Children in Tirupati display Sustainable Development Solutions acumen
TIRUPATI, OCTOBER 07, 2023: The NXplorers Carnival organized by Smile Foundation in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh was a spectacle of brilliance where 59 meritorious students selected from various government schools of Tirupati district showcased their innovative ideas in the areas of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). A total of 35 “change projects” were exhibited, which were finally selected from a total of 2,500 students.
NXplorers Junior Programme is a global flagship Social Investment STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) educational initiative from Shell, which aims to benefit school children by enabling them to understand, navigate and address local and global challenges, as underlined in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The programme is also aligned with the National Education Policy 2020.
Smile Foundation has been implementing the programme in 203 schools in Tirupati and Nellore districts of Andhra Pradesh; Khammam, Hanumakonda, Jangaon, Mahububabad and Warangal districts of Telangana, and Thrissur district of Kerala. It is benefiting 25,000 school students in the age group of 10 to 12 years in the academic grades of 6 and 7.
During the district level carnival of Tirupati, a majority of the projects had a common sensitivity towards conservation and optimal utilization of water, energy and food, besides eco-friendly usage resources in the daily life.
Mr. Bhanu Prasad, District Science Officer (Tirupati), Govt. of Andhra Pradesh, said, “The NXplorers programme implemented by Smile Foundation is instrumental in building our children as future scientists. As the district science officer, I feel that this initiative is very useful for students, especially those studying in the government schools.”
The NXplorers Junior Programme is being implemented in concurrence with the educational authorities of the state governments. Besides students and teachers, parents and communities are also involved actively while implementing the programme so that it remains sustainable in the long-term.
Mr. K. Balaji, Mandal Education Officer (Tirupati), Govt. of Andhra Pradesh said, “I appreciate Smile Foundation and Shell for bringing this global programme to our schools. I am sure that Smile Foundation’s praiseworthy efforts in helping our schools in promoting sustainable development goals amongst the students and finding local solutions to global problems will bear fruits in the long run.”
Smile Foundation is a national development organization directly benefitting over 1.5 million underprivileged children and their families every year through more than 400 welfare projects in education, healthcare, livelihood and women empowerment spread across 2,000 remote villages and urban slums in 27 states of India.
