Teach For India, a non-profit organisation working towards the vision of an excellent education for all children, organised the Kids Education Revolution (KER) Week. KER is a four-day long virtual event held between 6th to 9th July that brought together exemplary educators, leaders and students from across the globe.
A brainchild of Teach For India’s Innovation Cell, Kids Education Revolution Week is an ambitious collective of organisations, schools, students, and educators coming together to reimagine education for a reimagined world amidst the new normal. Acknowledging the power of student leadership across every level, the KER Week endorsed the commitment of students and educators who had adopted the new ways of learning and had impacted thousands around the world.
The platform saw 58 students and 47 expert speakers hailing from India, the US, Ukraine, Uganda, Tanzania, Malavi, and Kenya unite and work together to effortlessly continue the learning process of the students. More than a thousand student changemakers attended the event. The revolutionaries left with a sense of increased confidence and fostered positive relationships that put them at the forefront of their individual educational journeys.
Shaheen Mistri, Founder & CEO, Teach For India commented – “During this exceptional time, it has become extremely crucial for students to seamlessly continue their education while bridging the learning gap created by the pandemic. Through the KER Week, students and educators will get a chance to exchange experiences with industry leaders which will help participants to become the changemakers of tomorrow.”
Interviewed by Huda Sultana, a Grade 11 student, Fareed Zakari said – “I’ve always approached journalism as education. Journalism should be about educating people about their city, community and issues the world faces. The pandemic taught us 2 things. First is the lack of access some people have had to digital education. And the second, the limits to what you can learn digitally. And this has been true across the world – whether it’s Yale University or a public school. Students prefer offline education. We learn social behaviour and how to work as teams in classrooms. All of that is lost digitally. I am really glad to be a part of this wonderful event hosted by Teach For India, and wish to be joining more such events in future”
The event also witnessed Museum of Solutions, a JSW Initiative, where student leaders built models of change to tackle real community problems. Designed as immersive and interactive experiences for helping children discover and understand the world around them, the exhibits mentored student leaders by helping them explore their potential as change-makers.
Vannesa Nakate, Climate Activist from Uganda, Friday for future – Africa speaker, founder of the Youth for Future Africa and the African Rise up Climate Movement commented, “It is critical to creating awareness amongst the youth about the climate crisis since our present is already catastrophic and inaction from the Government, community and leaders will lead the future in jeopardy. My advice to students who want to take action but didn’t know where to begin would be to start first with educating within your family and peer group, then your society and finally in your larger community, and so on. Very soon, you will see how thousands will eagerly join you as most people want to make difference but don’t know where to start.” she concluded.
Based on the principles of the 8Cs highlighted in the white paper, written by Shaheen Mistri, Manasi Jain, Shivani Patekar and Zui Mansata, the sessions at KER explored how to build leadership in Students while keeping broad themes in mind.
Kritika Rawat, Coach, Kids Education Revolution expressed that – “By bringing together these dynamic personalities and young minds, we believe that the KER Week 2021 will serve as an unparalleled platform for learning, discourse, and innovation within the education sector and start to bring about the change led by student voices.”
