Stirring minds…preserving water !.......By Shivakumar (Bangalore, India)

The ARTGROUP had taken the initiative of water issue based comics workshop facilitated by Shivakumar, for school children within 10th standard on 5th July 2009 at Doodaballapur, Bangalore. The idea was to bring out the present water issues at the town to the view of community through comics. It was aimed to bring about better understanding on environmental issues, build awareness, creativity and consciousness among students and children. The participants developed interesting issue based comics related to environment, pollution and control strategy.

The feedback session was very interesting, the free expression of the students on their understanding, involvement, interest, improvement on such ideas and changing mind was quite impressive. So as a follow up to the workshop, an exhibition of the comics was organised on 12th July 2009, with good gathering and representation of parents, teachers, motivated individuals having concern on environment and community organization like Nagadala and institutions like- SVARAJ and Mahila Samaj. Many expressed that it changed their attitude of learning, that their knowledge has been improved in relation to the environment education, and how a simple comics can influence the minds of the people…

Young minds at work...creates a chain reaction in Delhi!....By Kritika Mattoo and Ritikaa Khunnah (Delhi, India)

Kritika Mattoo and Ritikaa Khunnah organized a Grassroots Comics workshop on 22-23rd June, 09 with nine enthusiastic youth of Delhi at Pravah office in Kalkaji, New Delhi. The participants were volunteers working for NSS, an NGO associated with Pravah. All nine of them came up with wonderful comics on issues ranging from encouraging sports as a profession, cleanliness in railways to encouraging girl child to study, discrimination on basis of religion etc. What was inspiring for both of them was to see how unsure these youth looked in the beginning, somewhere just like them in the beginning of April workshop and how they all finally came up with excellent comics!

The group decided to make about 10 comics on issues of their interest in next one month and then meet and put all of it as an exhibition in a public space. The good news is that this group has already conducted a two- day grassroots comics workshop on June29-30th, 09 with15 more youth and taught them how to make wallposter comics. A chain reaction indeed!