Introduction-
World Comics is a pioneer organization to use grassroots comics as development communication tool in higher education.
The students and teachers from over thirty universities around the globe were trained in streams like Journalism & Mass Communication
Development Communication, Fine Art, Social Work etc.
The Problem: The internet is a world of opportunities. But it has its flaws. If one is not careful, they could be a victim of cybercrimes, privacy violations, and misinformation. This in turn could affect the individual’s trust in online websites and apps and thus reducing their participation in the digital society. Without digital trust and safety, communities may be held back due to the constant struggle between danger and protection, bullying and support, harassment and freedom. And as digital technologies become further integrated into the everyday lives of Indians, new internet users are potentially exposed to greater risks. However, the risks and benefits of internet access go hand in hand. The need of the hour, therefore, is to support these new users to minimisethe risks, without limiting their digital participation, and their capacity to derive the full benefits of internet access.
Comics Intervention
A Digital Safety Campaign by World Comics India and Omidyar Network, that aims to educate, and provide a more secure online space to the Next Half Billion internet users of India.
The Cyber Salamat Digital Safety Campaign uses grassroots comics as a powerful communication tool to help the Next Half Billion internet users learn to keep themselves and their information safe in the cyberworld. Emphasising a mix of narrative storytelling, imagery and self-expression, these comics have the ability to convey meaning and create empathy in the reader, with ease. With our Digital Safety Campaign we aim to:
● Educate communities on digital safety by using creative messaging on digital platforms
● Introduce Grassroots Comics as a tool to share personal experiences of internet users
● Promote digital equity by providing accessible knowledge of internet basics through the Cyber Salamat website
Current Status -
Online comic workshops with participants from across the country are in progress. A few have already been conducted, while some are yet to be held. Bringing out first-hand digital experiences of people, the stories from these workshops are a true representation of the voices of the masses. Along with this, Cyber Salamat is activated on digital platforms, with digital literacy and safety content accessible to all. The Cyber Salamat Website is also being constructed as we speak.
Online Presence
Website
All species on earth share only one thing among themselves, and that is the environment. The environment has always been central to human existence throughout history and will continue to be so, hence the need for Environmental Education to sustain the environment is enormous.
The problem lies in the answer to the question - How do we confront the challenge of Environmental Education?
Environmental Education as taught in schools deals with the phenomenon and processes that happen around us. As a subject, Environmental education is more information-driven than action-oriented and we believe that Environmental Education is a subject whose domain goes way beyond the purview of classrooms and textbooks. Our daily interactions with our surroundings, day to day activities, and even mundane work and household chores are inextricably associated with environmental education that no textbook can illuminate. Environmental Education is then a subject that we can learn through our experiences and daily interactions with our surroundings. The current pedagogical tools used to teach environmental education in educational institutions lack the resourcefulness to bring personal life stories and experiences with the environment as a medium to teach environmental education.
Comics Intervention -
Recognising the need to understand issues related to the environment directed the project undertaken by World Comics India and sup-
ported by HCL Foundation. The project aims to transact environmental education in a way that is more coherent and connected to us. The agenda at heart is to enhance the knowledge and interaction with the environment through Grassroots Comics.
Through grassroots comics, this project aspires to educate the masses about the environment and issues related to it that go beyond textbooks and encourages them to express their understanding, learning, and experiences regarding the environment. The project draws environmental education out of the four walls of classrooms and associates it with our everyday interactions and experiences with our surroundings.
Current Status -
NCERT, UP State Board, and Tamil Nadu State Board's environmental education textbooks of class 3 to class 5 have been reviewed, and prominent research gaps have been identified. Grassroots Comics workshops have been conducted in UP and are yet to be conducted in other states like Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra. Moreover, a comics compilation of trainers in UP has been prepared and a Comics Module has also been prepared. The website is currently being under progress.
Online Presence:
Introductory Video
The Problem: Amongst the growing number of autobiographical works and graphic novels worldwide, titles dealing directly with the patient experience of illness or caring for others with an illness are gaining in popularity among medical students to gain insight into the human condition. Since many of these stories of illness are written down or drawn by skilled and articulate authors, the human condition they imply is at best observational and derivative. That is where the Grassroots Comics methodology has huge potential to be used in the medical field. Being a participatory tool, it can draw on real-life experiences and so bring experiential stories that are closer to real conditions suggesting a variety of approaches that can be used to diagnose, treat and manage diseases and public health issues.
Comics Intervention
Grassroots Comics methodology has been introduced among medical practitioners in the last decade to enable them to share life stories, reflect on critical issues, draw informative comics on medicine and patient care, community health education etc. This builds upon our previous work in the field of Adolescent Health, HIV/AIDS, Leprosy, Disability, Mental Health etc. where hundreds of stories were generated in the first phase provoking debate at the community level on these issues. Some of the discussions and debates were elevated to the policy level thus highlighting the potential of this participatory medium. Comics in the medical field are used effectively by field workers like ASHA’s and ANM’s, to disseminate health/medical-related information, educate and enhance health-related behaviour change.
Current Status -
A workshop with the doctors of AIIMS was organized in 2017 to improve doctor-patient communication. On the issue of antibiotic resistance, another workshop was organized with the doctors of Saint John's Medical College, Bangalore. In 2021, a workshop on the issue of TB was organized with Saint John's Medical College Bangalore resident doctors.
Online Presence
Website
In the press
The Problem: The migration of around one million Rohingyas from Myanmar was an unprecedented crisis, especially for South East and South Asian regions. As per the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), 17,500 Rohingya refugees are registered in India, although according to some claims these numbers are as high as 40,000. The work of the UNHCR to protect their rights becomes more difficult as India is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention. The government of India terms Rohingyas as "illegal immigrants" and treats them accordingly. The living conditions of Rohingyas in makeshift slums in different parts of the country are appalling. Apart from an unhealthy environment, they also have to face hostile behaviour from the local population, police and other authorities. On top of that, the fear of being forcefully deported looms large on their heads.
Comics Intervention
The first comic workshop was organized in the refugee camps in September 2019 in KalindiKunj, New Delhi and Nuh, Haryana. The objective of the comics’ intervention was to provide them with a tool of expression, and a safe space to share their life stories from back in Myanmar as well as their current struggle for survival in India. Telling their life stories was a healing process for the community. Many shared stories of their past, communities and harsh life in the refugee camps, struggle for survival, language barrier, and lack of empathy and fear of being deported. The environment of the workshop and the feeling of owning their stories provided a sense of belongingness to the participants, and how that has been missing from their lives after they have been denied citizenship in their home country.
Current Status -
The comics of the refugees have been compiled and published in the book ‘Rendered Stateless Not Voiceless’. These comics have appeared in different media reports, and have been distributed online and offline. More than a hundred copies of the book have been sold across the world.
These comics have been helping the readers in understanding the global impact of the refugee crisis, especially the struggles and stories of Myanmar Refugees. Moreover, these comics have also helped in generating awareness, sensitization and empathy towards the refugee communities amongst the readers.
Online Presence
Website
In the press
The Problem: Nomadic Tribes across the country tend to face heavy discrimination on account of their wanderer - lifestyles, a lack of resources and prejudice that stems from the caste system. Women and children, in particular, are rendered vulnerable to exploitation and violence in a variety of forms including trafficking and prostitution.
An absence of civil recognition and legal representation effectively push nomadic communities further out into the fringes; leaving them vulnerable to a variety of social exclusion that fuels intergenerational cycles of poverty and oppression. Economic opportunity, political rights and societal acceptance are vitally missing from the lives of many.
Comics Intervention
World Comics India collaborated with Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung in 2020 to initiate a project that documents and addresses issues connected with gender injustices in the context of Banjara and Kalbelia tribes in Rajasthan, India. The workshops series organized were with the Banjara and Kalbelia in Alwar. The sharing of stories that followed, actively engaged men, women, children as well as sexual and gender minorities in discussions around gender.
In 2021, WCI conducted another round of workshops with Nat and Kanjar tribes.
The creative methodology of Grassroots comics has the power to effectuate awareness building and behaviouralchange-making. By documenting, archiving and sharing first-hand stories developed by members of the nomadic communities engaged with, the hope was to take a first step in the direction of bringing together and strengthening voices that will carry to the state, the media, the community as well as persons in a position to influence policy.
Current Status -
Real-life stories, experiences, and issues have been documented of 4 nomadic tribes in Alwar. The comics made by the Banjara and Kalbeliya tribes were compiled and made into a comics anthology. A book named 'Wandering Lives in Still Frames' that documents our work, the experiences and issues of the Banjara and Kalbeliya tribe and also contains the comics anthology prepared by them is ready to be sent for printing. The second part of the book will focus on the Nat and Kanjar tribes and is currently under progress. A report of the workshops conducted in 2021 with the Nat and Kanjar tribe has also been prepared.
Online Presence
(Northeast is India)
People from north east of India are repeatedly stereotyped, excluded, discriminated on various unreasonable issues of racism
culture, conduct and identity. This is a distinctive campaign where such mindsets are being changed through comics.
The Problem: People from north east India are stereotyped, bullied and discriminated on the grounds of their looks, food habits, tastes and preferences, dressing etc. The identity of India often excludes the northeastern region, which is often viewed as different, remote and conflict-ridden. The issue of racism against people from north-east India makes headlines only when a major incident like the brutal killing of Nido Tania– a twenty year old teenager who was killed by localities of Delhi because of his different looks.
Comics Intervention-
Stereotype in our minds are result of the social and cultural upbringing. They are part of the social construct. It is necessary to break such stereotypes in order to make the society more cohesive, inclusive and devoid of any discrimination. Unlike other mediums, Comics stories are democratic and based on real experiences. This can easily bring a transformation in actions of the people as it develops a thought process and opens up a debate for further dialogue.
Keeping the same objective in mind, a campaign started in collaboration with National Foundation for India in 2014. This uniqueness of the campaign was that everyone was a storyteller and content creator and in the process the stereotypes were challenged.
World Comics India has published a book of these comics titled ‘No Stereotypes Plz’ which is being circulated in various schools, colleges and organizations across the country
Current status:
An exhibition of selected comics are made and being showcased in various colleges and universities. The campaign is also being taken to other cities of North East and South India specially the ones which were epicenter of such issues like Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune etc.
Online Presence:
Website
Introductory Video
Facebook page
This extraordinary campaign lead by the children aims at strengthening and enlisting the children’s participation in local governance.
Often we see issues of child rights come at the bottom of the priority list of decision makers. Thus children themselves
decided to take up the issues through innovative medium.
The problem:
Certain issues affect community as a whole, but there are some that affects children the most. Unfortunately, those issues get less attention of both the community and government. Children’s perspective is rarely involved in such matters while taking decisions at local level. Children’s voices are always curbed as a result of which their rights are never taken up as an issue during local community gatherings and meetings concerning local governance. In the absence of any support mechanism, they aren’t able put forward their concerns collectively.
It is required that governance become participatory by considering children as active citizens. They can play an effective key role in driving attention of authorities and responsible people on concerned issues. Grassroots comics being an effective tool for bringing up such stories helped children at local levels in adopting proactive approach and bringing prolific changes in their environment with participation in governance.
Comics Intervention:
‘Ab sashanHumro hoi ‘-this grassroots comics campaign on children's participation in local governance was initiated in December 2009 by World Comics India in collaboration with Adithi-Plan. As a part of Ab ShasanHumro Hoi, children produced more than 300 comics on various issues, such as clean water, the environment, road construction, child marriage, corporal punishment, alcoholism, sanitation, etc., and distributed them in villages, slums and in the town of Muzarffarpur, Bihar, India. By taking their visual stories to the streets, the children sought to rally for their rights - reaching out to local governance (ward members, the village Mukhiya, the Sarpanch - democratically elected head of a village level statutory institution of local self-government called the Gram (village) Panchayat - and to school teachers and parents.
After viewing and discussing with children on the comics they produced as part of Ab ShasanHumro Hoi, the Village Head sanctioned two hand pumps when children reported a water scarcity problem in school and village. Rinku a student of Class 8thwas quite angry at the garbage lying next to her classroom. She drew a comic and sent it to her ward member and soon the school compound was cleaned. Santoshi during the same campaign, a small girl made a comics on a situation of her friend who was about to be married at her tender age. When these comics were shown to sarpanch (village head), he acted to ensure that this marriage doesn’t hold. It created a pressure on sarpanch and he took proactive role in stopping the marriage. Grassroots Comics is a revolution, it’s a welcome change keeping behind the conventional communication tool to reach out to masses. Regular posters have been published and distributed over a period of campaign.
Current status:
Ever since the campaign started, the trainers have trained different groups of people to take part in campaign. The campaign has become a chain where large number of children are trained in bringing issues and concerns of the community. It is now being implemented for further extension of local level participation of children in various states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, etc.
Adithi- Plan the collaborative organization from Bihar have extended their network to other organizations by introducing the effective medium of Grassroots comics for message dissemination and bringing change in the society.
Online Presence:
Website
(Chadi Ke Laagal Hathkadi)
This campaign makes an effort to do away with the concept of corporal punishments in the classrooms.
It spreads the message of ‘Spare the Rod, It WON’T spoil the child’.
The problem:
Over the years, disciplining of children has led to an often overlooked breach of human rights. Age old proverbs like ‘spare the rod and spoil the child ‘have only reinstated the social malice, making both elders and children believe in the façade of its corrective value. Children in the schools are made to live in fearful environment through the practice of punishments for small mistakes. A child goes through a lot of emotional trauma as a result of corporal punishments. As a consequence, children don’t go astray, but often become drop outs from schools, gets cuts and bruises for life and have memories of a childhood living in the fear of punishment, physical or otherwise.
In such circumstances, in 2000 the Supreme Court of India banned corporal punishment. The new guidelines issued by National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (which have not entered into law as on June 2008) make it a crime to scold students or indulge in corporal punishment.
Comics Intervention:
This campaign strives to make school a place where there is no place for corporal punishment. It started in Maharajganj district near the Nepal border area in Uttar Pradesh in the year 2008. Here 18 members of the local group “BabuBehiniManch” (a small informal group of children) of Village Planning Centre were trained as comics trainers. Later, these new trainers conducted a series of comics workshops in their own villages. The caravan of workshops continued for several months and hundreds of comics were created “against the stick”. Children themselves lead the campaign and involved parents, teachers, schools and local bodies to create an environment of positive discipline.
After the first workshop new comic trainers went on to run comics workshop in their respective villages. WCI also invited trainers from different parts of the country to assist these new trainers and finally as many as 21 trainers held comics workshop in more than 10 villages of the district.
The comics were published in the form of wall posters, postcards, stickers, and small booklets. Local Bhojpuri singers composed new songs using the stories shown in these comics and people’s campaign emerged against corporal punishment. The comics were distributed in schools and villages in the midst of rallies, songs and slogans. Many people took pledges with light in their hands and advocated against corporal punishment and signed on oath-banners.
Current Status-
Till date more than 100 children from the district have been associated with various organizations including Unicef and are conducting comics workshops on similar issues in different parts of the state; sensitizing people on these issues.
The campaign is still continues to create ripple in and adjoining districts of Maharajganj, where “BabuBehiniManch” plays a vigilant role over corporal punishment.
Online Presence:
Website
(Aapni Dikri Ro Haq)
Aapni Dikri Ro Haq (Give your daughter her rights) stands for millions of girls in the country who still struggle to live their dreams.
The campaign not only gives voice to those girls and women in society but it also encouraged men to come forward and stand for them.
The problem:
The sex ratio of various parts of the country is on alarming state. Among the various factors which lead to its decline the two most prominent ones are female feticide and infanticide. This ratio is even worse in western Rajasthan where such practices are common along with The Purdah system, child marriage and not sending girls to school. Ironically babies are still buried alive and in many villages of India they are often named as ‘maafi’ which means ‘sorry’.
In some other states like Haryana, due to very low sex ratio, the practice of buying girls for marriage purposes from other poor states is very common. In today’s world where we talk about gender equality and woman empowerment such practices are hindrance to human development.
Comics Intervention:
This campaign began in 2005 in Barmer District of Western Rajasthan on the issue of Girl Child Rights. The ratio of female population in comparison to the male is very low in this belt of Rajasthan.
Kabu was in 8th standard and was about to get married during the inception of this campaign. Later she became a comics trainer. She produced several comics on girl child issues and rights because of which the enrollment of girls in schools increased. Her parents decided not to marry her off and allowed her to continue with her studies. After 8 years today she has become a nurse and an inspiration for many other girls of her village.
More than 300 wall poster comics were prepared by children and youths on girl child rights issues, and distributed among people, and discussions were generated. A selection of these wall posters was circulated in more than a hundred villages with the help of a motorbike rally. At various stopovers, activists spoke to people about this campaign and a massive mobilization was done. Many people were trained for the workshops during the process itself who later held workshops in their village. People from at least 21 panchayats participated in the campaign. Since there was no fund raising for this campaign, activists relied on local's help.
Meetings were held, slogans raised and this gave way to serious debates. People took oaths of not killing female children and committed themselves in bringing about change to the situation.
Current Status:-
WCI also organized many workshops in Bihar and Uttrakhand with adolescents and youth on the issue of sex selective elimination of the girl child. Many workshops were organized on parallel lines in numerous parts of the country where gender sensitivity was a concern.
Barmer Comics Manch, a local initiative, now continues with the campaign. Many trainers are now taking the journey frontward in different parts of the state like Jaisalmer and Jodhpur. These set of trainers are now training new trainer’s everyday which has led to a huge chain of trainers bringing transformation in the current situation.
Online Presence:
Website
(Goenkar ChangeMakers)
A campaign was launched to make the locals aware about the sexual and other exploitation of the children in Goa.
Tourism is increasingly becoming important as a livelihood for the common people of Goa. But the tourism industry has also brought along some negativities. A large number of children works in shops, hotels and beaches here, and many are subjected to sexual abuse by tourists. These children belong mostly to the migrant groups who come for labour work in Goa. In 2006, a campaign was initiated to spread awareness about the problems among the local people and bring about a will to change the situation. More than 200 students from four colleges of Goa prepared comics on these issues and distributed them among the people. Local government department for Child and Women Welfare helped to exhibit these comics in more than 60 villages. The students formed a group “Goenkar Changemakers” and organized a series of comics workshops together with various local organizations
CityMakers are those people who are needed by everyone. These include rickshaw puller, domestic help, laborer, guard, gardener, etc.
This campaign gives these migrant homeless population voices to tell their stories. The objective of the campaign is to
make their voice heard by the policy makers of the country.
The problem:
According to 2011 census government of India 1.77 million people are living without houses on roadsides, railway platforms, under flyovers etc. Most of them are daily wage workers, rickshaw pullers, street vendors and slum dwellers. These homeless people are mainly the city makers who are the invisible hands behind the glitz and glamour of any city. Most of them are migrated laborers who come to city in search of employment and become the victim of low wages, poverty, poor health conditions and live insecure life.
Comics Intervention:
This campaign was started in Delhi in 2012 in association with IGSSS (Indo-Global Social Service Society). As many as eleven workshops with these city makers were held in different states including Delhi, UP, AP, Maharashtra, Assam and West Bengal. The objective behind these workshops was to document first-hand experiences of the city makers in the form of comics and thus providing them with an easy and cost effective tool of self-expression.
No one had ever asked them how did they feel in their city of work or how did they feel about a subject or an issue. The workshop sessions asked these questions and gave a free hand to the participants to express and then tell their stories to the group and later go out in public and share their stories during the mobile exhibition. The stories which came out through these workshops give one a micro insight into the lives of the city makers.
These grassroots comics were then compiled into five books and shared with common masses, policymakers, Judges and NGOs.
Current Status:
Many CityMakers who were trained as comics trainers during the workshops are now conducting workshops and training others in different parts of the country. Anees Khan, a labourer from Delhi, has created more than 50 comics and is now planning to compile them into a book.
WCI is also planning to hold and organize more workshops with the homeless, rickshaw pullers, street vendors, construction laborers, slum dwellers, etc. to provide them with a medium such that their voices can also be heard.
(Conflict, Tolerance, Differences, Prejudices, Tensions, Peace)
WCI has done a number of experiments in the field to address the issues of communalism, tolerance, conflict and peace.
This unique campaign spreads mainly in South-Asian countries namely India, Pakistan
and Sri Lanka where the above mentioned issues have been persistent.
The problem:
In the conflict ridden areas, media penetration is negligible because of economical, social and political reasons. The situation is even worse for the remote areas. Due to repression and subjugation, the voices of the people living in these areas never come out. Their stories are just not known to the outside world. Due to lack of media penetration, they don’t have access to any form of media to express themselves. This is the reason that their stories are never seen in this mainstream media and thus enabling people to develop misconceptions about these issues and people associated with them.
Communalism has become a threat to Indian society today because it is not understood well and efforts have not been made to get over this problem. The ignorance and political indifference have exacerbated the situation.
Comics Intervention-
1. India-
In India, WCI collaborated with Dr. Ram Punyani, an eminent journalist and an expert in this field, and launched two books namely ‘Communalism Explained’ and ‘Terrorism Explained’. Along with this a series of workshops were also conducted in more than seven major cities of the country. Many activists and communication students took part in these workshops. The methodology of these workshops was to inform the people and give them the in-depth information of the root causes of the conflict and the communal tension and to let them also share their part of story on the issue.
Comics workshops were also organized in Hyderabad (Henrye Martin Institute), Guwahati (Guwahati University and Cotton College), Lucknow (Lucknow University), Mumbai (Mumbai University) and in Delhi (Lady Irwin College).
2. Pakistan-
Popular notion and impact of western media has created this image of Pakistan where in majority of people think that because of its Islamic structure Pakistani societies have no freedom, rights are being violated. Islamic practices doesn’t allow them to acknowledge various art forms, where in drawing a human figure is also forbidden. In such a scenario tolerance towards each other’s beliefs, customs, religions and practices comes down as a prerequisite behavior to develop a sense of fraternity in the society.
Keeping in mind these beliefs a 3 day grassroots comics workshop was organized by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) and World Comics Network- Pakistan (WCN-P) in Karachi on the theme ‘need for Tolerance’. The stories from the workshop were later compiled into a book named as- ‘Tolerance’.
Introducing Comics as an operative tool of self-expression was rather more challenging and cynical but after series of workshops where people shared their personal stories and experiences which were subtle enough not to be shared generally, the results were astounding.
The entire process of having discussions, making comics, publishing them and even distributing them in public discourse went on without any hindrances which made two significantopinions .Firstly the image that is portrayed by media is far away from reality and secondly grassroots comics as a tool of self-expression is very effective even on issues which are very sensitive to discuss openly. Henceforth the comic intervention had turned out to be a beautiful exposure for the untold stories.
Also a workshop was organized in 2014 in Karachi to bring up the irresponsible reporting and rumors as a serious issue of debate as it gives birth to various notions and prejudices which further leads to conflicts. The comics from this workshop were compiled and then circulated.
3.Sri Lanka-
In 2012, conflicts were emerging on the island nation between two communities, the basis of which was different religious identities and practices. To raise awareness on conflict resolution and to develop communal harmony among the people, a five day workshop was organized by World Comics Network in collaboration with a local organization.
The participants included teachers, activists, youth and localities who belonged to different ethnicities and communities. Discussion was done on subjects of peace, conflict, resolution, being in minority etc. in the early phase of workshop. Comics were created in the second phase on hatred, misconception about other communities, religious practices, places of worship, rumors propagated on social media,how to bring peace, harmony and resolve conflicts.
Same set of participants were then trained and they took test workshops. They went back to their hometowns and conducted workshops then on ground zero which were highly conflict galloped like religious schools.
