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Tag: UNICEF

  • Brands must assure people that help is available and if done correctly, it can be a simple, but impactful message, writes Kunal Sinha

    Brands and mental health

     

     

    By Kunal Sinha

     

    Kunal SinhaA few months ago, one of my son’s close friends jumped off the balcony of his high-rise home.

     

    For several weeks, I experienced first-hand, the trauma of a 15-year-old and his friends as they struggled to make sense of the loss. From talking to his school counsellor the very next day, to his friends speaking to each other regularly, promising to discuss their feelings – they showed remarkable maturity.

     

    Not everyone does. The numbers of those in mental distress are alarming. And they need help.

     

    According to a WHO report, more than 14% of people in India have mental health problems.

     

    Unicef’s State of the World’s Children states that one in seven young people between the ages of 15 and 24 in India experiences poor mental health, including symptoms of depression and disinterest. Shockingly, only 41% of those surveyed felt the need to seek support when dealing with mental health challenges.

     

    The sources of stress are numerous. There is a strong positive correlation between the population’s growing number of mental health issues, the decline in job opportunities for young graduates, unequal economic growth, as well as unrealistic expectations caused by exposure to social media.

     

    49% of Indonesian internet users had experienced bullying on social media; the figure in India is a shocking 85% – the highest in the world.

     

    A quarter of Americans said they were spending less time reading the news to manage their mental wellbeing.

     

    What’s more, the stigma attached to the disorder goes hand in hand with the rising number of problems with mental wellbeing.

     

    In India, there are 0.329 mental health outpatient services per 100,000 people. The ratio in Indonesia is highly disproportionate as well, with one psychiatrist serving approximately 227,000 individuals. Post the pandemic, the demand for online consultation had surged enormously, up to 800%.

     

    People are looking for solutions.

     

    In Indonesia, 83.6% of GenZ state that mental health is very important to them. The numbers for Gen Y and Gen Z aren’t too far behind, 80.5% of GenY and 80.3 percent of GenX also feel that mental health is very important to them. Over the past year, there was a 230% increase in search interest around the word ‘healing’, according to Google Trends.

     

    That’s where brands and organisations have the opportunity to step up.

     

     

    Help people dealing with stress

    From the 12 markets included in Global Web Index’s Zeitgeist data, 37% of people are under financial strain, while 30% are struggling to find a work-life balance.

     

    While 80% people globally believe businesses should assist customers during the cost-of-living crisis, only a small fraction of consumers received advice from their banks in the past year.

     

    The UK’s Lloyds Banking Group’s charity partnership with Mental Health UK stepped up to the challenge. The partnership promotes awareness of the link between mental health and money problems, encouraging discussion between customers and colleagues while raising at least £2 million per year.

     

    With this raised cash, Lloyds Banking Group went on to develop the UK’s first Mental Health and Money Advice service showing financial marketers around the world that clear, practical advice can support people experiencing issues with mental health and money.

     

     

    Normalise conversations around mental health

    Conversations about our feelings and mental health can be difficult, but they need to happen. Just 32% of internet users say they’re comfortable talking about their mental health, showing there’s still some way to go.

     

    In 2022, ITV released the latest instalment of its Britain, get talking mental health ad campaign.

     

    The ad depicts a conversation between a father and daughter after she’s had a bad day at school. Subtitles are used to illustrate the gap between what they’re saying and thinking, showing how difficult it can be for young people to open up. After a slow start, there’s a breakthrough, and the daughter finally tells her dad what’s on her mind.

     

    Was the campaign effective? Exploring the gap between what we say and how we feel felt an important conversation to bring to bear, especially when it comes to the young people in our lives. Since launching Britain Get Talking with ITV, it became the UK’s most recognised mental health campaign and started over 100 million conversations.

     

     

    Build a community of support

    Maybelline Brave Together is a global initiative, active in 25 countries, to support everyone experiencing anxiety and depression. The cosmetics brand is not selling beauty products; rather creating awareness to de-stigmatise mental health issues facing the population.

    https://www.maybelline.com/bravetogether

    More than half of first-year college students (54%) frequently felt anxious since starting college – and 60% don’t turn to professionals for help. They turn to their friends.

    Maybelline partnered with a community of mental health experts, and created support tools to help navigate everything from spotting the signs, to how to practice self-care, to exploring resources.

    The brand developed Brave Talk in partnership with The Jed Foundation – a free, expert-developed training designed to be delivered by college staff to empower students with the skills to support peers who may be struggling and help connect them to care.

    The campaign generated extremely high user engagement, achieving the goal of destigmatising mental health issues by promoting honest conversation among the audience:

    25% of users went on to look up mental health resources, and over 50% users said that their opinion about Maybelline had improved as a result of the campaign. In India, Maybelline roped in badminton star PV Sindhu in its campaign that asks people to “Raise your hand if you are pretending to be okay in front of friends and family”.

    So what do these mental health ads all share that make them so successful? Here’s a few things they have in common:

    1. They’re authentic

    Featuring real people, real stories, or real events that we can all relate to, all of these campaigns feel genuine, and are sensitively executed. The Jed Foundation works directly with volunteers with mental health issues, and Lloyds Bank encouraged discussion between its employees and customers in financial distress, and this creates empathy.

    2. They’re guided by data

    The best mental health campaigns draw attention to what’s happening right now, and they’re backed up by stats. When the story is led by true insights, it’s much harder to go wrong.

    Global Web Index data shows that younger people are most likely to experience mental health issues (16% more likely than the average person to say they’re prone to anxiety), and are overwhelmingly in support of mental health messaging in ads (73% say this), highlighting they’re an important, and likely receptive audience to target.

    3. They all include a clear message and call to action

    There’s a common thread that runs through each mental health campaign I’ve drawn attention to: brands need to normalise talking about mental health, and assure people that help is available. It can be a simple, but impactful message.

     

    Sources: 

    https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/voices/cyberbullying-in-india-a-growing-concern-for-parents-and-educators/

     

    https://www.idntimes.com/hype/entertainment/lala-dita-pangestu/6-film-indonesia-bertema-mental-health-salah-satunya-kukira-kau-rumah-c1c2?page=all

     

  • As its Global Brand Ambassador

    Lionel Messi promotes Byju’s Education for All Foundation

    By Our Staff

     

    On the heels of Argentina’s historic FIFA World Cup victory, Lionel Messi has posted ‘Namaste India’ on his Instagram to the delight of his millions of followers. The post carries a series of pictures showing Messi wearing Byju’s jersey to promote the cause of equitable and accessible education through the Byju’s Education For All (EFA) foundation.

     

    Byju’s, the edtech company, had announced Messi as the global brand ambassador of EFA, its social initiative, a month before the World Cup began in November. Messi is known to promote the cause of equal education and also serves as a global brand ambassador of UNICEF.

     

    “Children are our future,” Messi wrote, adding that no matter where they live, every child deserves an equal opportunity to learn and grow. Commending BYJU’S and its groundbreaking work in championing inclusive tech-driven education for all, Messi took the message of equal, equitable, and quality education for all to his 400 million+ social media followers, and marked his welcome into the BYJU’S family. His post garnered nearly 10 million, or 1 crore, likes in the first ten hours, making it one of his most popular endorsement posts.

     

    Said Divya Gokulnath, co-founder of Byju’s:  “We are honoured to have Lionel Messi join us in our mission to provide accessible education for all children, regardless of their background or location. Messi’s passionate advocacy for education and children aligns perfectly with our own values at Byju’s, and we look forward to working with him to expand the reach and impact of our Education for All initiative.”

     

  • Examines 100 EdTech ads

    ASCI releases report on advertising in the EdTech sector

    By Our Staff

     

    The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) released a comprehensive report on advertising in the education technology sector (EdTech) and the impact it has on parents and students. The report aims to decode the challenges and opportunities for EdTech sector advertising. The report also identifies ways in which the sector can shape a more responsible narrative, and move away from opportunistic advertising which many consider problematic.

     

    EdTech as a sector holds immense promise in being able to address the infrastructural and learning challenges in India, hence it is critical that the advertising of the sector does not undermine its potential. The study, done with the active participation of both industry and non-industry stakeholders identifies opportunities and challenges and proposes a framework that could guide advertisers to more balanced advertising.

     

    The EdNext study was undertaken by ASCI with Sprint Studio.ai as the research partner and UNICEF as the knowledge partner. A total of 100 EdTech advertisements across print, TV, digital video and static mediums were analysed by a wide set of stakeholders including parents, students, policymakers, educationists, child development experts, as well as representatives of the industry from the marketing and creative fields. The study was conducted across the cities of Delhi, Bangalore, Indore, Kanpur, Patna, Kolhapur, Warangal and Bardhaman.

     

    The analysis revealed that:

    Ads have a huge impact on parents’ choice of EdTech platform, with 49% of parents choosing platforms based on advertising

    Like traditional education ads, Ed-Tech ads too, have a huge focus on marks and ranks. Math and science dominated the subjects depicted

    While 81% of parents trust EdTech ads, 73% felt that ads showed high pressure of studies

    None of the endorsers/ role models were from the academic field

    Stereotypes of gender, physical appearances, and mother’s roles crept in to these ads

    The findings also noted some positives. Some of the key positives identified were:

    Ads featuring parents represented them as supporting partners to students, and thereby provided positive role models for progressive parenting (21 out of 23 ads)

    Parents and experts also felt that ads that focused on conceptual learning were progressive and enjoyable

     

    The EdNext study proposed a framework to elevate the communication around EdTech mindfully. Titled ‘RAISE’, the framework provides stakeholders a set of lenses to evaluate the creatives and develop messages that could be considered more progressive. Following the checklist guide provided in the framework will help marketers and creative experts review concepts at the inception stage of the ad itself.

     

    The framework is based on five principles which include:

    R – Relationship of the student with learning

    A – Authenticity of situations, promises and claims

    I – Inclusive representation of characters to depict diversity in gender, age, physical attributes, personality types, learning styles and pace along with regional inclusion

    S – Spectrum of pedagogy where there is information on learning methods and how they contribute to holistic learning outcomes

    E – Excellence markers to focus on overall development as a measure of success over ranks and marks

     

    Manisha Kapoor, CEO and Secretary General, ASCI, said: “EdTech has emerged as a very important sector in recent times, especially in the pandemic era where parents engaged with these companies to supplement their children’s education. Ed-Tech has the ability to solve some fundamental infrastructure and content challenges and revolutionize Indian education. However, given the particular asymmetry between vulnerable parents and students on the one hand, and large organizations on the other, it is critical to ensure that advertising is responsible and does not exploit these vulnerabilities. EdTech advertising has a massive opportunity to build a positive and future-facing narrative, which makes for compelling brand stories that also build confident and multifaceted learners.”

     

    Mayank Kumar, Chair at Indian Ed-tech Consortium, and Co-founder UpGrad added: “The EdNext report shines light on the sheer scale of the EdTech sector and highlights the need for raising the bar on advertising in the industry along with providing a roadmap on how that can be achieved. The report also shows huge acceptance of the benefits of EdTech products by students, parents and teachers. The in-depth research we undertook along with ASCI will help the industry get a clear picture of how the sector can benefit through responsible advertising, which it is already constantly working towards.”

     

    Divya Gokulnath, Co-chair at Indian Ed-tech Consortium and Co-Founder BYJU’S said: “The EdNext report highlights that almost all parents are appreciative of the ads which show children enjoying the process of learning, which is something we live by, work for, and showcase in our ads. We prioritize building strong and sustainable relationships based on first principles. While it’s natural for advertisers to highlight the best outcomes achieved by their users, the EdTech industry strives to present a balanced picture at all times. As a nascent industry that is constantly evolving, we must adapt in our effort so that we can make learning effective for everyone. This initiative by ASCI will help us design even more responsible and effective ad campaigns as we continue to grow and improve.”

     

  • To raise sensitivity to gender-related issues

    Be the ‘Voice of Change’, says IAA

    By Our Staff

     

    The India Chapter of the International Advertising Association (IAA) is driving a campaign aimed at the marcom industry, urging it to be more aware and sensitive to gender related issues in all its communication.

     

    Said IAA President Megha Tata: “The unique survey we helped UNICEF and the Geena Davis Foundation conduct on the portrayal of women in Indian advertising threw up several interesting findings. We felt that a creative campaign that highlighted these findings could help our content creators focus on such points in a very positive way and collectively become what we call the Voice of Change.”

     

    Added Raj Nair, CEO and Chief Creative Officer Madison BMB, whose team comprising Rohan Joseph and Vallabh Yeolekar created the campaign: “It’s amazing that even in the 21st century, we continue to address bias related to gender, skin tone, male dominated settings when we are simultaneously discovering space tourism, breakthroughs in cancer cures and the like. Just goes to show that even in our seemingly more aware world of communication, these cliched tropes are very much in play.

     

    A study of gender representations in ads in India threw up some startling facts. An industry known to be a flag-bearer of out-of-the-box thinking seemed to be turning a blind eye to something as pertinent as gender equality. This campaign puts forward some uncomfortable truths and aims to be an eye-opener for the Indian advertising and media industry to be more aware and sensitive in their thought process. We leaped at the opportunity to hold a mirror to ourselves. And to help IAA continue to be the Voice Of Change.”

     

  • Colors and Havas Group to partner discussion

    IAA to host discussion on gender sensitisation in media

    By Our Staff

     

    The India Chapter of the International Advertising Association (IAA) will be hosting a high-powered virtual panel discussion with leaders of the marcom industry on July 27. The subject is Gender in media and the impact on children and their future.

     

    Said Megha Tata, MD- South Asia, Discovery Communications India and President, IAA: “A few weeks ago, we released the toplines of the results of a unique market research conducted on 1000 Indian advertisements by UNICEF and the Geena Davis Foundation. The IAA had facilitated this important research on gender representation in Indian advertising on July 27. UNICEF will present the results in depth, and then there will be a discussion on the implication of these findings on gender in media and the impact on children and their future. This will truly represent industry as the Voice of Change”.

     

    Speaking about the initiative, Nina Elavia Jaipuria, Head – Hindi Mass Entertainment and Kids TV Network, Viacom18 and Co-Chair – Women Empowerment Committee, IAA said: “Conversations and actions go hand in hand when tackling an issue as important and nuanced as gender representation in media and its impact. We are thus bringing together leaders across the ecosystem who can not only identify the change in discourse needed but also have the power to actually bring about that change.”

     

    The panelists include Rana Barua (Hon’ Treasurer, AAAI & Group CEO, Havas Group, India), Subhash Kamath (Chairman, ASCI & CEO, BBH & Publicis Worldwide, India), Atit Mehta (Head of Marketing, BYJU’s), Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari (Artist, Filmmaker and Writer), Kainaz Karmakar (Chief Creative Officer, Ogilvy India), Dr A L Sharada (Director, Population First), Nina Elavia Jaipuria, (Head – Hindi Mass Entertainment and Kids TV Network, Viacom18) & Shreyasi Jha (Senior Advisor – Gender Equality, UNICEF, New York)

     

    Added Shreyasi Jha, Senior Advisor – Gender Equality, UNICEF, New York: “Gender related stereotypes are formed at very young age and prevent adolescents and young people from reaching their full potential. Advertising and media, more broadly, plays a key role in forming and perpetuating stereotypes. UNICEF is delighted to be the knowledge partner with IAA and its members for this important event that is the beginning of a very important journey to promote positive gender roles and practices through advertising so every young person can live a life free from stereotypes and achieve their full potential.”

     

    The discussion has UNICEF as its knowledge partner, Colors as the industry partner, Havas Group as an associate partner and Clutter Cutters as the on-ground knowledge partner.

     

  • To monitor both traditional and social media round the clock

    Megon Creative bags media mandate for Assam elections

    By Our Staff

    The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Assam has initiated media monitoring to ensure adherence to the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) released by the Election Commission of India (ECI). The mandate has been bagged by Megon Creative India Pvt. Ltd, a leading technology company based in Guwahati.

    The agency’s services include communication strategy, digital media management, content development, IT research and innovation, product development, technology training and IT consulting etc. In the past, the agency has extensively worked on media monitoring assignments which include NRC Assam and UNICEF.

    Notes a communique: “The project involves monitoring of both traditional and social media round the clock, collecting data and analysing it, sentiment analysis, trend monitoring, fact checking, monitoring of various news portals, tracking social media conversations of all election related content etc.”

     

     

  • Launches national mass-communication campaign titled ‘#BreakTheChain / #VirusKiKadiTodo’

    HUL partners UNICEF in fight against Covid-19

    By A Correspondent

     

    Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) announced a collaboration with Unicef to undertake a mass communication campaign and to inform the general public against Covid-19. The campaign brings together the marketing expertise and scale of HUL and the technical knowledge of Unicef to create engaging communication tools that can help people change behaviours and stay safe during this time of the pandemic.

     

    Talking about the campaign, Sanjiv Mehta, Chairman and MD, Hindustan Unilever Limited said: “The need of the hour is simple and effective communication across both urban and rural India to help fight Covid-19 and our partnership with Unicef aims to do just that. Furthermore, we need to come together as a nation and be supportive of each other during this crisis. Our campaign will help address these challenges and at scale. Along with Unicef, we are also committed to working with the government and making essentials like Lifebuoy soaps, hand sanitizers and Domex cleaners available across a wide geography which is the most critical need today.”

     

    Added Dr Yasmin Ali Haque, India Representative, Unicef: “Covid-19 disease has thrown up many challenges and among them is getting the right information to everyone, no matter where they live and whatever their situation, in the shortest time possible. Our partnership with Hindustan Unilever Limited is important as it leverages HUL’s communications strength as well as rural marketing outreach with Unicef’s technical expertise and messaging. We hope that through this effort we are able to bridge the communication gaps by sharing information to contain the spread of the disease.”

     

     

  • A notable team of global ambassadors, an introspective visual marketing campaign, trend-setting new styles, and comfort innovation – being comfortable in your own shoes has never been better

    Priyanka Chopra is face for Crocs new campaign

    By A Correspondent

     

    Crocs has launched the fourth year of its ‘Come as you are’ global marketing campaign including new talent and product innovations.

     

    New to the Crocs global ambassador roster are Priyanka Chopra Jonas, actor, producer and global UNICEF ambassador; and Yang Mi, Chinese actress.

     

    Said Terence Reilly, Crocs CMO: “The fourth iteration of the Come As You Are campaign is a proclamation to our fans: It’s time to stand up and stand out. Our new lineup of global brand ambassadors and ‘One-Of-A-Kinds’ambassadors offers the perfect mix of star power and authentic representation to help Croc Nation feel empowered and emboldened to own who they are.”

     

     

  • Grey India has launched a innovative activation idea called India ka Scoreboard

    Grey partners UNICEF to improve lives of children around the world

    By A Correspondent

     

    In its centennial year, Grey Group has joined forces with UNICEF to improve the lives of children around the world.

     

    Speaking about this initiative, Arun Raman – National Planning Director, Grey Group India: “The power to shape the future of the world rests in the hands of the future citizens of our world. We believe, that society will not change unless parents, communities and society feel pride in the achievements of the girl child.”

     

    GREY India has launched an activation idea called ‘India ka Scoreboard’. Inspired by the game of cricket, this idea has been conceived as a showcase of achievements by the girls of India that makes her parents, her neighborhood, her society and her nation truly proud. Because, when one is proud of something we protect it even more.

     

    Added Varun Goswami, Executive Creative Director at Grey: “India Ka Scoreboard has the potential to become the first, second and third umpire to girls performing across the country. Highlighting their achievements and success rates, applauding their stance in any situation and cheering their drive and perseverance.”

     

     

  • International Olympic Committee leads the Field on Facebook and YouTube, but FIFA Wins on Instagram and Twitter in Burson-Marsteller and TSE Consulting’s New Study

    Social Media ranking of International Sports Organisations reveals amazing findings

    By A Correspondent

     

    Burson-Marsteller and its specialised sport consultancy, TSE Consulting, have published a‘Social Media and Olympic Sport Ranking’ which gives an overview of how of international Olympic organisations are performing on social media.

     

    Over the past decade, the Olympics has dominated social media channels and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and its 35 International Sports Federations, have all added Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and Snapchat channels into their communications mix. The first-ever Olympic Ranking looks at how these international sports governing bodies use their social media channels, how effective their channels are and what lessons they can learn from each other.

     

    The rankings offer new insights into which sports have the largest social media fan base, as well as the sports which, while they may have a smaller fan base, nevertheless manage to create a stronger impact. The study finds that the IOC is in a league of its own, topping the rankings on both Facebook and YouTube. The Olympics Facebook page, with more than 15 million likes, is the most-liked page of any international organisation with twice as many likes as UNICEF.

     

    The International Football Association (FIFA), on the other hand, is ahead of the Olympics on both Twitter and Instagram. The FIFA Twitter account boasts 9.3 million followers, almost twice as many as all Olympic accounts combined. The Top five sports on Twitter are football (soccer), basketball, rugby, cycling and athletics.

     

    Despite having fewer followers, the IOC makes more impact with its Twitter communication, with each tweet being shared an average of 467 times compared to 108 times for the @FIFAcom account. However, @FIFAcom is among the most active sports federations on Twitter, with 23 tweets per day, 10 times as many as the @Olympics account thereby managing to gain more impressions than its Olympic rival.

     

    Jeremy Galbraith, CEO, Europe, Middle East & Africa at Burson-Marsteller said, “International sports organisations are discovering powerful new opportunities to engage directly with fans via social media. But our new study reveals that even global sports bodies with millions of followers, such as the IOC and FIFA, can still do much more to maximize the effectiveness of these new communications channels. Social media will continue to become ever more influential for sports governing bodies in years to come, both for engagement with fans and stakeholders, as well as being integral to their commercial strategies.”

     

    Lars Haue-Pedersen, Managing-Director, TSE Consulting commented, “Social media has become a critical avenue for international sports organisations, not only for communications but also as a strategic lever with the opportunity for these bodies to engage directly with the wide range of members, fans and other stakeholders worldwide. I look forward to seeing how sports governing bodies choose to incorporate and fully integrate these platforms in the way they run their core operations in the future.”

     

    The study finds that the presidents and chief executives of the 35 international sports federations appear somewhat reluctant to have personal profiles on social media. Only 12 sports leaders are active on Twitter, with Sebastian Coe, President of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), the most followed with 110,000 followers. In second place is Brian Cookson, UCI President, and third is Brett Gosper, CEO of World Rugby.

     

    Finally, the study also looked at who might be influencing Olympic sports federations through being followed on Twitter, the platform most likely to create connections between influencers, journalists and the media. Not surprisingly, the IOC Twitter accounts @Olympics and @IOCMedia are connected to most other sports federations.

     

    The Olympic sports news website Inside the Games is the most-followed media organization, just ahead of its rival Around the Rings, with the NBC Olympics Twitter feed in third position. The BBC’s Ollie Williams is the sports journalist most followed by Sports Federations, ahead of Ed Hula, founder of Around the Rings and sports writer Alan Abrahamson from 3 Wire News.

     

  • The Global Network of Neglected Tropical Diseases has chosen the actor as brand ambassador of its campaign

    Abhishek Bachchan to promote campaign on tropical diseases

    By Divya Rajagopal

     

    The Global Network of Neglected Tropical Diseases has chosen actor Abhishek Bachchan as brand ambassador of its campaign ‘END7’, which aims to eliminate seven tropical diseases by 2020.

     

    Global Network, with the backing of Gates Foundation, is an initiative of US-based Sabin Vaccine Institute. Its campaign ‘END7’, started in 2012, aims to eliminate tropical diseases ancylostomiasis (caused by hookworms), ascariasis (roundworms), trichuriasis (whipworm), schistosomiasis (snail fever), lymphatic filariasis (elephantiasis), onchocerciasis (river blindness) and trachoma. “India alone contributes close to 35% of the global disease burden of these diseases,” said Neeraj Mistry, MD of Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs).

     

    Abhishek’s appointment makes him the third in a family of actors to endorse health-related initiatives. Amitabh Bachchan is the goodwill ambassador of UNICEF’s polio eradication campaign while Abhishek’s wife, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, is the goodwill ambassador for UNAIDS. “I want to ensure that no child has to suffer needlessly. As a parent, I am deeply moved by the devastating toll of NTDs on children,” Abhishek said.

     

    Source:The Economic Times

    Copyright © 2014, Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All Rights Reserved

    Licensed to republish

     

  • A joint venture of UNICEF and Doordashan Mumbai Kendra, the Navjyoti Awards aims to recognize initiatives taken by girls despite adverse circumstances

    Doordarshan-UNICEF celebrate 10 years of Navjyoti Awards

    By A Correspondent

     

    Had it been a private broadcaster, it would’ve gone to town about it. But this is pubcaster Doordarshan and not many of us in the trade media watch it. But having read the release which came in, we thought this deserves pride of place.

     

    A joint venture of UNICEF and Doordashan Mumbai Kendra, the Navjyoti programme aims to recognize initiatives taken by girls despite adverse circumstances. Started in 2003, Navjyoti celebrated its tenth year in a colorfully decked studio in Mumbai’s Doordarshan centre last weekend.

     

    Stories of ‘girl power’ unfolded and stunned the audience as nine girls from remote Maharashtra were felicitated for resisting child marriages and also helping other girls fight the scourge. They had one common message to share – “Girls are not any less.”

     

    They received honours from nine eminent and inspiring personalities like Nirmala Sawant Prabhawalkar, Dr. Jamuna Pai, Neela Satyanarayan, Manisha Goel, Priyanka Sinha Jha, Rajeshwari Chandrasekhar, Kiran Juneja, Sucherita Hegde and Grace Pinto. Other dignified personalities present were Dr Jagannath Hegde, Udai Gupta, Ulhas Wagh, Abuzar Zakir and DD Mumbai’s very own Mukesh Sharma.

     

    DD Sahyadri will get telecast a programme based on this on December 28 and 29 from 10am onwards.