SMILE PROGRAMME
My Life, Mere Faisle
Empoyability & Workforce readiness
Thematic-focussed engagement
International Exchanges
Institution-based adolescent programmes
SMILE Programme

Pravah's flagship programme for the youth- Students Mobilization Initiative for Learning through Exposure (SMILE), mobilizes youth from diverse backgrounds in the age group of 17-25, through hands on exposure to development issues. It is aimed for each individual to undertake the journey 'From Self to Society' 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 a series of workshops on life skills, campaigns on social issues, meetings and events and volunteering/ exchange opportunities with NGOs in the sector.

The programme has three levels:

  • SMILE In-turn-ship: a 3-week immersion in grassroots organisations to develop personal leadership skills and social issues
  • SMILE Fellowship: A 6-month journey for young people to work on social action projects on issues they are passionate about
  • SMILE Professional: An 8-month journey for young people to immerse themselves in a youth development organisation and work as a youth work professional to learn design, facilitation and programme management skills
My Life, Mere Faisle

My Life, Mere Faisle (My Life, My Decisions) is an intervention, which takes a psycho-social approach to the problem of child, early and forced marriage and empowers young people to take control of their own lives and decisions. The programme focuses on building knowledge on issues like CEFM, SRHR, GBV, change in attitude and behaviours and cultivating capacities of empathy, negotiation, communication, decision making and systems thinking in order to support the participants to make informed and empowered decisions in life.

Empoyability and Workforce readiness

An initiative to nurture future-ready youth workforce. The focus is to equip youth with 21st-century employability skills and an entrepreneurial mindset. ABS believes that we must prepare youth with values, attitudes, and behavior to get employed or self-employed and sustain their employment.

Through partnerships with multiple universities, corporate organisations and government institutions we have equipped over 15,000+ trainers and young people.

Pravah's Abilities Beyond Skills (ABS) initiatives focus on enhancing employability and entrepreneurship through a range of targeted programs:

  • Empowering Youth towards Sustainable Employability (HSBC Skills for Life): This program trains 600 economically disadvantaged youth in Delhi in retail, IT/ITeS, life skills, IT, and English, aiming for 80% certification, job placement for all, and 70% securing employment.
  • Strengthening HCL YuvaKendra (HCL Foundation): Integrates the ABS life capacities curriculum into existing YuvaKendra skill-building programs, enhancing training for current youth trainees.
  • Life Capacities for Usha Silai School Women Entrepreneurs (UNFPA): Develops a curriculum focused on Gender and Reproductive Health Rights for women entrepreneurs in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, and Bihar, empowering Master Trainers to deliver it.
  • The Eklavya Programme (Castrol India): Upskilling two-wheeler technicians in remote areas through a 'training of trainers' model to support sustainable income generation.
  • Entrepreneurship Development Programme (Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship): A 60-hour curriculum delivered to ITIs, polytechnics, and Jan Shikshan Sansthan in Delhi, reaching over 2,000 students and 50 teachers, promoting self-employment.
  • Life Capacities for Sustainable Employability (Ambedkar University Delhi): A course bridging the gap between employer expectations and employee skills for vocational students.
  • Our New Horizons Programme (Dr Reddy Labs): Provides behavioural training and mentoring for entry-level recruits, focusing on aspirations, conflict resolution, and leadership.
  • Entrepreneurship Awareness Camps (Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship): sessions for 1,800 students to promote self-employment.
  • Customized Interventions: Tailors the ABS curriculum for various organizations, including Business to Rural, Learning Links, and others.
  • Stakeholder Consultations: Engages with corporate, government, and NGO representatives to discuss skilling sector challenges and the necessity of integrating life competencies into technical training.
Thematic-focussed engagement

Pravah has developed multiple curriculums and programmes for young people to take leadership on specific issues over the years:

  • Cast(e) in Stone: To address the issue of caste-based discrimination, Pravah designed and implemented the ‘Caste in Stone’ curriculum ( 2012-2016); a journey for college youth to build more inclusive identities, by understanding deep-seated discrimination institutionalised over the years and opportunities to take action on the same through rural internships, exposures and action projects.
  • Youth Engagement for Learning and Leadership (YELL): Pravah designed and implemented YELL to equip youth leaders to lead projects in their communities promoting gender equality, building the agency of adolescents and bridging the learning loss of adolescents from under-resourced communities in Delhi and Telangana due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Engaging with and inspiring stakeholders that impact access to education for an adolescent has been one of the key focus areas to enable a positive learning environment for them across all the spheres of education and therefore, their lives.
  • Youth-leaders for Clean Air: As we live amidst the climate emergency, what is the role that young people play? What are the stories that they care for? We have worked with a cohort of passionate youth leaders who have addressed the issue of air pollution in Delhi and Lucknow through social action projects and stakeholder engagement.
International Exchanges

Facilitating cross-border learning through enriching global youth exchange programmes that fosters cross-cultural understanding, promotes mutual learning, and empowers young individuals to collaborate, innovate, and develop skills necessary for global citizenship and leadership in an interconnected world.

  • World Youth Exchange Programme: A 6-month youth exchange programme offering young people from UK (or any other country) and India between the ages 18-25 years the opportunity to live in communities in the UK and in India and to volunteer on local grassroots projects in cross cultural pairs and teams.
  • International Citizen Service - Community Development and Cross Border Friendships: A 3-month rural volunteering programme for young people across the globe and India between the ages 18-25 years, in different communities across in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, India.
  • Professional and Community Engagement program (PACE): Facilitating learning programmes for students from Macquarie University, Australia, hosting them in India while they engage in professional development with civil society and corporate organisations.
  • NOREC - South-South Exchange: Facilitating in-person and online exchange programme between young participants from South Africa and India for 6 months working on community development projects
Institution-based adolescent programmes

Pravah works with adolescents to inspire a mindset shift towards being empathetic to ‘self’ and those around them, and build their agency to voice their opinions.

From Me to We: A school-based programme, it helps students develop life skills to understand feelings, build empathy, develop leadership to make their school a safer place, and understand the constitutional values of being active citizens in all aspects of life.

FUN Camps: A 4-day rural exposure camp to inculcate self-awareness, confidence, creativity, empathy, interpersonal communication and conflict resolution, problem-solving, decision-making, working in teams and understanding inclusive and sustainable development through critical thinking.

Besharam - Being “bold”

In her town, Manisha grew up believing that menstruation was impure and followed customs that isolated women during their periods. Participating in the My Life Mere Faisle program challenged her beliefs and expanded her understanding of forms of gender-based violence.

She engaged with women from Self Help Groups, fostering conversations about menstrual health and questioning the notion of impurity. She raised awareness about child marriage and conducted sessions on sexual violence.

Despite fears of being judged, Manisha realized the importance of being bold to create a safer environment.

"I was scared of being called ‘besharam’ by people in my community. That was my biggest fear. However, as I talked to the women and youth of the community, I learned about their experiences. I think one has to be ‘besharam’, if that’s what is going to take to create a safer environment in the community, then so be it.”

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