A collaborative Dialogues Workshop was organised by the Bangalore-based Children’s Movement for Civic Awareness (CMCA), Amnesty International India, Centre for Corporate Governance and Citizenship of the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIM-B) co-sponsored by EducationWorld on October 7, at the IIM-B campus in suburban Bengaluru. The day-long workshop attracted the participation of over 100 academics, principals of schools, students, members from civil society organisations and officials of the Karnataka state government’s education ministry. Following publication of the ‘Yuva Nagarik Meter’ (YNM) study conducted in 11 state government capitals in January which exposed an alarmingly low score (21 percent) of school and college-going youth on democratic citizenship, Dr. Manjunath Sadashiva, managing director of CMCA, conceptualised the Dialogues Workshop to understand, analyse and advance policy recommendations to revitalise and transform the abysmal attitudes and values of youth relating to democratic citizenship. At the end of the full-day workshop, the participants signed a Charter for Democratising of Education Spaces which received overwhelming support and endorsement from all participants. HELP disaster management course The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS), World Health Organisation (WHO) and National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) have jointly introduced a HELP (Health Emergencies in Large Populations) study course in India. The focus of the programme is to equip disaster management professionals with essential skills to respond effectively in disaster situations. The emphasis is on a public health approach, disaster preparedness and response, recovery and humanitarian action when calamities strike. The first HELP programme for disaster relief personnel began in Delhi on October 29 and will run for two weeks. “The course contributes to setting high technical and ethical standards in the practice of humanitarian action, and develops collaborations between the academic and humanitarian sectors,” said Mary Werntz, head of the regional delegation of the ICRC, speaking on the occasion. Khushwant Singh literary festival Twelve schools participated in competitive general knowledge quiz and art contests sponsored by EducationWorld at the Khushwant Singh Literary Festival convened in Kasauli, Himachal Pradesh between October 9-11 to celebrate the late writer, author, journalist’s centennial birth anniversary. The teams representing Auckland House, Shimla (Shambvi Rao, Ishani Kanwar and Somya Sharma) and St. Lukes, Solan (Parth Bali, Aditya Aggarwal and Neerav Ganart) were adjudged joint winners of the quiz competition. In the individual art competition, Keshav Kond (Pinegrove School, Dharampur), Suman Sahoo (Kendriya Vidyalaya, AF Station, Kasauli) and Yeshey Dorji (Durga Public School, Solan) were declared winners. The prizes were awarded by actor-columnist Kabir Bedi. La Trobe leadership award The Victoria (Australia)-based La Trobe University announced a new ‘Thought Leadership Award’ for students of ten schools in Delhi NCR. The award has been conceptualised by La Trobe University to identify students who demonstrate outstanding potential to become thought leaders of the future. This competition requires students to submit an essay showcasing their understanding of the most pressing challenges facing the global community. Announcing the La Trobe Thought Leadership Award in Delhi on October 29,…
