Reaching out to kids

Kids INK, a conference held with the intention of exposing children to different forms of art, writing, and science, was held recently at the Alliance Francaise, Bangalore.

The conference brought together people from all walks of life and occupations, who had one thing in common – they are passionate and true to what they do.  The event included several prominent speakers such as cricketer Robin Uthappa, Sarath Champati, naturalist and wildlife conservationalist and Ugesh Sarcar, a street magician.

The conference witnessed a huge participation from both children and their parents. It was divided into a morning session, wherein the speakers addressed the kids personally on a variety of subjects, and an afternoon session, which was meant exclusively for the parents. Several workshops for children were also held  simultaneously.

The morning session included speakers such as Robin Uthappa, who spoke to the children about his journey of becoming a cricketer and the effort that it took.  Anand Chulani, a comedian, entertained the children with some interactive sessions, and a bit of dancing, while Rohini Rau, a sailing contender for the 2012 Olympics gave a speech on how she began sailing and how she balances this passion along with her medical
studies.

Sarath Champati, on the other hand, enthralled the children with all the places that he has visited both in India and abroad, such as the Himalayas and Antarctica, and the kind of animals that he has seen there.

The afternoon session was targeted at the parents of the participating children. Many of the speakers of the morning session took to the mic again, and advised the parents on how best to approach their children, help them achieve their dreams.

Anand Chulani explained the importance of understanding and appreciating one’s children before attempting to influence them, and how critical it was to remain positive while handling them.

Vishy Poosala, who runs a library and mentors entrepreneurs, gave a little speech on how parents could use technology as an interactive medium to help their children realise their dreams. Quoting examples of his own life, and how he used computers to support his daughter in her love for writing, he also stressed on the importance of simultaneously keeping a close watch on their children’s internet activities.

While the parents were attending the afternoon session, workshops revolving around art, music and creative writing were also held for the children. Speaking about the event, Ugesh Sarcar, a street magician, said that it had been a great experience.

He delivered two talks – one to the children about the importance of presentation, and another to the parents, on the different ways in which they could teach their kids. “I don’t normally perform for kids, but I love them. This whole experience has been good fun,” he said.