New Delhi: Centre for Civil Society (CCS), India's leading think-tank advocating social change through public policy, organized the fourth EduDoc Screening and Award Ceremony on Education: Regulatory Challenges, Innovations and Solutions at the Juniper Hall, India Habitat Centre (IHC). Every year, EduDoc brings the stories of education and the impact of policy on everyday education practice, into the spotlight. The winners this year were felicitated by Mr K G Suresh, the eminent journalist and Director General, Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), New Delhi.
EduDoc: International Short Film Competition brings out the relenting grassroots' stories of education to the fore. The jury consisting of education experts, social entrepreneurs, NGO representatives and filmmakers, had an arduous taskof sifting through more than 1700 national and international entries to shortlist the top 3 films that were screened and awarded cash prizes. The first best film Laleh Complex by Komeil Soheili, Iran was awarded INR 40,000, while the second and third best film winners Dreamers of Breswana by Praveen Pillay, India and Bringing Schools Where There are none by Gianmarco D'Agostino, Italy received INR 30,000 and INR 10,000 respectively. The competition witnessed a plethora of entries from 104 Asian, European, African and American countries. Some of the 5 minute films traced the innovative methodologies undertaken by organizations, individuals, groups and communities to ensure equitable access to education, harnessing technology optimally, inventing solutions and innovations to meet social and regulatory barriersto ensure holistic development of a child.
Recognising the growing popularity of EduDoc, this year we also launched the first edition of the EduDoc Fellows Program. Receiving 61 applications from 14 countries, the Fellowship program engaged a cohort of 8 committed fellows for a two month training and mentorship program on education policy and the essentials of documentary film-making. The program also included 2 training webinars to enable the participants to bridge their creative faculty and abilities with a critical understanding of the problems that continue to afflict the education policy worldwide. After the intense fellowship programme Vikiran by Mritunjay Sharma won the Best film award and was awarded INR 25,000.
Referring to the films screened at the EduDoc Award Ceremony, Mr KG Suresh, Director General, IIMC said, "These are the videos that make a difference and should reach as many people as possible.Today viewers are getting away from television for a simple reason, because they are getting to hear the same narrative. These films are the real stories that make a connection with the audience; they accentuate the on-ground realities and struggles in the education space."