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Hyderabad, India- March 12, 2024 – Teach For India, a non- profit championing educational equity, in partnership with the Museum of Solutions, hosted the first-ever Peace Carnival in Mumbai on Saturday, 9th March 2024. This unique event saw over 100 educators and 400 children from across diverse backgrounds, including children from Teach For India, Akanksha Foundation, Jai Vakeel Foundation, and Shikha Academy.
It offered children access to over 20 exclusive workshops and activities, ranging from filmmaking and song-writing to reading circles and art workshops, allowing them to take the lead in fostering peace around the globe.
The workshops were facilitated by eminent artists in the field, including renowned sculptor Arzan Khambatta, gifted artist Ruchi Bakshi, Netflix filmmaker Safdar Rahman, and popular hip-hop musician and humanitarian ambassador Nimo Patel. Some of the other notable facilitators were – Sachi Maniar from Aashiyana Foundation, Sagar Gangurde and Urmi Chanda from Seeds of Peace and Harish Subramanian from Studio Subu.
Being an avid advocate of peace, Shaheen Mistri, Founder and CEO of Teach For India, and curator of the Peace Carnival, shared, “There is no work more important than sowing the seeds of peace in our children. The idea of the Peace Carnival started with a simple but overwhelming need to speak to our children about global conflicts and its ripple effect on people across geographies. I strongly believe that children can play a vital role in building a more peaceful world. This event is our attempt at inspiring children with engaging and thought provoking activities that can help in building the concept of peace for them. With the Peace Carnival, I feel hopeful that these children will be the ones taking forward our vision of a more peaceful India, and world.”
A captivating highlight of the Peace Carnival was the live virtual conversations with children and educators in conflict zones facilitated by Katy Noble, Head of Education in Emergencies at Teach For All. She conducted thoughtful conversations for children in Mumbai to speak directly with children and teachers in Palestine, Afghanistan, Ukraine, and Armenia. This gave them a glimpse into their lives at the time of conflict and how it is impacting them.
Through the sessions, children were encouraged to ask questions, understand different perspectives, seek similarities, and write letters of hope, love, and solidarity to children in each of these countries. As Katy received over 300 letters written by children, for children in conflict zones, she shared, “What a truly powerful experience this has been, not just for children, but for me as an educator as well. I am so excited to see what the Peace Carnival sparks in our community and to take this idea to many more countries and communities!”
Nimo Patel, who conducted a song-writing and music workshop and co-created a “Peace Anthem” with 30 children over the course of the day. Through a profoundly reflective and joyful process, Nimo helped his participants channel their understanding of peace into an anthem that captures their hope for children everywhere, especially those in conflict zones. With a chorus line of “If there is no happiness, there is no peace”, children created, and performed a beautiful original song of hope, and solidarity.
Original and handmade “flags of fraternity” were hung on the walls, designed by children to carry important messages of peace and humanity. A wall of letters, with anonymous messages of hope and love, addressed to children everywhere, was also on display. And as the culmination of the event, in the evening, a screening of Teach For India’s Conference of the Birds film was held, which showcased the increasingly important story of a group of children in search of the true meaning of India.