– Paromita Sengupta (Bengaluru)

A class IX student of the top-ranked vintage La Martiniere Girls’ College, Lucknow, Aaliya Fatima Rizavi (14) bested 2,300 entries from 100 countries to win the Significant Award 2026 for producing and directing a one-minute video on reviving the dying art of puppet making in the annual online 2026 National Geographic Slingshot Challenge Ver. 5.

Aaliya’s video titled ‘The Puppet Teaches the Planet,’ is environment friendly as it uses discarded textile scraps to make vibrant educational puppets that teach young children about recycling waste material. As an award winner, in October Aaliya will travel to Washington DC on an all-expenses paid trip to formally receive the award and prize money of $1,000.

The youngest child of Sayed Qasim Mahdi Rizavi, a retired executive, and mother Hina Zaheer, government school science teacher, Aaliya is elated with the outcome of her one-minute video. “I attribute my achievement to my sister Kulsoom who shared the details of the Challenge with me last December, and my mother for helping me kick-start my project,” says Aaliya.

“As a textiles industry hub, Lucknow city generates an enormous volume of waste with local tailors saying they have no choice but to trash their waste. Last winter, I started collecting textile waste from them. Drawing inspiration from the NatGeo Explorer, Victoria Herrmann and her project ‘Preserving Legacies,’ I started puppet making workshops in local schools. I explained the relevance of my project to school managements and how we can reuse waste, while also having fun teaching moments,” she recalls.

Aaliya invested seven-10 hours a week and spent a sum of Rs.700 towards her project. She would collect textile waste every evening after school hours and conduct puppet making workshops at local schools.

“I have no doubt my puppet-making expertise is rooted in my school’s art and craft lesson experiences. I am especially grateful to Mrs. D. Kapoor and Mr. Gupta for enabling me to learn this creative art,” says Aaliya.

Encouraged by her recent success, Aaliya wants to harness her talent and expand her project. “After my Plus Two without ignoring academics, I intend to invite more members to join my team, reuse textile waste in multiple ways, and start my own organisation,” says this can-do teen.