Children Creativity &

Co-creation Camp

SRISTI

Innovations by children for children and their family

National Innovation Foundation - India GIAN

Honey Bee Network

The children’s creativity camp/workshop (March 9-10) during the Festival of Innovations (FOIN) March 7-13, 2015 at Rashtrapati Bhawan, New Delhi sought solutions to societal problems in slums around Delhi through the creative ideas of 35 privileged children from around the country and 35 underprivileged children.

An exposure to the exhibition of innovations by children, technology students and people at the grassroots like farmers, mechanics, etc., ignited the creativity of the participants.

Key outcomes: Children were given an exposure to different solutions to real life problems tried by innovators They have gained confidence in their own ability to solve the social and particularly children’s problems that they observe and empathise with.

Pedagogy a) Purpose: Discussion about the purpose of the workshop (March 9, 2015). b) Process: Brainstorming about some of the solutions in one domain and how can

these trigger new solutions in other domains. c) Perception: Once their curiosity was triggered, their visit to the exhibition was

organized to enrich their repertoire and also reinforce their confidence. d) Pursuit of innovation: After briefing about the fieldwork, children were divided

into four groups comprising privileged and underprivileged children. e) Practice: Each group visited one slum area of Delhi; Bhalaswa, Yamuna Pustha,

Batla House and Kusumpur Pahari to interact with the local communities, children and others to observe and study their day to day problems.

f) Presentation of solutions: Each group sketched the problems they saw and presented their ideas to solve them (March 10, 2015) at FOIN (Festival of Innovation).

Prof. Gupta interacting with the children by telling stories at the creativity workshop held at Rashtrapati Bhavan during the Festival of Innovations (March 7-13, 2015).

Rahul Prakash from National Innovation Foundation (NIF), motivating children to think about new and creative ideas to everyday problems.

Nisha Khan, a class 11 student from Pardada Pardadi Inter College Anupshahar, Bulandshahar (UP), was concerned about the safety of things kept in a bag. So she came up with the idea of a safety strap inside the bag to keep things secure.

Children receiving the kit for documentation to be done by them.

Even on their way to the slum areas, their curiosity could not be curtailed. Thus, some of the children started reading the Honey Bee magazine.

One of the slums was at Bhalaswa Horseshoe Lake, northwest Delhi. The main problem was the huge garbage dump which became one of the major incentives for the children to look for new solutions.

Not only the children from the Creativity Camp were enthusiastic about sorting out the problems of the slum communities, but the slum children were equally keen to share their experiences. Here one of the slum children is explaining everyday problems to the visiting team.

Here children are seen interacting with slum children and other community members at Batla House, Jamia Nagar, Delhi. The woman seen here is the wife of a rag picker. She is discussing the difficulties of her everyday life with the creativity workshop children. In this picture, she is drying the cow dung cakes at her feet to use them as a source of cooking fuel.

Children documenting the problems at Aman Virdari (NGO) Yamuna Pushta, an old Delhi night shelter for homeless sick people.

The man here interacting with the creativity workshop team is a doctor. He told the team that he normally visits Yamuna Pushta twice a week and helps the sick people from the slum to be admitted to government hospitals.

Batla House creativity workshop group sharing a moment together.

Slum children from Kusumpur Pahari, southwest Delhi and one of the creativity workshop groups having fun in the company of each other.

Workshop at Rashtrapati Bhavan, Festival of Innovation(FOIN): teams of children working on their ideas.

Co-creation continues…

Mayal, a student of class 10 from Sikkim, hoped that one day all the slums of Delhi would be clean like the streets of Sikkim. He said that by working together, we would be able to bring about the desired change .

The children were asked to decipher the meaning of the ideas of children who won IGNITE 2014. One of the children trying to explain the idea.

Vivek Kumar, a class 8 student from Deepalya School, Kalkaji Extension, New Delhi tried to find solutions for all the problems faced by slum communities. For counteracting load shedding he suggested the use of solar and wind panels; for water scarcity he suggested to store rain water and utilise it. For defecation and sanitation problems he suggested that communities should take responsibility by forming committees, instead of always relying on help from outside.

Children very excitingly sharing their ideas with the media during the workshop.

Ahmad Raza, an extremely cheerful class 4 student from SDMC Primary Pratibha Vidhyalaya, Nizamuddin West, Delhi came up with the idea of collecting disposable cups. A box normally holds 150 cups, Raza’s idea can take up to 750 .

Not every day you meet exciting fellows like Aman Sharma and Rafiq Khan, class 8, best friends from Katha Lab School, Sarvodaya Enclave, Sri Aurobindo Marg, New Delhi. They came up with the idea of a mechanical device to lift garbage and clean roads, using a motorized scoop. Not only did they come up with the idea, they made a working prototype of the robot in merely two hours.

Preeti Kumar, a class 11 student from Katha Lab School, Sarvodaya Enclave, Sri Aurobindo Marg, New Delhi felt that because of dirty hands, a lot of diseases are spread. So, she came up with six inspiring and fun steps to keep hands clean.

Sheeren Shekh , a class 5 student from SDMC Primary Pratibha Vidhyalaya, Nizamuddin West, Delhi also felt that the need of the of the hour was sanitation and cleanliness. She came up with a clever idea that stickers should be placed inside and outside the Lunch Box stating, “Wash your hands before and after eating”, in that case nobody can complain that they forgot washing hands.

Anurag Singh, class 8 student from Deepalaya School, Kalkaji Extension, New Delhi came up with an interesting idea to generate electricity through walking trousers and use of solar panels.

Manshi Chauhan, a student of class 11, from Pardada Pardadi Inter College, Anupshahar, Bulandshahar (UP), realised that a lot of problems are caused by plastic waste. So, she suggested re-cycling plastic material to make plastic slippers.

Affan Siddiqui, a class 9 student from The Indian School, Josip Broz Tito Marg, New Delhi, observed that normally public water taps have only one opening to draw water and people have to wait in a long queue for their turn. So he suggested an innovative approach to water supply by attaching pipes to the main tap like ‘tap-root system’, so that everyone is able to receive water. He also suggested knee caps for people who cannot walk and do not have the proper equipment for walking and have to drag their bodies. He proposed the provision of cheap portable sewing machines to slum families for making clothes for underprivileged children.

Soring a class 5 student from Sikkim, suggested that a Community Water Filter should be installed, so that each and every household does not require an individual water filter.

Bhumika Thakur and Alishwa, class 4 students from Dr. R.P. Sarvodaya Vidalaya, President Estate, New Delhi, suggested placing brakes on steering wheels in cars, so that people with lower limb disability can drive the car.

Nikhil Rathore a class 9 student with Aditi, class 5; Mohit, class 7; Vishal Yadav, class 7; from Dr. R.P. Sarvodaya Vidalaya, President Estate, New Delhi, urged that we should walk shoulder to shoulder with the under privileged. He said that we cannot solve all the problems but whatever little we can share we should always be ready to do that, as it would contribute towards a great change in the future.

Parul Prakash, class 12; Ankur, class 8; Anjali Dayal, class 6; Ayush Prakash, class 4; Karan Arya, class 6; Rahul Arya, class 9; Rajat Thakur, class 7; Omkar Pal, class 9 from Dr. R P Sarvodaya Vidyalaya, President Estate, New Delhi, suggested the idea of separate water supply in shelters for patients with infectious and non infectious diseases.

Ali Muhammad, a class 5 student from SDMC Primary Pratibha Vidhyalaya, Nizamuddin West, New Delhi, highlighted the fact that children who accidently enter the garbage heap die of asphyxiation. He suggested that some kind of safety gear should be available if children are employed, and proper barricading of the area to stop further accidents.

Laila Banu1 from Tamil Nadu and Shalini Kumar2 from Bihar, talking about their ideas in the presence of Prof. Mohd Yunus, Nobel Laureate. Laila Banu suggested a multi purpose box which includes a ladder, and use of solar panels and solar antennas to deal with power shortages. Shalini said that wheels should be put beneath water buckets, pots or canons so that they can be easily carried by women in rural areas.

1. Laila Banu on the left, has won the IGNITE Award 2011 and GRI Student Award for 2015 with two others. Their idea is the use of a helmet as an ignition switch to start two wheelers.

2. Shalini Kumar, on Laila’s left, has also won the IGNITE Award 2011 and GRI Student Award 2015 for the

walker with adjustable legs.

Arjunbhai M. Paghdar, one of the Grassroots Innovators teaching children how to make chabutras/automatic grain feeding platform for birds.

Liyangsung Lepcha and Soring Lepcha going through IGNITE Award book of 2014.

Prof. Gupta felicitating children with certificates.

Ideas brainstormed

Ideas : Automatic solar powered

school bell; A device which can locate

the position of a crime scene.

Sonia Prabhusingh, Damla,

Yamunanagar, Haryana

Ideas : Alarm for motorman signaling of

problems on railway tracks; Instant

zip repair; Flat bottom crutches to

avoid getting stuck in mud etc.

S. Vinotha, Pursuing B.Sc.,Thiruvarur,

Tamil Nadu

Ideas : Bus steps at a low height to aid elderly

people and others to get on and off buses;

Retracting moving steps, i.e. like an

escalator, to aid getting on and off buses;

Fan attached to a saucer to cool hot liquid in

the cup.

Affan Siddiqui, Class 8, The Indian School,

New Delhi

Ideas : Donate organs to the needy after

death; A button on pedestrians

crossing poles to stop the traffic.

Bhumika, Class 4, Dr. R.P. Sarvodaya

Vidyalaya, New Delhi

Ideas : Solar powered self locking door;

Projector pen drive; System which

stops vehicles from moving at red

signals.

Laila Banu, Pursuing B.Sc.

Thiruvarur, Tamil Nadu

Idea : Colored seats for ladies and

elderly people.

Kirtan Fadia, Pursuing B.Tech

Gujarat Technical University,

Ahemdabad, Gujarat

Idea : Removal of addictive

chemical from whitener.

Irfan Khan, Volunteer,

Jamghat, New Delhi

Ideas : Mobile sewing machine; Solar

powered flood level indicator;

Alarm against cars on the zebra

crossing when there is a stop

signal.

Ashu Chandra, Class 9,

Deepalaya School, Kalakji

Extension, New Delhi

Idea : Safety strap inside bag to keep

books and other things intact.

Nisha Khan, Class 11, Pardada

Pardadi Inter College, Anupshahar,

Bulundshahar, Uttar Pradesh(UP)

Untiring cycles

One of the most fascinating features of the idea competition was the perspective of the children. What we adults regard as normal, children look at with different and interesting perspectives. Once their curiosity is triggered there is no looking back. Hence, during the ‘on the spot idea competition’ the children came up with brilliant ideas especially considering cycles. Where we normally consider a cycle only as a tool for transportation, these children saw it as a livelihood and subsistence tool.

The ideas that came up were…

• Electricity generation from a cycle;

• Cycle can be used to power escalators and…

• Cycle can be used to extract sugar cane juice

– Mohammad Rafiq

• Sweeper can be attached to a cycle – Tanu

• Blower can be attached to a cycle and…

• Cycle can be used to wind wires - Affan Siddiqui

• Cycle can be used to grind grains;

• Harvesting can be done by a cycle and…

• Cycle can be used for film projection - Ashu Chandra

• Cycle can be used as a plough - Kajal Verma

• Cycle can be used for cutting grass - Vivek Kumar

• Cycle can be used for thrashing paddy - Mayal Lepcha

• Cycle can be used to break-up soil clods in the field -

Abu Sufiyan

• Cycle can used to draw water from a well - Richa

Kumari

• Trash picking machine can be attached to a

cycle - Ahmad Raza

Conclusion

• Exposure, empathy and imagination for generating innovative solutions can be linked in a very

short time period.

• Once exposed to the creativity of other children their expectation from themselves is increased.

• Some children are settled by nature and are born ideators, while others come out with creative

ideas under the pressure of expectations by outsiders.

• More than a dozen alternative uses of a cycle were triggered in less than five minutes. This shows

that just a trigger in the form of an earnest question can unfold the innovative and empathetic

potential of children.

• Graphic presentation of ideas brought precision and also in many cases the totality of the children’s

idea. Children tend to describe much less in the narrative form than in the graphic form.

• Initiatives for institutional policy changes can indeed be designed based on children’s ideas.

• The idea of a separate water supply in shelters for patients with infectious and non-infectious

diseases was so obvious to children like Parul Prakash, class 12; Ankur, class 8; Anjali Dayal, class 6;

Ayush Prakash, class 4; Karan Arya, class 6; Rahul Arya, class 9; Rajat Thakur, class 7; Omkar Pal,

class 9; while the much more senior designer and development agent ignored it.

• Ahmad Raza, a class 4 student designed instinctively such a simple solution to stacking plastic

cups that one wonders why did it take so long. His solution makes collation, packing and

transportation far more easier and space efficient than available solutions.

• Organ donation for saving lives of affected people has still not found wide acceptance. Bhumika,

a class 4 student found it simple that everybody should contribute his organs and bodies for

others rather than being buried or cremated.

• Sonia Prabhusingh, a farm worker’s daughter designed a solar powered school bell which will

ring at pre determined interval.

• If we could mobilize children of the world for solving the persistent problems around us, the

world would change at a faster space.

• SRISTI thanks UNICEF, NIF, and the Office of the President of India for facilitating the organization

of the Children’s Creativity Workshop during the Festival of Innovation (FOIN), March 7-13, 2015.

Prof. Gupta and the team sharing a smile together.