Kishori Chithrapata*

Leveraging ICTs for education and

empowerment of adolescent girls

A collaborative project of
UNICEF,
IT for Change,
Mahila Samakhya Karnataka
and Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan

*images created by adolescent girls

Background
Reetha stopped going to
school because her mother
was not well. Someone had
to cook and take care of the
household.
Manjula discontinued
her education
because she had to
get married.
Context
● Launched in 2009, the Kishori Chithrapata (KC)
project works with around 55 kishoris* in two
village hubs – Attiguppe and Hosavaranchi –
and a school – Mahila Shikshana Kendra (in
Mysore district, Karnataka).

● The project explores the innovative use of

video, radio and computing technology to
empower out-of-school kishoris through
constructivist learning.

* adolescent girls
 Goals
To contribute to empowerment
of kishoris through new
empowering learning
processes, new empowering
social roles and new
empowering skills

To contribute to community
development by encouraging
dialogue between the kishoris
and the community members
Advocacy for absorption of models developed
through this project in various girls education
and empowerment programmes
 Objectives
● To build kishori collectives
● To create organic links between kishori
collectives and Sanghas (women's
collectives)
● To create platforms with the help of ICTs
for voicing their opinions and aspirations
● To generate acceptance and recognition
of issues related to their lives at the
community level
Status

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● 3 Learning nodes established
● Attiguppe village,

● Hosavaranchi village,

● Mahila Shikshana Kendra (MS Kendra) – a

residential bridge school for high school drop

outs

● New kishoris enrolled from neighbouring

villages at 2 nodes – Attiguppe village and
Hosavaranchi village

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- Bridge course to speed
up the learning process
of newcomers completed

- Basics of photography,
video, audio recording
and computers
completed at both nodes

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 Hosavaranchi village kishoris talk about
their experiences of learning basic photography.
To watch the video, click here

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● Number of Kishoris at each node
Attiguppe village: 07

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Hosavaranchi village: 09

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MS Kendra: 33

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● Curriculum begins
● At Hosavaranchi village: “Strength of collective”

module half completed, and in progress

● At Attiguppe village: “Identity” module started

● Status of training:
● At MS Kendra: Trainings completed for the

current academic year. Photography, video,

decision making, some gender inputs,
confidence building covered and feedback about
the training programme obtained
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Learning how backgrounds add
meaning to a photograph

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 Exploring magnifications –
photographs from far and near

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● Some of the topics covered so far:
Working in a team; roles of director, camera person,
assistant; production processes; exploring your village;
collectives and why they form; what collectives have
accomplished in the village and how; body image;
gender sensitisation; identity of self, and so on

● Topics chosen for shoots and recordings:

Benefits of sangha, gram panchayat (local
government), telecenter, anganwadi (government run
childcare centres), forests, KC trainings, toilets,
collectives and so on

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 Attiguppe village kishoris talk about
their experiences of learning basic photography.
To watch the video, click here

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Curriculum

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Detailing of curriculum themes

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Field processes

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● Meetings of the management committee (MC)
of the telecentre at Attiguppe village and
Hosavaranchi village nodes
● Enlisting new kishoris – MC members drive the
agenda at Shiriyur and Halevaranchi villages
● Social trainings start – to build collective identity
and to start the reflexive process

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Highlights from the third quarter

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One day Mysore picnic 33
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Project outputs so far

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 ● Two films made by CCID* team
● Training modules for each node – 55
● Audio visual training tools
● Short video clips
● Audio programmes
● Photos taken by kishoris
● Reports, documents and logs

*Centre for Community Informatics and Development – 37

the field unit of IT for Change
Challenges

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Dropping out due to:
● Marriage
● Mobility issues
● Fear of the male gaze
● Household needs become priority – agricultural
labour, care-taking of siblings and men in the
family

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 Challenges
Vulnerabilities of being an adolescent
● Patriarchy in the mind: How to get the notions out -
before getting the kishoris in for the training?
As a young girl, “It is difficult for me to walk a
kilometre, I get tired in the sun light, what use can this
be to me”, “I feel shy to come”, “how can I have a say
regarding my marriage?”
● Patriarchy as a culture: “I can not come since my
mother-in-law is sick – what will people say?”, “I can
not come because I am engaged – what will people
say?” “I will send my daughters only if you teach them
in the room and not outside”...
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Challenges - CCID* team

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● Condensing the detailed modules for bridge
course

● Catering to greater number of kishoris at Mahila

Shikshana Kendra

● Pace of the project set by socio-cultural factors

● Always being watchful and ready to handle

conflicts and constraints

● More capacity building required for the next

level of trainings – both technical and social
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● How not to be affected by drop outs and
marriages? Bigger social change is important
but how to bounce out of current
disappointments?
● Curriculum: Intense process of transferring
knowledge of various issues thorough ICTs.

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Patterns of change

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● Confident and courageous new
kishoris

● Old kishoris take up new roles

of being mentors and
motivators to the new kishoris

● Tara and Radha – prepared

training module for interacting
with MS Kendra kishoris

● Many have negotiated

marriage postponement
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 Patterns of change
● Employment opportunities open up – 1 girl from
MS Kendra is asked to be a photographer in a
studio (to work part-time while she continues to
go to college), 1 girl from Halevaranchi village
asked by another studio, 2 girls sought out by
an agency to take photos of senior citizens.

● Kishoris aspire to be 'working women' and start

articulating it

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● Sangha women start engaging with adolescent
issues – young girls' marriage, facilitating
meetings and so on

● No more cliques! The kishoris work in any

group amiably and sincerely

● Kishoris who didn't speak earlier now not only

answer questions but describe and question

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Thank you

www.ITforChange.net
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