About Read India Celebration (RIC )

 

About RIC

Read India Celebration (International) is not a competition but a grand stage to celebrate readers, knowers, gyani’s, vidyavan and leaders from India and across the world. It’s an annual Readership and Leadership festival for school (standard 3rd – 12th) & college (undergraduate & graduate) students. It is a unique initiative for students to indulge in a transformative non-academic reading, problem solving and leadership experience. A platform for students from all backgrounds, geographies, cultures, societies to share knowledge, opinions, discuss ideas & solutions to issues that matter to them. A platform to celebrate knowledge and propagators of Gyan and Independent Thinking (Jagruth Swatantra Soonch) based culture. It’s a stage to reinforce the value and importance of Gyan & Independent Thinking as a means to prosperity & peaceful coexistence.

A stage to remind students that our ignorance, ignorant people & ignorant societies are the greatest threat to our own wellness, humanity and the ecosystem we live in. RIC is a platform to empower Shikshit (literate) to become Vidyavan. A platform where every participant is a winner in their own way.

RIC 2021 – Read, Think, Act – Is to Enable / Enhance / Empower the Read (3R’s), Think (Independent), Act (Intelligent) factor in students for success…

1. Read focuses on 3 R’s

a.   Reading Books

b.   Reading Self

c.    Reading Situations

2. Think focuses on 3 things which can be done to get you where you want to be

3. Act focuses on doing 3 things on a daily basis for conscious & continuous improvement

Participate in Read India Celebration 2021 (International)

In 3 simple steps:

1. REGISTER HERE
2. Read – Read a book or research on a topic (refer to the proposed list of 25 themes / topics below; students are free to choose any book / topic of their choice)
3. Submit / Upload below 2 files i.e. a & b to RIC website from student dashboard (Upload Files Tab after you Login in to RIC: 

a. Doc file: A 2 page summary (PDF or MS Word doc)

– Section#1 / Page1: Summarize the message & learnings in the book / Independent views on the research topic / theme (Minimum 3 Pros & Cons + conclusion)  in your own words (*Either book or research not both)

– Section#2 / Page2: Describe and propose a solution to any problem of your choice from “Upload Files tab in students dashboard”

b. Video file: Make a 1 to 2 minutes video about the message & learning from the book / research topic starting with a self-introduction

* Submit both doc & video file at the same time i.e. select 2 files and save by 15Sep2021 from students dashboard (Upload Files Section)

*For students in India, Hindi & English language submissions are allowed.

Note: Students of all nationalities from around the world can participate. International submissions only in English language.

Timelines for RIC 2021:

1. Last date for student registrations – Aug 31st, 2021
2. Last date for student submissions – Sep 15th, 2021
3. Round #2 screening begins for 100 qualifiers (could move subject to volume of participants) – Sep / Oct, 2021
4. Leadership coaching sessions for round #2 qualifiers – Oct / Nov, 2021
5. Grand Finale for 4 finalists in each category – Dec 2021

Vision

Transition to Vidyavan (knowledge based) society from a Shikshit (literate) society.

Why Read India Celebration?

“Only knowledge-based cultures manifest into knowledge-based economies which pave the way to prosperity and harmony”. This initiative is to sow/enhance seeds of “Gyan and Leadership through Readership (i.e. reading books & self)” at school and college levels. From a known we can get to the unknown, never the other way round. No knowledge, no wellbeing is one of the key messages of RIC. For every person / society the journey to growth & success begins from knowing where they are? To keep it simple, only knowledge-based cultures can be progressive.

Read books & ‘Self” to experience how reading initiates us into knowledge & all-round growth. Just to remind (according to most global researches), all leaders in the world are readers and same is the case with successful people. The connection between vidya, readership & success is well established, world over. Reading books broadens & deepens the knowledge base and Reading Self leads to Knowing Self (i.e. knowing our strengths, priorities, areas of improvements, path of pursuance, happiness, pockets of distress, ignorance and much more) and Knowing Self is the basis to Leading Self > Living Life!

*Remember, ignorance is bliss followed by distress. Independent thinking & gyan (/knowledge) are not an option for an individual but the only path to growth, prosperity and harmony!

Nominated book for the year 2021 – Leading Self & Beyond (Download eBook)

Proposed Topic for the year 2021 – ”Use, Addiction and Abuse of Technology” – Can technology potentially empower (effective use) or hamper youth (addiction / abuse) of nations / world?

Why this topic for 2021?

Children & youth worldwide are increasingly spending more time on technology, gadgets, internet, gaming, social media, TV etc. with the advent of the Corona pandemic. According to research, children and youth all over the world are exposed to enormous risks & danger with increased exposure to technology and the only viable solution is increased awareness amongst students and youth who can draw the line between use and abuse, utility and futility of technology.

Cadence & Rules for RIC 2021

1. Students can read the nominated book “Leading Self & Beyond” (eBook can be downloaded from www.readindia.info / www.leadingself.net or read any book of their choice on the nominated topic or a topic of their own choice (e.g. changes in lifestyle due to corona pandemic, difference between Shiksha (literacy) & Vidya (education), Measure of Education, Knowledge based societies Vs Commerce based societies, Sports & youth, Role of education in evolution of a society etc.) and
2. Word submission i.e. Summary / views & findings / message & learnings from the book / topic should not be more than 2 A4 size pages, hand written or typed including 1 novel idea to solve any household /street / community / regional / national / international issue (e.g. Impact of ignorant leaders on societies/nations, commercially driven public policies, agrarian problems, drying of rivers, digital media propaganda, social media misinformation campaigns, depletion of ground water levels, traffic problems, decongestion of cities, obstruction to normal life due to street protests, river/air pollution, sea contaminations etc. Upload to the readindia.info website from students dashboard.
3. Video Submission: Start with self-introduction and should not be more 2 minutes. Summarize the written in voice format.

> Submissions will be evaluated for a total of 100 points (i.e. 20 points each for content, communication, research rigor / depth in understanding of the topic, creativity in solving the problem they chose to address & Video submission). Note: If the selected topic is of student’s own choice, evaluation will still happen for 100 points, but the evaluation criteria will be at the discretion of the evaluators. Choice of topic, originality & depth of analysis, summarization and the uniqueness of the idea in solving the issue will get the highest weightage.

*Reiterating – Originality, Research Rigor, Communication, Independent Thinking, Views & Creativity in the submission will be key.

> Top 100 students will qualify for round 2 from the online submissions (i.e. one pager, which can be written in any of the two languages i.e. Hindi or English) in each category i.e. School & College resp.

Special feature of RIC 2021 for round #2 qualifiers – Leadership coaching sessions by experts

1. Academician – Dr. Pradeep Kumar Ramancharla (Professor, AO – IIIT, Hyderabad)
2. Global Corporate Leader – Raj Panishetty (IT Automation Head / Senior Vice President of a Global Bank based out of New York)
3. Renowned Security Expert, Policy Analyst, Author – Abhinav Pandya (Founder & CEO, USANAS Foundation, Rajasthan)

>  Out of the 100 qualified students in round 2, 4 participants from each category (i.e. Category 1 – 3rd to 5th Grade; Category 2 – 6th to 9th Grade, Category 3 – 10th to 12th Grade, Category 4 – Undergraduate & Graduates students will make it to the RIC2021 Grand Finale which will be a speech & questionnaire round + 1 Wild Card entry

> Grand Finale shall be organized in the month of Dec 2021. Details on the date, time, technology platform for the grand finale to be confirmed in the month of Nov 2021.

Proposed Themes / Topics for the RIC 2021

1. Road ahead for Humanity – Knowledge Based Culture Vs Commerce Based Culture?
2. Leadership Styles – Values Or Valuables; Greed Or Honesty; Service Or Grandeur
3. Entrepreneurs Vs Job Seekers (Risk Vs Comfort?)
4. Creativity Vs Knowledge Vs Logic
5. Top priorities for state – Education, Health Care, Nature Care & Employment Creation?
6. Merit Based Society Vs Group or People Controlled Society – Pros & Cons!!
7. Beliefs Based Society Vs Independent Thinking Society – Merits & Demerits!!
8. Technology for Evolution (choice) Vs Technology for Devolution (addiction & abuse)?
9. Between Use and Abuse of Natural Resources – How to strike a balance?
10. Corona – Crisis Vs Opportunity Vs Punishment?
11. People in Policy – Courage (& the price to be paid) Vs Fear (& consequences)
12. A Progressive Society – Is it People or State driven?
13. A cultural shift to nurture creativity – From being part of the problem (/silent) to being part of the solution (think & experiment solutions!)
14. Leaders – How to draw the line between need & greed?
15. Is there a need to introduce a global citizen element in the school education system keeping the local flavors?
16. Indian Education Systems
17. Global Education Systems
18. The road to economic recovery for nations / world post Covid-19
19. Fixing accountability on countries spreading pandemics / global unrest
20. The need for stronger & accountable global bodies to deal with 21st century pandemics / global challenges
21. Is there a need to add a course / subject on Emotional Intelligence as part of the curriculum for high school students globally?
22. A student’s guide to preparing for the Unknowns & Uncertainties in life!
23. Is Knowledge the only thread which can keep the world united & harmonious in diversity?
24. Why do Ignorance & Intelligence go together in the “I / Self”? and how does one know from where the self is operating from (Intelligence or Ignorance?)?
25. Are Ignorant Leaders the greatest threat to our planet?

The winners in each category will be awarded

1. Category 1 | Grade 3rd to 5th – 1st Prize: Laptop; 2nd Prize: Tablet + Prize Money
2. Category 2 | Grade 6th to 9th – 1st Prize: Laptop; 2nd Prize: Tablet + Prize Money
3. Category 3 | 10th to 12th – 1st Prize: Laptop; 2nd Prize: Tablet + Prize Money
4. Category 4 | Undergrad & Grad – 1st Prize: Laptop; 2nd Prize: Tablet + Prize Money