Gender-transformative curricula to foster social change in India: The case of Breakthrough’s civic participation module

• In Event: Leveraging education for power and protest: Evidence and practice from a systematic review and projects in Bangladesh, India, and Zambia

Proposal

Breakthrough India works nationally to eliminate gender-based violence and foster equitable gender norms through gender transformative curricula implemented in schools, as well as work with media. Central to Breakthrough’s approach is the civic participation component of their Adolescent Empowerment Programme (AEP) and Team Change Leaders programme. Operating in four states (Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and Jharkhand) the Team Change Leaders programme aims to instill a sense of social responsibility, active citizenship, and community engagement among young people aged 15 to 18 and 19 to 25. Breakthrough works extensively with young people, reaching over 125,000 11 to 18-year-olds, through a deep transformation model that helps adolescents develop a stronger identity and the confidence to make their own life decisions, empowering them to embark on a journey of becoming gender champions. To ensure that they have an enabling environment to do so Breakthrough works with their families, the community at large, and key stakeholders such as frontline workers, Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRI) members, school management, and state authorities. The overall goal is to create a generation of informed and empowered young individuals who actively challenge harmful gender norms, work towards gender equality, and contribute to reducing gender-based violence in their communities. Additionally, to enable civic action, digital workshops on advocacy skills such as content development, campaigns, bystander interventions, and issue based training on gender norms and intersectionality have reached over 1600 youth across the country. This presentation will share details from Breakthrough’s curriculum and approach, as well as lessons learned and plans for evaluation. 

Authors

• Sunita Menon, Breakthrough Trust

• Nicole Haberland, Population Council