Vidya Social Empowerment Center (VSEC) aims at empowering the essential pillars of society, namely students, parents, youth and teachers. VSEC has been initiating various motivational and awareness sessions throughout the year for the society. VSEC team consisting of 3 members visited the SOS Children’s Village, Thrissur and conducted a workshop on creativity on 22 April 2023. The workshop was designed to help children develop their creative thinking skills through various activities and games. The main resource person for the workshop was Mr Alex Chacko C (Asst Prof, ME Dept). He was accompanied by two VSEC student volunteers, Varundev A V (S4, ECE Dept) and Akhila M (S6, ECE Dept). The workshop was attended by around 20 students from 5th to 8th standard.

Objectives

• To introduce the concept of creativity and its importance
• To help children develop their creative thinking skills
• To encourage children to think outside the box and come up with innovative ideas
• To provide a platform for children to express their creativity through various activities and games

Methodology

1. Introduction to Creativity: In this session, the main resource person, Mr Alex Chacko C, gave a brief presentation on creativity and its importance in today’s world. He also talked about how creativity can be developed and nurtured through various methods.
2. Activities and Games: The second part of the workshop consisted of various activities and games that were designed to stimulate the children’s creative thinking skills. These activities included brainstorming sessions, problem-solving activities, and creative writing exercises.

The workshop was a great success, and the children actively participated in all the activities and games. The children showed a keen interest in developing their creative thinking skills and came up with some excellent ideas during the group discussions. The workshop also helped to build the children’s confidence and encouraged them to think outside the box.

The opportunity at this village was put forward by Dr Sudha Balagopalan (Dean, Academics) as  part of extending the  IEEE Smart Village, Vocational Training Programme sessions to schools of contact under VSEC and Brahma Vidya. It provided a platform for children to express their creativity and develop their creative thinking skills. The workshop was a great success, and the children showed a keen interest in learning more about creativity.