Team L&M
Union Education and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, launched a novel comic book titled Let’s Move Forward, yesterday at Kaushal Bhawan, New Delhi. This comic book is a collaborative effort between the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) and UNESCO New Delhi. It signifies a significant stride towards augmenting the goals of the School Health and Wellness Programme (SHWP). The primary objective of SHWP is to impart health education, prevent diseases, and enhance access to health services through wellness centres within educational institutions.
Speaking on the occasion, Pradhan highlighted that this book will motivate students to prioritise holistic well-being while entertaining them through storytelling, with key focus on good health and wellness. He also stressed on the importance of stories in conveying important messages such as mental health and hoped that more such comic books will be developed in future. Good stories are extremely important for developing societal harmony and well-being, he stated.
He urged UNESCO to spread Indian stories so that it benefits not only the youth of India but that of the entire world. “Explore, Experiment and Experience are going to be of great significance. With the Amrit Kaal, a wave has to be created to spread the Indian knowledge in the entire world as a guiding light,” he said.
Let’s Move Forward comic book is designed to cater to the diverse requirements of adolescents and encapsulates crucial information pertaining to the 11 thematic components of the School Health and Wellness Programme. These encompass a comprehensive range of subjects, including emotional well-being, interpersonal relationships, gender equality, nutrition and health, substance abuse prevention, healthy lifestyles, reproductive health, internet safety, and more.
The book imparts life skills essential for fostering responsible and health-conscious behaviour among adolescents. This innovative approach serves to not only disseminate health-related knowledge but also facilitate the acquisition of life skills necessary for comprehensive personal development. It is accessible in multiple languages, including Hindi, English, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odiya, Tamil, and Telugu, to ensure inclusivity across linguistic diversity.
The book will be given to various educational and health institutions across the nation like State School Education Departments, SCERTs, Colleges of Teacher Education (CTEs), Institutes of Advanced Study in Education (IASEs), District Institutes of Education and Training (DIETs), Block Institutes of Teacher Education (BITEs), and state health departments as well as 29,000 schools affiliated with the CBSE.
An electronic version of the comic book will also be accessible on the Ministry of Education (MoE), NCERT, UNESCO, and DIKSHA websites.
