World Children’s Day Event In Delhi Celebrates Innovation To Promote Equality

World Children’s Day 2023: Young talent from across India showcase their innovative solutions for social good at an exhibition held in New Delhi.

World Children’s Day 2023: Fourteen young innovators from across India came together to showcase their ingenious work to ‘Innovate for Equality’, in an exhibition organised by UNICEF in partnership with the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts (IGNCA) marking the World Children’s Day 2023, observed on November 20. India has climbed up the ladder of Global Innovation Index — from 81st rank in 2015 to 40th in 2023. Speakers at the exhibition pointed to this fact and connected it to the potential of the talent of the youth in powering India’s innovation.

Inaugurating the exhibition on Monday, Meenakshi Lekhi, Union Minister of State for External Affairs and Culture, said: “While innovation has always been pivotal for higher productivity and economic growth, it is also crucial for bolstering the growth of girls and boys. The foresight and visionary initiatives of the Government of India helps foster a culture of innovation among youth, one example is the Atal Innovation Mission and Startup.” 

The variety of innovations presented by the young innovators had a common thread — addressing barriers faced by different sectors such as farmers and construction labourers, persons with disabilities, the elderly aiming to improve their quality of life. 

Among the notable innovations displayed at the exhibition included ‘Smart Gloves’ for communication, a special shoe for the visually impaired, ‘Hope Arm’ designed for para-athletes, ‘Step & Sow Shoe’ for automatic dispensing of seed, and also a real-time sign language translator. 

Nikhil Lemos, a 15-year-old young innovator from the Vikram Sarabhai Children Innovation Centre in Gujarat University, had come to the exhibition with his product, Medital, which he claimed was a “new solution to stay on track with one’s medication and healthcare routine”.

Talking about it, Nikhil said: “I made the gadget to help people never forget the medication they need to take. Meditel has a bottle and a pill holder, and an inbuilt alarm system you can set up for up to six times a day. You will never miss taking medicines on time.” 

‘Giving Girls And Boys Equal Opportunities Is Important’

A panel discussion was held on the occasion. Opening the conversation, Cynthia McCaffrey, UNICEF India Representative, shared the significance of World Children’s Day and stressed on giving girls and boys equal opportunities to instill innovative thinking.  

“Girls and boys, when given an equal opportunity to think, learn, experiment, and innovate, tend to develop gender-sensitive solutions to problems that affect them most. Innovative thinking encourages children’s awareness of both the challenges and opportunities around them. India’s climbing the ranks from 81st to 40th on the Global Innovation Index is a solid indicator of the potential of India’s innovation and the talent of India’s youth – several of whom we met today,” she said.

Speakers on the panel included Prof. P. Jha, Dean, IGNCA; and Deepali Upadhyay, Program Director, Atal Tinkering Lab.

Speaking about the exhibition, Dr Sachchindanand Joshi, Member Secretary, IGNCA, said: “Art and creative expression is an integral part of human culture, being human means to think, explore and innovate. Innovation is about creativity and culture promotes creativity.” 

The World Children’s Day is celebrated as UNICEF’s Global Day of Action for children, by children. The day is an annual commemoration of the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. 

On World Children’s Day, India lights up blue iconic public buildings and heritage monuments throughout the country, in support of children’s rights and wellbeing.