Masterclass on Is Space Important for Child Development?
2025-10-29 16:00 - 17:00 (Asia/Kolkata)
In most ideas, discourses related to child-development and education and hence in the efforts to actualize and bring them to practice, where these will manifest – the space – has least attention. Whereas, space encompasses them all the time in all places – indoor or outdoors.
In this context, Kabir Vajpeyi will be hosting the upcoming Masterclass – Is Space Important for Child Development? This session underlines and focuses on how space has the immense possibility and potential to contribute significantly in the natural process of child development and learning through multiple senses.
Kabir Vajpeyi is an architect and social entrepreneur from Bhopal, has spent over three decades using design as a tool for social change. As co-founder of VINYÃS and VINYÃS Society, he has worked with governments across 22 states to make schools, Anganwadis, and health centres more inclusive and child-friendly. His pioneering idea, BaLA (Building as Learning Aid), has transformed over three lakh schools and two lakh Anganwadis across India, and inspired work globally.
Key Takeaways:

Become more aware of the importance of creating sensitive and responsible spaces for children.
Develop an understanding of how to develop such spaces in their own environments – home, campus, neighbourhood, settlement, or institution.
Integrate space into providing a better childhood for their own children and those in society.

This Masterclass will be valuable for Anganwadi workers, program designers, caregivers, preschool or ICDS programme administrators, preschool teachers and principals, parents, and policy professionals.

Manotsava: National Mental Health Festival
2025-11-08 - 2025-11-09
We are delighted to share that Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies, in partnership with NIMHANS and NCBS, is hosting the second edition of Manotsava, the National Mental Health Festival on 8–9 November at The Lalit Ashok, Bengaluru.
The festival brings people together to explore everyday mental health through conversations on parenting, screen-time, childhood stress, caregiving, loneliness, intergenerational ties, wellbeing at work, and growing older with dignity, through talks, workshops, art, and experiential spaces.
And guess what?! Bachpan Manao will be there too!
Whether you are a practitioner, parent, policymaker, educator, student, or simply curious about how care shows up in our everyday lives, we would love to meet you there.
Festival Highlights
The line-up features leading voices in mental and emotional wellbeing, including:
Dr Richie Davidson (Center for Healthy Minds, University of Wisconsin–Madison)
Dr Prabha Chandra (NIMHANS)
Prof Vidita Vaidya (TIFR)
Dr Kaz De Jong (Médecins Sans Frontières)
Rahul Roy (Filmmaker)
Prof Surya Dolla (IIT Bombay)
Dr Amit Malik (Amaha)
Keynote Conversation: Rohini Nilekani will be in conversation with Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw and Nikhil Kamath
The festival is free and open to everyone.
Step into the Bachpan Manao Zone
At Manotsava this year, the Bachpan Manao Zone is a space to pause and reconnect with the worlds of children, through play, imagination, and everyday care.
It is an open corner for:
Remembering childhood as relationship, not just a stage of life
Noticing how safety, comfort, and belonging shape a growing mind
Exploring how play becomes expression, regulation, and meaning-making
Reflecting on the link between care, childhood environments, and mental health
You will find prompts, small playful interactions, and reflective corners that invite you to look at mental health through the lens of early experiences, and not only interventions.
This is a space for anyone working with, caring for, or simply curious about children, across education, health, parenting, youth work, community building, or early childhood systems.
If this sounds intriguing, come join us at the Bachpan Manao Zone. Slow down and step into a child’s pace.
What’s inside the Bachpan Manao Zone?
A collective of beautiful experiences – each one exploring childhood and mental health in its own unique way:
Bachpan Manao
This stall invites visitors to soften their burdens and step into the overflowing spirit of childhood. Childhood is not a memory locked in the past, but a wellspring of imagination, laughter, and wonder that lives within us. By moving from heaviness to lightness, the stall reminds us of all that childhood holds, mischief, colour, curiosity, and play, and how much of it still belongs to us. It is a celebration of that abundance, and an invitation to carry a little of it back into everyday life.
Artreach India
Step into Visual Voices, a vibrant showcase of how art empowers children to share their stories. Featuring unique artworks and animations from child care institutions, low-income schools, and community programs, this stall highlights how creative expression fosters joy, focus, confidence, and connection. Explore how art supports emotional wellbeing, skill-building, and mental health for children facing adversity.
Bookworm Goa
Take a break at the Calm Corner, a cozy space with books and sensory toys for children. Join the Collaborative Art Station to express emotions through guided art activities, or enjoy an engaging Read Aloud session, complete with discussions and activities before and after the story.
Funky Rainbow
A bookstall featuring a curated selection of children’s books that help young readers explore emotions, relationships, and life’s complexities — all in a language that feels real and relatable to them.
Pratham Books
An interactive book corner, “A Little Corner for Big Feelings,” featuring three stations that explore mental health and social-emotional learning (SEL) through children’s picture books. Station 1 uses wordless books with “feeling stickers” to track emotions, Station 2 showcases SEL books in Indian mother tongue languages with reflection prompts, and Station 3 encourages self-reflection through a mirror installation and affirmations. A QR code guides visitors to a short reflection form.
Sva-Hitha Child and Adolescent Well-Being Centre
Step into a world where play sparks growth! More than just fun, play is how children express themselves, solve problems, and build confidence. Explore hands-on activities and interactive displays to see how play therapy and everyday play help young minds thrive: boosting creativity, empathy, and positive relationships along the way.
Vazhai Foundation
Try traditional games like Pallankuzhi, Gilli Danda, and Uriyadi alongside brain and sensory games. Fun and hands-on, the space celebrates cultural games while sparking creativity and joy for all ages.

Bachpan Manao In A Box - A Citywide Invitation To Reclaim Childhood
2025-12-01 - 2026-01-16
Bachpan Manao invites schools, anganwadis, community groups, RWA’s, individuals and organisations across Bengaluru to host their own ‘BM in a Box’ – a joyful series of micro-events that bring play, storytelling and creativity into everyday spaces.

Click here to know more.

Masterclass on Small Shifts, Big Feelings: Integrating SEL into Everyday Activities
2026-01-13 16:00 - 17:00 UTC
What if integrating Socio-Emotional Learning didn’t mean adding more to your plate, but rather repurposing what’s already there? This hands-on masterclass invites participants into an experiential journey where you’ll engage in an art activity that reveals the difference facilitation approach makes in children’s learning. Through creating together, participants will discover how small, intentional changes, in the questions we ask, the space we hold, and the prompts we offer can transform ordinary moments into powerful opportunities for emotional awareness, self-expression, and growth. Participants leave with concrete, low-resource tools they can implement into their immediate settings.

Click here to know more

Makkala Hubba 2026
2026-01-16 - 2026-01-25 | Freedom Park, Bengaluru
When Bengaluru’s beloved city-wide arts and culture festival, BLR Hubba*, decided to hand Freedom Park over to children, something extraordinary happened – Makkala Hubba came to life!
At Makkala Hubba, chase the migration trails of Bengaluru’s butterflies (Follow the Butterflies), peer into the bioluminescent deep in Phytoplankton World, navigate the city through a life-size puzzle (Elli, Ekke, Ennu?), stir up recipe maps of India in Cook & Keep and more.
(*BLR Hubba — Bengaluru’s festival of festivals, anchored by the Unboxing BLR Foundation — is a 10-day celebration of the city through dance, music, theatre, art, food, and more, bringing historic landmarks alive with genre-defying experiences. Nested within it, Makkala Hubba is its dedicated children’s sub-festival curated by Bhawna Jaimini. Bhawna Jaimini is an urban practitioner and writer whose work sits at the intersection of architecture, society, and culture, with a deep commitment to equitable spaces for women and children)

Click here to know more

Launch of ‘The Playbook of Play’
2026-01-17 12:00 - 13:00 (Asia/Kolkata) | Freedom Park, Bengaluru
Join us for a special gathering as we mark the launch of ‘The Playbook of Play’ with Rohini Nilekani—a moment to pause, reflect, and reconnect with the true spirit of childhood.
This is not just a book launch. It’s an invitation to rethink how we see play.
Through this conversation, we explore:

Simple, age-wise ways to understand play
Visual tools to observe children’s growth and milestones
Easy-to-use activity ideas for everyday moments
Thoughtful approaches to both indoor and outdoor play

And yet, at its heart, this playbook carries a powerful reminder:play does not need instructions.
Children already know how to play.They learn the most when they are free to explore, imagine, and simply be.
For caregivers, educators, and anyone who cares about childhood,this is also a moment to breathe a little easierto trust that joy, learning, and growth are already unfolding through play.

Bachpan Manao Baithak at Makkala Hubba
2026-01-23 10:00 - 12:00 (Asia/Kolkata) | Freedom Park, Bengaluru
Makkala Hubba, part of BLR Hubba, is a 10-day celebration of childhood filled with stories, play, nature, and exploration. Set in the historic Freedom Park, it brings together joyful experiences for children and for childhood itself.
Bachpan Manao invites you to a small, invite-only Baithak within this vibrant setting. This is a space to pause, experience the festival, and come together in conversation.
We will reflect on a simple but powerful question:What does it really mean to invest in childhood?
From education, health, and safety to play, care, rest, and belonging, we will explore how our everyday choices shape the lives of children and those who care for them.
We would love for you to be part of this intimate gathering.

Masterclass on Setting Up a Community Library: What to Start With, What to Build Over Time
2026-02-12 16:00 - 17:00 (Asia/Kolkata)
This masterclass offers a practical, experience-based guide to setting up a community library that is inclusive, child-friendly, and rooted in the local context. Drawing from on-the-ground learnings from Bansa Community Library, the session explores the key considerations involved in starting a library, from choosing and preparing a space, selecting books and materials, and building trust with children and families, to fostering shared ownership and long-term sustainability.
The focus is on principles and practices that can be adapted across communities, helping participants move from intention to action when creating meaningful library spaces. The session will also offer practical insights for educators, caregivers, and program implementers on creating inclusive, child-centred community spaces that support both childhood and collective growth.
What to expect?

Gain a practical understanding of how to start and sustain a community library that is welcoming and useful for children and families
Learn how to prioritise access, trust, and shared ownership while setting up the space
Understand how to select books and materials that encourage engagement
Explore ways to create simple systems that support regular use without over-regulation
Build the ability to anticipate common challenges and adapt library practices to their own community contexts

This masterclass is designed for:

Preschool educators and Anganwadi Workers
NGO program officers and frontline implementers working with children and communities
Parents and caregivers
Early childhood practitioners interested in creating inclusive, child-centred spaces
Curriculum designers and researchers exploring community-led approaches to supporting early childhood development

The Shared Shelf
2026-02-21 09:30 - 16:00 (Asia/Kolkata) | Bangalore Design Centre
Librarians, educators, authors, and book lovers come together in Bengaluru to explore a simple but important question:How do we build libraries that welcome every child?
The Shared Shelf is a day of honest conversations and hands-on learning on what inclusion really looks like in practice.
The day will include workshops on tactile books, library rights, and building collections that reflect the diverse realities of children’s lives.
If you believe every child deserves to see themselves in the books they read and the spaces they enter, we warmly invite you to join.

Masterclass on Where Are the Fathers? Designing Content that Promotes Fathers’ Engagement in Early Childhood Programs
2026-03-24 16:00 - 17:00 UTC | Online
Early childhood programs increasingly recognize the importance of engaging fathers in caregiving and early learning. However, designing effective father-focused content requires a systematic and research-driven approach.
This masterclass will walk participants through the Sesame Workshop’s content development cycle used in the Daddy Cool Program to design content to promote fathers engagement in early childhood development. The session will the entire process of content creation that resonates with fathers and supports positive parenting practices. Participants will gain insights into how evidence-based design and storytelling can be used to create impactful, culturally relevant content that encourages fathers to actively participate in their children’s early development.
Participants will learn:

Key elements and steps to design content
How to translate research insights into a clear educational framework for behaviour change
How to transform research into engaging narratives and content
The process of developing father-focused programmatic content that resonates with the target audience
Practical lessons from implementing the Daddy Cool Program

This masterclass will be valuable for:

Early Childhood Development (ECD) practitioners and program designers working on parenting, caregiver engagement, and early learning initiatives
NGOs and development organizations implementing family strengthening, gender, or child development programs
Government officials and practitioners working in ICDS, health, education, and community development systems
Behaviour Change Communication (BCC/SBC) specialists designing social and parenting campaigns
Researchers and policy professionals focusing on parenting, gender norms, and early childhood development
CSR teams and foundations supporting programs related to parenting, caregiving, and child wellbeing
Curriculum and content developers creating educational materials for parents and caregivers

Raising with Algorithms - Bachpan Manao at the AI Impact Summit
2026-04-14 08:00 - 17:00 (Asia/Kolkata) | Bharat Mandapam, Delhi, India
We are pleased to invite you to a special panel discussion, “Raising with Algorithms: Who Shapes the World the Next Generation Grows Into.”
As AI becomes part of how children learn, are cared for, and are prioritised within systems, this session asks a simple but urgent question: who is shaping the conditions in which the next generation grows? We will explore what safety, responsibility, and local realities mean when algorithms enter classrooms, clinics, homes, and community spaces.
The panel brings together leaders working across education, public systems, and AI infrastructure:

Adam Ingle, LEGO® Education – bringing global perspectives on playful, hands-on learning and the future of education technology.
Vedeika Shekhar, Public Policy Specialist, NITI Aayog – bringing a national policy lens on innovation, governance, and enabling cross-sector collaboration for India’s development journey.
Azeez Gupta, Founder, Rocket Learning – working closely with governments to reach millions of young children across India through early childhood systems.
Bronson Bakunga, Co-Founder, Crane AI Labs – building offline-first AI infrastructure for African languages to support teachers and caregivers in low-resource settings.
Pallavi Poojari Mohindra, Co-Founder & CEO, The Nurturant – working at the intersection of parenting, early learning, and digital engagement.

This discussion, moderated by Deepika Mogilishetty, Chief of Policy and Partnerships, EkStep Foundation, is part of the AI Impact Summit.

Masterclass on Making Playfulness Real for Families: From Advice to Practice
2026-05-07 16:00 - 17:00 (Asia/Kolkata)
Most parents know play matters. What they need is permission to believe that what they’re already doing is enough. This Masterclass is built around one shift: from doing play to being playful: a quality of presence parents can bring to moments they already have; not an activity they need to add.
What to expect?
A framework to go from entertaining to responding, from control to flexibility, from performance to presence
A practical tool for tense or rushed moments
One question to give any parent: “What is my child already doing that I can join?”
Confidence to support parents in what they already do, rather than adding to their load
This masterclass is designed for:
NGO professionals
Anganwadi workers
Preschool educators
Community practitioners (working with families of children aged 0–3)

Practical and directly usable in:

Home visits
Parent group sessions
Community settings

Made In Play Summit
2026-06-02 10:00 - 15:00 (Asia/Kolkata)
India’s first national televised summit on play and early childhood, the Made in Play Summit brings together the people who think about it from very different places, reaching not just a room but homes across the country at the same time.
Brought to you by Bachpan Manao with EkStep Foundation and NDTV, the Summit starts from a single argument: play is not a luxury. It is infrastructure. And it builds that case across a full day of conversations.
Rohini Nilekani opens with why, as a society, we have misclassified play as reward when it should have been treated as a core input to child development. A National Play Manifesto, by children, of children, and for every caring adult, sets the tone for what follows. Panels bring together a Municipal Corporation Commissioner, toy designers, and urban planners to ask how systems can actually make space for play. A developmental paediatrician, an author, and early years educators explore the art, heart, and science of it. Architect Kabir Vajpeyi looks at the invisible playgrounds we have stopped designing. Disability rights activist Nipun Malhotra asks what play looks like for every child. Singer Vidya Shah makes the case for why you must sing to your child. And standup MOMic Amruta Bendre brings honesty and humour to parenting in the early years.
The Summit closes by recognising a Champion of Play, someone who shows up, every day, for children’s right to play.

Masterclass on How to Understand Children's Experience Beyond Marks
2026-06-25 16:00 - 17:00 (Asia/Kolkata)
In this masterclass, SEF will share how we can design assessments that tell us more about a child than just their marks — how the assessment design itself can become a peephole into the child’s overall development, how qualitative tools like surveys, group discussions, and play-based assessments give agency to a child to share their experience of learning from their own lens, and how that gives invaluable information about safety, critical thinking, collaboration, and other social-emotional conditions of a child that inform their learning.
What to expect?

How to design safe and interactive pen-and-paper assessments,
Designing principles for child-friendly surveys and discussions, and
Play-based assessments that give children a chance to display their competencies.

This Masterclass is designed for:
Teachers, Education Practitioners, Education Research Professionals

Masterclass on Small Spaces, Giant Impact
2026-07-14 16:00 - 17:00 (Asia/Kolkata)
The design of a simple classroom or creche can have a profound impact on the quality of early childhood education and a child’s overall development. Creating a stimulating learning environment not only supports disability inclusion, it also helps identify and address developmental challenges during formative years. The masterclass will focus on simple design elements and practical strategies to make anganwadis/ creches child-friendly, interactive and accessible. It will demonstrate how play and learning can be woven into every square inch of even the smallest retrofitted room, using easy, low-cost design interventions.
Beyond design solutions, the masterclass will also explore collaborative approaches to creating sustainable anganwadis and creches by working closely with government agencies, NGOs, and local communities. Drawing from real-world projects, it will examine how participatory design processes, cross-sector partnerships, and community engagement can help create early childhood spaces that are responsive, equitable, and built to last.
What to expect?

Practical design tools for creating engaging early childhood learning spaces.
Participatory methods that involve children and communities in the design process.
Implementation strategies that can be adapted across diverse early childhood and community contexts.
Design principles that show how thoughtful spaces can transform children’s learning and development, without requiring large budgets or additional space.

This masterclass is designed for:

NGO professionals
Government Officials
Architects
Educators

Katha Utsav 2026
2026-07-25 12:00 - 15:00 (Asia/Kolkata) | Ekstep Foundation, Koramangala
Join us for Katha Utsav 2026, the graduation ceremony for Cohort 2 of the FactorDaily x Bachpan Manao Storytelling Fellowship.
The Storytelling Fellowship brings together people embedded in early childhood spaces and equips them to tell their stories from the field. Anchored by journalist and FactorDaily Co-Founder Pankaj Mishra, the fellowship gave space to eleven storytellers to craft and share the everyday moments that they have been witness to across anganwadis, community centres, caregiver engagement and more.
At Katha Utsav, we gather as a community committed to making early childhood visible in homes, conversations, and public spaces, to celebrate this journey of theirs and the stories it has given words to.

Small Actions, Big Change: Behaviour Change Through Month-Long Campaigns
2026-08-11 16:00 - 17:00 (Asia/Kolkata)
Every campaign that is intended to nudge entrenched behaviours or beliefs relies on intelligent and sensitive choices. Rocket Learning takes you inside one such campaign and how they designed and iterated on it. Starting from a field visit in Maharashtra, they will show how watching mothers and Anganwadi workers use their content which led them to change how often they sent it, and how Mummy Hai Sab Janti Hai was built on a simple premise: that mothers are already in the best position to educate their child; one just needs to encourage them to be confident. They will open up the CARE index they design against, walk through a real week of collateral, and share what parents told them when they tried to assess the campaign’s effectiveness.

What to expect?

How field visits are integral to designing collateral for one’s target group
How to anchor campaign content to identify and shift specific behaviours
A simple checklist you can run on your own parent engagement exercises

This masterclass is designed for:

Government ECCE and WCD programme teams doing parent outreach
NGO programme and communications staff running family engagement
Anyone designing content for low-bandwidth, WhatsApp-first audiences
