SMILE- Student’s Mobilization Initiative for Learning through Exposure
Student’s Mobilization Initiative for Learning through Exposure (SMILE) is envisioned as a learning and leadership journey for young people. It mobilizes youth from diverse backgrounds in the age group of 18-29, through hands-on exposure to development issues. It is aimed for each individual to undertake the journey ; From Me to We; and, in the process, engage deeply with social issues, get exposure and act for social change.
To enable these young people to become agents of social change, the intervention also develops their competencies through workshops on life skills, campaigns on social issues, meetings and events and volunteering/ exchange opportunities with NGOs in Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh; Telangana.
It is a combination of self - facilitated spaces and facilitator led sessions. The objective of the sessions is to help participants in identifying the need for them to come on-board the programme, by understanding its vision, what it entails and offers to them in terms of learning and leading opportunities and clarifying the commitment needed from them.
Objective -
Create opportunities for young people to volunteer and learn about the concept of self to society.
Create a pre planned journey of young people where they can have hands-on exposure of development sector issues.
Impact
Through the intervention we directly engaged with 140 young people, supported 12 internships with 6 different organizations. Out of 6 organizations 2 of them were in other districts, and through the internships a total outreach of 600 was achieved (12*50). 5 of the interns entered into a deeper journey of facilitating social action projects around issues that they observed were most pressing during the internship.
12 young people also submitted a retrospective leadership index and there was a significant shift from 68% to 87% in their attitudes, behaviors and patterns around leadership.
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