The Bachpan Manao mission, initiated by EkStep Foundation, along with 100+ collabactors, joined hands with NDTV to boost the idea of India’s children thriving through joyful learning, through a collaborative event at the International Kite Festival in Ahmedabad.
Set against the colourful background of the International Kite Festival, the event saw children between four and eight years old involved in a sustainable kite-making activity. It invited their imagination to take flight and opened their minds to learning.
The event, which marks the beginning of a new phase in the Bachpan Manao journey, brought together child advocates, educators, parents, and influencers to discuss why early childhood matters not just for children and parents but also for society as a whole. This was broadcast nationwide on NDTV.
The event in Ahmedabad was presided over by Shri Rajendra Kumar, Secretary Tourism, Govt. of Gujarat, Dr. Gayatri Menon, Principal Faculty, National Institute of Design and Activity Vice-Chairperson, Education, Amita Tandon, Education Specialist, UNICEF Gujarat Office and Deepika Mogilishetty, Chief of Policy & Partnerships, EkStep Foundation. They discussed the importance of play and joyful learning as the best way for a child to learn. Play doesn’t mean games, sports or expensive toys. It’s the means by which children engage with their environment. With the National Education Policy 2020 recommending play-based learning for children between 0-8 years of age, now is the opportune time to bring the policy alive. The flip side of not creating spaces for play could result in children not reaching their full potential and missing out on skills that mere paper-pencil learning cannot enable.
The festivities, while anchored in Ahmedabad, extended to other cities, Mumbai and Bengaluru, where hundreds of families, teachers, and Anganwadi workers participated.
Bachpan Manao, focuses on celebrating childhood through joy and play because children learn best through joy and play.
Shankar Maruwada, Co-Founder and CEO, EkStep Foundation speaking about the Bachpan Manao mission remarks: “The intent was to create a joyful narrative for the foundational years of childhood. We committed to a collaborative, co-creative approach, and we are grateful to more than 100 organisations that are partnering with us in this journey.”
“Every year 25 million children are born in India and each one deserves a steady foundation. Joyful learning is a breakthrough opportunity to ensure that every child can thrive to their fullest. We are at a pivotal time in India where we can create optimal experiences for every child. This requires a whole of society approach. Bachpan Manao is an invitation to every caring adult to celebrate the first 400 weeks of every child as a period of abundant and holistic growth. To simply celebrate the unique opportunity of childhood to learn, grow through play” said Ms Deepika Mogilishetty, Chief of Policy & Partnerships, EkStep Foundation.
Bachpan Manao began as a strategic collaboration of EkStep Foundation joining hands with diverse professionals such Primalise, a research organisation and Siriti, a creative agency and a wide early childhood ecosystem to unlock the full potential of early childhood.
From 3 to 13 organisations that co-created the idea of Bachpan Manao Mission, and joined by 100+ organisations along the way, the Mission, with NDTV, is aiming to scale and broadbase the idea.
NDTV Network’s Director and Editor-in-Chief, Sanjay Pugalia remarked, “NDTV is excited to collaborate with EkStep in honouring the vital and transformative years of a child’s life. These formative years call for a celebration of joy and opportunity. Our initiative seeks to ignite a movement dedicated to ensuring that every child in India experiences a joyful childhood. We invite policymakers, corporate leaders, educators, parents, and grandparents to join us in this important endeavor—Bachpan Manao. Together, let’s create a brighter future for our children.”
Reva Jhingan Malik, co-founder of Primalise and the research mind behind ‘Bachpan Manao’, says, “We attempted to make a deeper and wider sense of the child’s complex universe; challenging societal mental models about early childhood. Our collaborative journey led us to craft a narrative deeply anchored in human and cultural insights.”
“Working closely with Ekstep and Primalise, we arrived at the rallying cry of ‘Bachpan Manao’ to bring early childhood into focus. The juxtaposition of these two words itself became a springboard for our mission. And NDTV coming onboard elevates this celebration to the next level.” says Vainateya Gavai, co-founder of Siriti, the creative agency behind the campaign.