School: Sarada Vidya Mandir
    Raiganj, West Bengal, INDIA

7 students, ages 13-15 worked together to complete this CyberFair project on March 20, 2008. They have participated in CyberFair in the following year(s): 2007, 2008

Classes and Teachers: Lorenz Barman

E-Mail contact:

Our School's Web Site: http://www.svmhs.org

1. Description of Our Community

This project addresses the community of young people in the age brackets of 12-18 in India and abroad. Because of their perceived vulnerabilities, young people have been constantly preyed on by human traffickers. Young people are therefore key stakeholders in the global issue of human trafficking and being so have a lot of say on how governments should deal with traffickers and how the youth as a community could learn important skills in empowering themselves to tackle the problem which affects them so much. Together, all the young people in the world may just be the force needed to put a stop to human trafficking.

2. Summary of Our Project

The Young People's Initiative Against Human Trafficking is a capacity building, advocacy and campaign intervention directed towards government policy change. It aims to provide skills and tools in advocacy to young people in the age brackets of 12 to 18 and finally to mobilise them in pushing governments to deal with the issue of human trafficking uncompromisingly.

3. Our Computer and Internet Access

A. Percentage of students using the Internet at home:less than 20

B. Number of workstations with Internet access in the classroom:2-3

C. Connection speed used in the classroom:dial-up modem

D. Number of years our classroom has been connected to the Internet:1

4. Problems We Had To Overcome

While the the Indian government is supposed to have provided the required communications and I.T. infrastructure, the issue of internet connectivity in rural areas could still use a lot of work.

5. Our Project Sound Bite

The International Schools CyberFair has given us a powerful tool to reach out to the world and make our voices heard.

6. How did your activities and research for this CyberFair Project support standards, required coursework and curriculum standards?

With the Indian Central Board of Secondary Education's (CBSE)contructivist approach to socially-relevant education, the Young People's Initiative Against Human Trafficking fulfills an important aspect of student development in (Language) communication, civics, and Information Technology. We have learned so much about an issue that affects young people, acquired tools and skills to affect change, and earned enough capacity and confidence to deal with society and all there is in it.

1) What information tools & technologies did you used to complete your CyberFair project?

Raiganj being a small town of less than 500,000 people, educational support facilities such as the two libraries have inadequate store of reference books. As such we have been totally dependent on materials on the issue of human trafficking found in the net.

We used five of the school's Pentium powered PCs, a Sony PD 150, a Nikon Coolpix S5, and an HP flatbed scanner to process images and texts.

The softwares we have extensively used were the following: 1. Microsoft Word 2. Adobe Photoshop 7 3. Macromedia Fireworks 4 4. Macromedia Flash 5 5. Macromedia Dreamweaver 4 6. Adobe Premiere 6.5

2) In what ways did you act as "ambassadors" and spokespersons for your CyberFair project both on-line and in person.

Participation in the International Schools CyberFair requires a lot of talking to policy-makers and social-movers. Our level of involvement in the war against human trafficking have surprised a lot of government officials, NGO workers, educators and students alike. That we have used technology, specifically the internet, in trying to push for social changes has convinced policymakers that we mean business.

3) What has been the impact of your project on your community?

Functionaries in NGOs such as Terre des Hommes, Action Aid, CRY and Christian Children's Fund as well as well functionaries from key government agencies got a little shaking after knowing that Class VIII students have been deeply involved in tackling the issue of human trafficking.

4) How did your project involve other members of your community as helpers and volunteers?

State and national networks of NGOs working against human trafficking have welcomed and supported us all through out. Extending our group membership in the network perhaps indicates how they think we could make a considerable contribution in the war against human trafficking.