Children, have been amongst those who have embraced the JGW, transforming it into a festival of change; one that is positive, deeply impacting and hopefully permanent. We have seen this in the increasing participation in the Design for Change contest that is into its third chapter this year. Participation in DFC has extended beyond the boundaries of our country and has stepped into practically every continent on the globe. The DFC encourages children to look at problems within the community and also find solutions to them. It envisages children as keepers of the world by making children responsible for identifying problems and solutions. Hopefully, the thousands of children who have participated and will participate in the DFC, will continue to remain sensitive to the needs of our world and will continue to question the inequalities and anomalies that exist in the world and find answers to the same.
This JGW update from Ondikuppam, Koppur and Arunvoyel, all villages in Tamil Nadu, bears testimony to the above. The children from Arunvoyel who had participated in JGW 2010, had also managed to raise Rs2000, which they are using to buy books for children in the village. This year, the children of all the 3 villages hope to participate through various initiatives ranging from setting up a garbage segregation unit to provide manure for the kitchen gardens in the village to raising funds to buy a goat for the poorest family in the village. What is also heartening is the vision of these children to make the positive changes in the village more permanent by discussing 'issues of social concern affecting the village', with the adults.
From such small seeds do mighty trees grow and the JGW that began as an abstract idea is growing, spreading its branches across the world, permeating the air with joy. The Joy of Giving
Showing posts with label Design for Change. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Design for Change. Show all posts
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Be the Change
"Be the Change you Want to See in the World".
Words that have inspired and continue to inspire millions across the world. Gandhiji lived this mantra but unfortunately, in the decades since his assassination, to many, this thought provoking dictum has turned into a mere utterance. This is not because we as a people disregard this, but because we are caught up so much in the business of earning a living and making a life for ourselves and those we love, that we have forgotten that if our life has to change, the world has to change and we need to reflect that change.
It was with this intention that Riverside School Ahmedebad, organised and co-ordinated the Design for Giving contest as a part of the JGW 009. Over a thousand schools participated in this event and a jury of prominent design professionals evaluated the projects submitted and shortlisted 20 entries as worthy of high mention. The contest basically had students select a problem in the community that they would like to solve and work out a solution. The submitted entries displayed a remarkable maturity and ranged from keeping school premises clean, to recognising the important role mothers play in our lives by asking for a Mothers' Day every Sunday; cleaning garbage dumps and campaigning against the use of plastic, raising much needed resources for Aanganwadis to mention just a few of the many entries. For more on this, visit www.designforchangecontest.com
It is heartening and humbling when children set out to solve problems in practical and novel ways in the process enriching all our lives by making it more meaningful. That the change we would like to see in the world needs to have its genesis in each one of us is something none of us would deny but it needs to be reinforced. By involving children in this process,The Design for Giving, brings to the metamorphosis of society, a continuity that will hopefully endure.
With participation from abroad this year, the Design for Giving during JGW 2010 promises to throw up more solutions to the problems we face. To register or read more about the JGW 10 visit www.joyofgivingweek.ning.com
Words that have inspired and continue to inspire millions across the world. Gandhiji lived this mantra but unfortunately, in the decades since his assassination, to many, this thought provoking dictum has turned into a mere utterance. This is not because we as a people disregard this, but because we are caught up so much in the business of earning a living and making a life for ourselves and those we love, that we have forgotten that if our life has to change, the world has to change and we need to reflect that change.
It was with this intention that Riverside School Ahmedebad, organised and co-ordinated the Design for Giving contest as a part of the JGW 009. Over a thousand schools participated in this event and a jury of prominent design professionals evaluated the projects submitted and shortlisted 20 entries as worthy of high mention. The contest basically had students select a problem in the community that they would like to solve and work out a solution. The submitted entries displayed a remarkable maturity and ranged from keeping school premises clean, to recognising the important role mothers play in our lives by asking for a Mothers' Day every Sunday; cleaning garbage dumps and campaigning against the use of plastic, raising much needed resources for Aanganwadis to mention just a few of the many entries. For more on this, visit www.designforchangecontest.com
It is heartening and humbling when children set out to solve problems in practical and novel ways in the process enriching all our lives by making it more meaningful. That the change we would like to see in the world needs to have its genesis in each one of us is something none of us would deny but it needs to be reinforced. By involving children in this process,The Design for Giving, brings to the metamorphosis of society, a continuity that will hopefully endure.
With participation from abroad this year, the Design for Giving during JGW 2010 promises to throw up more solutions to the problems we face. To register or read more about the JGW 10 visit www.joyofgivingweek.ning.com
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