On the 27th of January, students of Lakshmipat Singhania Academy showcased their Project Citizen presentations. Project Citizen- an initiative by the school, co-sponsored by the Centre for Civic Education Calabasas, California aims to harbour greater political and civic awareness amongst young students. 

Project Citizen provides a deeper understanding of democratic policies through its process of developing a holistic presentation. The steps include identifying problems in public policy, studying the problem area and gathering relevant information and developing a class presentation. Students of Lakshmipat Singhania showcased four presentations by way of an inter-house competition in the school. Each of the presentations entailed four tasks of- explaining the problem, examining the existing policies of the government, proposing public and class policies and developing an action plan based on the proposed public/class policy. 

Each house- Agni, Jal, Vayu and Prithvi, was required to create portfolios, a multimedia presentation and a dossier. There were 24 participating students from every house with 4 main speakers. The issues taken up by each house were:

1. Agni: Body Shaming- A Growing Concern 

2. Jal: Promotion of Stem Education amongst Women 

3. Vayu: Paws and Claws--Animal Rights and Abuse

4. Prithvi: Turning a Blind Eye to Learning Impairment

Students began preparing for the final presentation from a month before. The process was begun with the making of posters to get people acquainted with the issues at hand. Enthusiastic participation was seen from students as young as 8 years of age. Participants showcased their artistic abilities with eye-catching posters that explained their tasks in a manner which guaranteed the easy comprehension of one and all.  

Participants, then interviewed people from different backgrounds and of varied ages and professions to gauge the extent and intricacies of the problems. Class and public policies were then developed on the basis of this research and the constituents of pre-existing policies. 

An action plan was developed by the students to implement the proposed policies. The action plan detailed initiatives that would be taken by the school and its students to aid the issue at hand. Participants put together models, kits and demonstrations to corroborate the feasibility of their action plans. The models were put to testing through reviews and suggestions by the common public and the kits were distributed amongst children either through organised interactive games or by means of a charity programme in local NGOs. The portfolios and dossier held an extensive account of all the proposed policies, initiatives, activities and data from the research. 

The day of presentation was one of palpable excitement and fervour amongst all participants. Each issue was presented with utmost care and compassion with speakers apprising everyone of the problem and the efforts made towards its appeasement. Our esteemed judges- Psychologist Megha Saraogi, Lawyer Prachi Saraogi, and the school’s Senior Secondary teacher Kanak Shankar Mukherjee provided their valuable insight through astute questions and incentivized further discussions. The event ended with an egalitarian spirit, a heightened social awareness and hopes of the next Project Citizen event providing another invigorating communal initiative. Prithvi House emerged as the winner of the competition with Agni House as the runner-up. Project Citizen has given young students, a platform to voice their concerns and present their ideas to build a better tomorrow by contributing to a civic structure that uplifts and imparts everyone with equal opportunities and equal rights.