The session, which included screening of documentaries based on the subject followed by an interaction with children and activists who have been actively involved in the movement for years now has left a deep impact on the Delhi children. After the initial shock, the students were outraged by the audacity of the concerned authorities and were bubbling with thousands of questions. Shalini, who got involved in the movement as a student activist herself, spoke to the students telling them the basic demands of the Bhopal victims, namely; Socio Economic rehabilitation, Criminal charges against DOW/ Carbide, cleaning up of the toxic wastes and medical and financial aid to the victims.

Students can get directly involved at the dharna. The 10th of August will be the International Day of Action for children at Jantar Mantar, where everyone is welcome to come and express their solidarity to the Bhopalis, through songs, poems, slogans, plays, posters and banners and most importantly by JUST showing up!

Hope to see a lot of us there!

In Winter, 2009 18 young people from Lenasia, Eldorado Park and Fietas came together at the Mathew Goniwe School of Leadership, for the workshop “Awaken the Young Citizen”.
The workshop introduced the participants to issues of Self, to Respect and Dignity, to developing a sense of ownership towards the community in which they live.
A wide range of tools from meditation, role plays, interactive discussions, creative writing and drawing helped the students open up and express themselves freely.
They also went to a short heritage trail around Fietas where they are introduced to historical landmarks within the community.

Some of the teenagers who attended are from severely disadvantaged backgrounds, a few have been a part of neighborhood “gangs”. Yet the skills, the talent they displayed during these 3 days was humbling.

An empowered person is always aware of the various choices that stretch before him, as well as of their repercussions. With complete consciousness, he makes his choice, taking total responsibility for himself and the Universe.

The route to empowerment is a tough one. It begins with stating simple Intents of forgiveness, of letting go, and moving ahead into realms of Integrity, Transparency and Respect, as the Universe tests your grit and courage to clear your karmic debt. The process is very exciting and rewarding!

Meditation for us, is a State of Being – a state of Relaxed Alertness.It is not an activity about concentration, or about denial of the outside world.Its about Letting Go – allowing all your thoughts to drift through your mind, and releasing them as they float by, so that you gradually enter such a peaceful zone within you, that you are completely Alert.

Having reached this state of relaxed alertness, we then embark on a process of Creative Visualization – of freeing our mind from its conditioning, so as to be able to create scenarios of Love and Joy, and of actively partnering with the Universe to make more responsible choices for ourselves, and others.

The empowerment workshops are interactive workshops where the facilitators share the tools and skills that they use actively in their lives – tools of Free Will, Love as an Energy, the use of Intent and Creative visualization.

These tools become even more powerful when we learn to use them within the context of a Theatre Workshop – as we learn express ourselves, understand our responses to different situations, and thereby become more effective communicators.

When a group steps into the space of the workshop, each person leaves his calling card outside and comes in just as a human being. As the group assembles, the session begins with a short visualization where everyone is connected as a member of the Team, as well as to the Vision of the workshop – towards Empowerment and Fun!

With one’s defenses down, we begin to play….we laugh together, fight one another, challenge everything….as we learn…..about the concept of “Be-ing” versus “Acting”, about visualization as a Tool of receiving energies – of a character, a script, a space….And as we drop our masks for the group to see our vulnerability, we venture into territory we had never explored before…..We discover the Power of Choice – My choice.

That’s the crux of the workshop – understanding that you hold the power within you, to write the script you want for yourself, to choose your co-actors and to direct the flow of love within this scenario, as you respond to each situation.
We empower you with the tools required for you to have fun while doing this.Of course, the more you use the tools, the more skilful an artiste you become.

Such a workshop therefore goes beyond a simple sharing and relaxation one.It challenges you to make the changes within yourself first.And to realize that an empowered individual makes for a great team member! The sky’s the limit then!!!

We began our work in schools with orientation workshops on citizenship with senior school students. Initially called the iPartner Citizenship Workshops because our emphasis was on the “partnership” we were seeking with each student, within an ambit of mutual respect and understanding.

Launched 4 years ago these workshops were first conducted with 10 elite schools in Delhi, moving to government run Kendriya Vidylayas scattered all over the city. Our network spanned a total of 29 schools as the students shared their dreams and aspirations with us, expressed what they would like to change in their country and began to recognize that they could initiate this change even in their current role as school students!

It was energizing to see them understand the power of their choice. To ask the uncomfortable question. To not walk past an outrage on the street, pretending one did not see. To feel, to care and draw strength from a new understanding of themselves as proactive citizens.

These workshops have been conducted in Jaipur over the past two years, during the Jaipur Literature Festival, bringing together privileged school children with young people active in NGOs from the surrounding areas. It was an eye opener for the urban children to discover how their rural counterparts live!
Report on Jaipur Workshops – pdf

South Africa has been another shore to which these workshops have been taken. Youth Empowerment workshops at Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg looked upon the participants as key stakeholders in the process of nation building. This year too the workshops will carry forward the process of empowerment with other youth groups within these cities.
Report on South Africa Workshops – pdf