local, and creating compelling content that seamlessly blends inspiration and information. I’m confident that with Darpan’s in-depth understanding and with his expertise in scaling video-first content, we will scale Josh Talks’ network of channels to new heights!”

    Darpan Sah said, “It has been incredible to follow Josh Talks’ journey and witness them build one of the largest regional content platforms in India. I am excited to join their team and look forward to leading their content expansion plans as they go deeper into every district and dialect of India. As part of this strategy, we will be launching a slew of new channels in the districts of Bihar and Josh Bhojpuri in the next quarter.”

    As a writer, Sah has created numerous pieces covering gender equality, the rights of women and the LGBTQ+ community, and other pertinent issues that form the bedrock of the Indian community. In 2016, he published his first book “Luka Jhanki”, an anthology of Hindi poems, and is currently working on his second book, which is a collection of short stories.

    With a subscriber base of over 16 million, Josh Talks has recorded more than 2 billion total views across its channels. In FY 2021-22, their revenue from YouTube has grown by 118 per cent on a year-over-year basis with Hindi, English, and Marathi, being a few of their top-performing channels, the company said in a statement.

  • Network 18’s Pawan Kumar Sharma joins Josh Talks as business head

    Network 18’s Pawan Kumar Sharma joins Josh Talks as business head

    Mumbai: Regional content and upskilling platform Josh Talks has appointed Pawan Kumar Sharma as business head. Sharma will be expanding the brand solutions vertical at Josh Talks, while driving strategic partnerships for the platform’s regional languages and new content category channels.

    Sharma brings 16 years of experience in branded content, revenue management, and strategic business planning. Prior to joining Josh Talks, he was at Network18 as national head of revenue. He has worked at The Walt Disney Company for 11 years, leading its youth vertical – Bindass. Other media brands that Sharma has been associated with include UTV Action & Movies, Star India, and Reliance Big Entertainment.  

    “Organisations today are socially conscious and are interested in partnering with platforms that are impactful. At Josh Talks, we are creating content that is inspirational and actionable in 10 regional languages,” said Josh Talks CEO and co-founder Supriya Paul. “In the last few years, we have collaborated with some of the largest organisations namely Google, Meta, and Amazon amongst others on 100+ campaigns to engage with the next billion users. We are excited to bring a seasoned leader like Pawan on board to establish our brand solutions vertical and drive strategic partnerships with like-minded organisations that are leveraging storytelling to create change at the grassroots.”

    “Josh Talks’ content reaches an audience that is increasingly relevant for all organisations today – 70 million+ youth from tier 2 and 3 cities who are seeking information and opportunities to do well in life. I am confident that we will be able to find synergies with leading organisations across industries to foster partnerships and also create exclusive content that is relevant and meaningful for the Indian audience,” shared Sharma. “Our larger goal is to give reasons to the youth of our country to be inspired, chase their dreams and contribute to nation-building at large,” he added. 

  • Neeraj Khanna joins Josh Talks’ board of directors

    Neeraj Khanna joins Josh Talks’ board of directors

    Mumbai: Regional content and upskilling platform Josh Talks has announced the appointment of Neeraj Khanna as its non-executive director. He will provide strategic inputs to guide the organisation in its next phase of growth, it said.

    Khanna brings with him over 25 years of industry experience across the telecom, aviation, IT-BPO, and hospitality sectors. He has worked  with BT as head of outsourcing; ClientLogic CEO and MD; Mphasis COO and GE Capital AVP. He is also the co-founder and director of Spark Career Mentors.

    Speaking on the appointment, Josh Talks co-founder Shobhit Banga said, “Neeraj has been a mentor to me since a very young age. I have always been inspired by his work ethic and his zeal to achieve excellence. Bringing him on board is a matter of pride for me. I look forward to learning from his vast experience and working together to make Josh a household name in India.”

    “I am excited to work with Josh Talks to build a business that is not just billion dollars in valuation but also creates value for the next billion users. They are shaping the future of Bharat and I am thrilled to be a part of it and work closely with Shobhit and Supriya (co-founders) to make their vision a reality,” stated Neeraj Khanna.