Lessons on Collective Action by a Clownfish, his Son & a Forgetful Friend

Keep swimming.. Keep swimming.. Keep swimming..”

Remember the chant that reverberated in the Indian Ocean while Nemo & Marlin tried to save Dory and hundreds of other fishes trapped in the fishing net? The collective echo during this scene emanates so much power that you can feel the hair at the back of your neck rise.

Just imagine what would happen if we could together chant for building an equitable future for our children in India that will echo throughout the country! A future, where the public education system with its capable teachers and school leaders, nurtures every child to learn, dream and succeed. Where every child is given a fair chance to mould their life as they see fit. Quite amazing, right? But such an audacious vision cannot be achieved by anyone alone- by either the government, a civil society organisation (CSO) or a community group.

In this piece, we explore the water world of “Finding Nemo” and uncover the hidden treasures of lessons that can help realise the most audacious goals like finding little Nemo in the vast Indian Ocean.

Or something as big as transforming the 1 million public schools.

Let’s dive in together..

In the bustling Great Barrier Reef, we meet Marlin, an overprotective dad and Nemo, the high-spirited young fish with a fin for adventure. On his very first day of school, Nemo gets captured by a dentist and lands up in a friendly fish tank in Australia.

Want to go far, go together!

Marlin, determined to bring his son back home, sets out on a heroic quest involving some wild encounters with a forgetful yet endearing fish named Dory. Courageous Dory was taken by Marlin’s love for his son and joined forces with him. At times, Dory’s contagious enthusiasm uplifted Marlin’s spirits and pulled him back out from setbacks. Meanwhile, Marlin’s practical approach and calm demeanour compensated for Dory’s short-term memory loss and frantic nature.

Like Marlin’s & Dory’s collective adventures, achieving an ambitious goal needs partnerships nurtured through the alignment of shared goals, values and mindsets. It encourages shared meaning-making and builds resilience for smooth navigation. Where ups are followed by celebrating wins and downs by pausing to reflect and realign on the journey, made energising with fellow changemakers. Because that’s what true companions are for!

Navigating Rough Waters By Embracing Diversity

On the way, Marlin and Dory come across other fellow creatures without whom the journey is incomplete and the mission impossible to achieve, also no fun! There’s Bruce, the shark who’s trying to go “fish-friendly” and the gnarly sea turtles with their totally cool dude language who reignited their hope and directed them to Sydney, Australia. These eclectic ensembles of sea creatures add their authentic quirks and charms to the journey.

These encounters showed how valuable it is to embrace diversity. By inviting different perspectives, we see the system and its problems from a new lens – what are the influencing factors we missed, what other stakeholders are impacted, what are resources (expertise, tools, innovative solutions etc) we can leverage?. This is achieved by setting aside our personal agendas, our differences and embracing uniqueness to build a thriving ecosystem.

Then, the vast, unpredictable ocean [of social change] becomes less daunting.

Amplifying Reach With Interconnected Network

The movie underscores the importance of cross-species friendships and the power of storytelling that can help amplify the cause. Marlin trusts Nigel, a pelican, who calls on his network with his Australian charm at the right time to help him reach his son and the fish gang.

Similarly, working with a mission as mighty as transforming the public education system, we need to function with the spirit of camaraderie, expand our network and leverage the reach to deepen the impact. And stories fuel the interactions, they travel above and beyond boundaries and invoke participation from even those co-empaths who are furlongs apart.

As I watched Finding Nemo for the umpteenth time, I realised that achieving monumental goals is not about the individual journey but about the collective effort. It’s about the synergy created when diverse minds and hearts come together with a shared purpose. Marlin’s and Dory’s challenging journey portrayed in about 2.5 hours is a solid culmination of the many ups and downs, similar to any societal mission’s journey to create the ripples of change.

As we set forth on our mission to build an equitable future for every child in India, the collective “keep swimming” chant is what will ultimately lead us to success. As Nigel rightly says, “It is when we unite, we can achieve even the loftiest of goals, mate!”

To meet all these fin-tastic sea creatures and watch their epic tale, head to Disney+ Hotstar.

Meet the Authors

Sonal Bhasin

A hopeful dreamer who prefers to breathe in a fictional world of a good book than in the real one, a designer who wishes to make the world more aesthetic, colorful and beautiful than she found it to be, and the communication lead for ShikshaLokam in pursuit of becoming a storyteller. Sonal is an education enthusiast, who has herself been teaching for over 12 years and strongly believes in the power of education, opportunity and hard work.