Here’s What We Think About The Animated Videos by NCERT & UNESCO

On 25 Sep 2020, Education Minister, Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank,’ tweeted about educational animated videos that are developed by NCERT and UNESCO in collaboration. These videos are in English and Hindi language and focus on the pressing issues like gender equality, safety, health, violence, emotional well being, etc. 

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These short films have friendly-looking Indian characters that explain to children, in a very age-appropriate manner and easy to understand speech, some popular social and personal issues. These videos are extremely relatable and have a protagonist (child) expressing concern over a certain matter to an adult (a teacher or a parent) who patiently listens to them and explains a possible solution. 

Here's our review:

1. One video speaks about gender equality showing a teen named Sama, who is perturbed to see her mother working in the kitchen and going to office as well. All this while her father only goes to his work and comes back to just sit in front of the television. Worried, she talks to her teacher about it and learns that such gender stereotypes sadly exist in our society. The teacher then shares a ray of hope with Sama by saying that there are people around the world who’re continuously shackling these meaningless conventions, for example, men opting to become great chefs and women like Mary Kom, who’s earned fame as a top boxer!

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Sama then confronts her father and he immediately realises how he was wrong; Sama also explains to her younger brother about transgenders when she sees him being afraid of them. She informs him about the common conduct of the society at large that is not very friendly with the LGBTQ+ community and that they should strive to change that notion. 

2. In another video, a teen named Anita talks to her friend about being catcalled by older boys on her way to school every day. The friend motivates a distressed Anita to speak with their class teacher, along with another boy from the class who got inappropriately touched by the bus conductor a few days ago. Together, they open their heart in front of the teacher who calms them down and assures to take the right action for their safety. The school then rallies against violence and the principal makes sure to tell his pupil how to stay safe, support peers, raise voice against violence and be careful.

The video informs youngsters about the three kinds of violence that they may undergo and must report – mental, sexual & physical. It also suggests that such wrong acts can happen at any familiar place like in the school, in the playground, and even isolated areas around the school and home. 

3. The third video that we found interesting is about the world of internet that can easily corrupt the sanity of young people if left without any surveillance. This short animated film related to safety on the internet shows 2 consecutive stories of Sudha and Raghav. Sudha sees an advertisement of beauty cream and tries calling the given number. When her father asks her about it, she says she wants to look as beautiful as the model in the commercial. That is when her parents explain to her that these ads are meant to only astray people and that every person is beautiful in their own unique way. 

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On the other hand, Raghav gets trapped in a scam offer where he gives his father’s bank details and then worries if the details could be used to harm or con his family. His father immediately calls the cybercrime cell and lodges a complaint. The helpful cop assists them to understand the situation and how to deal with it without panicking. 

You can watch more such interesting animations on the NCERT website (https://ncert.nic.in/video-gallery.php). Teachers and guardians should encourage their wards to watch these videos and teach them about health and wellness. This brilliant online program comes under the Ayushman Bharat Yojana.

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