UMMEED, for a better tomorrow

"A child miseducated is a child lost." John F kennedy, thirty-fifth President of the USA. Children are our first priority not because they are most vulnerable, but because the foundation for lifelong learning and human development are laid in the most crucial years of early livelihood. The well being of children has been a priority and also an integral part of the countrys development planning, launched in 1951. United Nation Convention on the Rights of the Child states civil, political, social, economic and cultural rights as the basic rights of every child. Indias growing status as an economic super power is masking a failure to stem a shocking rate of the ever increasing number of under privileged children. The desire for quality upbringing for all children in noble and surely one shared by all. Ummeed, for a better tomorrow invites ideas for the upliftment of children. PROBLEM STATEMENT Child labour: We often think that this reality does not exist. Today, however, there are still more than 215 million children working in dangerous and degrading conditions around the world, India being the home to the largest number of child labourers. Poverty is the main reason children have to work. In order to survive, they fall through the cracks in society, often unaware of the dangers this brings and the freedom that eludes them. Lack of quality universal education has also contributed to children dropping out of school and entering the labour force. No one wants to advocate child labour, especially for children to work in hard or dangerous conditions. But where significant poverty exists, anti-child labour laws and programs do not necessarily improve the welfare of children. People (families and children) do what they do because they do not have, or are not aware of, preferable alternatives. Very often families believe that the income the child brings is preferable to the benefits of available schooling or alternative employment. Our aim is to come up with tangible solutions to the existing problems so as to eradicate this diabolic act from our society. The major issues concerning child labour are:

Beggary: In India more than one million children are forced to beg for their survival. Industrial labour: Even the rich and educated industrialists employ children so as to extract as much work as possible with a merge wage.

Region specific labour: With diverse culture and multilingual society comes region specific work domains where children are being exploited. To name a few, cracker industry, zari industry, bangle makings etc. Child abuse: The child abuse in different types is rising day by day like molestation, underage girls throwing into flesh trade, domestic violence, and many more. Psychological issues: A scar at this tender age can revamp the entire life of a child. A childs hopes for future are completely shattered.

Teams can come up with technological solutions to: a. Provide alternate employment opportunities (practical and cost effective) to the families that need to send their kids to work because of insufficient income. b. Suggest technological solutions to improve the working conditions of the children. This may include sessions for the employer discouraging child labour. Child education: More than 100 million children do not have access to school. A country of the size of India has over 3 million children living on the streets, has over 150 million children working as bonded labourers. Despite having a national policy for compulsory primary education, only 50% of children have access to education. a. Municipal schools are not in the reach of the kids. According to law, the schools need to be within a radius of 3km of the house of the child. That is not strictly followed. This becomes the cause of dropping out of kids from the schools. Some criteria that you may involve for improving the working condition are: Land management (About the area in which the kids are living. The land can be managed to involve some space for schools- especially for slums): The fact of the matter is, there is a crunch of space all over. It is particularly observed in slums and rural areas where houses are too small to occupy the families. In that case, children of the houses find negligible time and space to concentrate and learn something. There may be involvement of local authorities or management policies in the implementation of the solution. Teams can come up with the idea and process of implementation. Further, approaching a target area to get the idea implemented is encouraged. b. Because the schools are not in and around the locality, parents get reluctant to sending their kids to schools that are far; solutions proposing an alternate for the same are invited. Suggest ways for Distance learning through a well designed plan of action and means. Distance learning, focusing on teaching methods and technology with the aim of delivering teaching, often

on an individual basis, to students who are not physically present in a classroom. The solution should be a sustainable plan of action that can be implemented in the areas where schools are out of reach. c. There are Municipal schools in various places. However, they are not in working condition. School enrolment is increasing, but retention and completion rates remain low in part because of the poor quality of the education system. You can suggest easy solutions to gear up the working of the schools. Some solutions that can be easily implemented by the informal schools that are set up in villages/ slums are invited. The overall efficiency of the schools remains low and this becomes the major cause of reluctance and negligence of people residing in the area. Schools need to be made functional and efficient. Suggest ways for gearing up of schools. d. Teams can come up with some awareness methods to make people residing in the area realise the importance of education. This is another very important field that needs to be taken care of. The environment of a child influences him/her to a great extent. Solutions are invited to improve this environment. The entire society area should be self motivated and moved to promote education in their locality. They should be made aware about the usefulness of education and its importance for any child residing in their region. Counselling to the parents (specifically) is necessary to make them aware about the importance of education in their childs life. They should be encouraging their children to go to schools to avail education. Parents need to get involved in the system of the child. Interaction of parents with the children as well as the teachers is must! And is missing. Ideas for improving the involvement of parents and society are invited. (keeping in mind the situation in slums and rural areas who have highly negligent attitude towards the education of their child. It is too hard to get them involved; teams need to come up with something impact full) e. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), District Primary Education Program (DPEP), Operation Blackboard, Mid Day Meal did not have a large impact. The reasons behind bringing such initiatives were noble; though they could not ensure the conversion. Reasons for their lesser acceptance vary according to innumerable issues. You can come up with potentially more acceptable ways which the schools should adopt to incentivize the kids to attend schools. Some ways which the schools may adopt OR some ways which the families may adopt to send the kids to school. The sole motive needs to be looked upon: to incentivize the kids to attend schools. f. The concentration and basics of the kids of backward areas are highly miserable. Even though many children attend schools, they remain ill-equipped. Many children sitting in class cannot read, write or perform basic arithmetic, to say nothing of those who were not in school at

all. Concentration lacks because of their unwillingness to learn and basics are not built. The loss is long term. Solutions to improve the thinking of these kids are invited. Concentration needs to be improved and they need to be made aware about the importance of what they are asked to do! Solutions may include a program/ well planned sessions for the kids explaining them the importance OR as many innovative ideas. g. Discrimination against girl child- " Experience has shown, over and over again, that investment in girls' education translate directly and quickly into better nutrition for the whole family, better health care, declining fertility, poverty reduction and better overall economic performance" - Kofi Annan, United Nations Secretary General. This message should reach all and it needs to be accepted by all. For girls, to not study and drop out from schools is a grave issue that needs to be considered. A national preference for male children has led to an increasing gap in gender ratios of children under age six. Out of the 110 million children not in school, approximately 60 per cent are girls. Teams can come up with innovative ways through which families can be made to understand their mentality and change it. This should specifically focus on gender discrimination, a well developed plan of action that may be adopted by various companies/ NGOs. h. The importance of English cannot be denied and ignored since its the most common language spoken everywhere. It is the demand of today. But there is no proper access to English. A national survey reveals, just twenty-nine percent of India's population speaks English - that's 350 million people. The ground reality shows that a child of standard six cannot even spell his name in English! Their Parents too are suffering from the issue of conversing in English. Even teachers are not well versed with the language. They lose out on these lines and at several times, lag due to this inability. Realising that it is considered as a universal language, we need to ensure that English is accessible to all. Teams can come up with some innovative ways (with the resources) to teach English to Parents and children (Separate ideas for both). i. Access to Computers: A national survey of 2005 states that 15.531 per 1,000 have access to computers. Its the most basic and useful technology of today. And having the primary knowledge of it is a must. Just the basic knowledge of it proves useful in many sectors of employment. Lack of computer skills foils many job-seekers. This is a drawback in our villages and backward areas. And it can be accepted that having the knowledge of computers will serve a great purpose of all the families, with regard to their income generation. Participants can come up with innovative ways to provide access to computers to areas where it has not yet reached. Also, you can come up with ways to provide its knowledge in the most comfortable and easy way.

j. Unavailability of Books: Books are not easily accessible to children. There is a missing link that needs to be bridged. This is a severe issue that gets neglected. This issue is faced by many non profit organisations and it is necessary for youth to concentrate on this issue and come up with some sustainable solution. Books can also be replaced. The idea is to ensure availability of enough resources for references to children as well as teachers. Teams can come up with ways to solve this issue. Books in Regional Dialects are also unavailable to the people who need it. It can be a point of consideration. k. Awareness in all regards is required. And innovative ways for the same are invited. Drives/ campaigns/ all the more innovative ideas for spreading awareness among the society are invited. Proper plan of action, totally implementable and feasible, cost effective and impact full ideas are invited. There are people who are driven by the highlighted issue of children upliftment. But they are not aware of the exact ways in which they can help. We invite ideas and solutions for bridging this gap. Note: The following themes are just guidelines to help you. You are free to think like an unconventional thinker and come up with great innovations. So do not limit yourselves to these problem statements. Teams can choose to work under multiple issues under the ambit of their solution.

STRUCTURE: Finding a target area is optional, though we encourage that The teams are expected to spot some target area in their locality/ around and find out the specific issue pertaining to children that prevails there. Though, this is optional, teams are encouraged to perform it. This will ensure the implementation part. For assistance, please get in touch with: www.ekal.org. They shall help in locating target areas Finding out an issue and finding solution to it. Thinking on ideas phase To be considered for mentorship, participants have to register and submit their abstract before 9th September in the specified format

Working on the idea Abstract submission stage 1

Till 9th Sept, 2012 9th September, 2012

Filtering of 30 teams to allot mentors and allotment of mentors One page report of the work that is being done (Progress report) Last date for open entries

10th-20th Sept, 2012 14th October, 2012 5th November 25th November, 2012

Mentors will be allotted to the short listed teams and they will work with the mentors to carry forward the idea to the next level One page report mentioning the progress of the idea Last date for open entries. However, the final reports, for short listing to be sent on 25th November Report format is specified. Reports are to be submitted strictly in that format. Final short listing, will be made now. The teams without mentors can also produce the specified report. Feedback will be taken from the target areas (applicable only to teams who have located some target area) about the issues and solutions proposed Shortlisted entries can modify their reports. The format of the report (on submission phase 2) will be followed. It should be very exhaustive this time. Videos and presentations, in addition to the report to be sent. No work till the fest. Final presentation during the fest; in front of the judges.

Report submission stage 2

In touch with the target area (their feedbacks if possible)

First week of December 23rd December, 2012

Final submission

Presentation at the fest

3-5 January, 2013

ABSTRACT FORMAT: The following points must be included and clearly highlighted in the abstract: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Objective (including the problem) Beneficiaries Usefulness Present models for tackling the problem (if any) Due comparison between the old and proposed (if any) Target Area (Mention: a. Location, region; b. Number of families; c. Financial condition; d. Prevailing issue regarding children [if any]) 7. Applications (detailed) of the solution

ABSTRACT SUBMISSION The abstract should be mailed at ummeed[at]Techfest[dot]org with the subject Ideate: Ummeed: Abstract submission: Team Id (For example: Ideate: Ummeed: Abstract submission: UM1234) before 23:59 hours on 9th September 2012. Donot forget to mention the Team Id while sending the abstract. Teams must follow the following details for the submission: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. The abstract must be submitted in pdf format only The abstract must not exceed 15 pages in length Format for the abstract must be the same as above Font: Verdana Size: 12

MENTORSHIP STAGE Mentorship is a unique feature of Ideate which makes it different from our other competitions. Mentors are intellectuals from elite educational institutes and industries, who are there to guide the teams to develop their idea. Their experience shall support the participants to build their solutions on the lines of feasibility, legibility and applications. Teams can avail themselves of this opportunity by submitting an abstract of their idea latest by 9th September, 2012. Participants unable to submit their abstracts by 9 th September 2012 or those who havent been shortlisted for mentor allocation can still participate by registering before 5th November 2012 and sending us a detailed final report by 25th November 2012. FINALS REPORT FORMAT The final report must include and highlight the following points: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Description of the development of idea Detailed idea behind the solution Implementation stage of the solution Area of implementation Feasibility Cost analysis (tentative) Detailed benefits

FINAL REPORTS SUBMISSION

The final report should be mailed to ummeed[at]Techfest[dot]org with the subject: Ideate: Ummeed: Final report: Team Id (for example: Ideate: Ummeed: Final report: UM1234) before 23:59 hours on 23rd November 2012. Donot forget to mention the Team Id in subject while sending the final report. Teams must follow the following details for submission: 1. 2. 3. 4. The final report must be in pdf format only Format of the report must be the same as mentioned above Font: Verdana Size: 11

The panel of judges will analyse the report and will give them a detailed feedback on modifications to the proposed solutions to achieve better results. The details of the short listed participants along with feedback from the judges would be communicated to them by 5 th December, 2012. Please note that open entries can also submit their reports for final evaluation. FINAL PRESENTATION After declaration of the finalists, participants are required to refine and improve upon their solution. At the time of final presentation: 1. The final report submitted by the teams will be given to judges for reference 2. Teams will give a presentation covering technical and financial aspects of their solution, for which they must make a PowerPoint presentation 3. A video that summarises their idea JUDGING CRITERIA Ummeed will be judged by a panel of experts. Following are the broad guidelines for judging: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Novelty of thought Percentage completion of the idea Cost of implementation of the idea Reach of the idea to people; to how many people can the idea potentially impact Is the idea sustainable and to what extent Acceptability and user-friendliness (simplicity of the product) Depth of study/ issue Optimum use of available resources Road map for launching and institutionalization of the solution

GENERAL RULES

1. The competition is open to all (students, research scholars and professionals) 2. Every team has to register online on our website for the competition. A registration number will be allocated to the team on registration which shall be used for future references 3. Finding a target area is not mandatory. Though, we encourage this. Ekalvidyalaya is an NGO that has a good outreach in India. You can get in touch with some villages for survey 4. A team can register at any point of time before 5th November 2012. However only those abstracts that are submitted before 10th September 2012 would be considered for mentorship 5. The decision of the judges shall be treated as final and binding on all 6. Note that at any point of time, the latest information will be that which is on the site. The information provided in the pdf downloaded earlier may not be the latest. However, registered participants will be informed through mail about any changes on the website. FOR INTERNATIONAL PARTICIPANTS All international participants will have to register before 5th November, 2012 and will have to submit a final report before 25th November 2012. CERTIFICATE POLICY Those teams that are short listed for the final round and give a final presentation about their work during Techfest 2013 will be awarded a Certificate of Participation. The top entries from this event will be awarded with Certificate of Excellence. TEAM SPECIFICATIONS The participating entries must be in a team of a maximum of 4 [four] people. If participating team feels that their idea requires more participants, they can forward their request, with suitable reasons, to ummeed[at]Techfest[dot]org.