Delhi : A wonderful cultural amalgamation of Indian and Malaysian culture, was witnessed at the Cultural Exchange Programme of the Girl Guide Association of Malaysia with CWSN Bharat Scouts &Guides, Directorate of Education, GNCT of Delhi. With an objective of inspiring and motivating each other, a small step towards promoting cross cultural ties was taken through this programme for the first time in the history of Scouting on 25th May, 2023 at Delhi Government school SKV No. 1, C Block, Yamuna Vihar, Delhi. 13 members of Girl Guide Association of Malaysia visited India along with Chairperson of APRC WAGGGS between 22nd May 2023 to 26th May 2023. Under the leadership of Ms Razia Begum, DDE NE-1, 100 CWSN of Scouts & Guides participated in the programme along with 50 Teachers, 25 Principals along with the official staff from the Office of District North East I, 5 BS&G officials got together to put up a splendid cultural show.
Resurrecting Non-Formal Education by virtue of Scouting and Guiding of CWSN students set an excellent example for others with the noble objective of care and share. The success journey of such CWSN Scouting dates back to December 2022, when 16 CWSN scouts and guides from department of education participated in the 18th National Jamboree of the Bharat Scouts and Guides at Pali Rajasthan where they were appreciated for their unwavering determination and commendable performance. CWSN of District North East were applauded world wide too as they paved the path for other such future endeavours. Moreover, CWSN, DOE contingent is now all set to be part of 25th World Scout Jamboree which will take place in SaeManGeum, Republic of Korea from 1st to 12th August2023, with the theme, “Draw Your Dream.”
The Cultural exchange event was graced by the valuable presence of dignitaries such as worthy Secretary of Education, Sh. Ashok Kumar in addition to the eminent Malaysian delegates of Girl Guide Association of Malaysia as well as Indian delegates of Bharat Scouts& Guides.
The visiting delegates were welcomed by the traditional ‘Tilak’ and garlands with great warmth. Then guests were given a tour of the exhibition of the Scouting gadgets prepared by the young Scouts and Guides on their way to the MP Hall.
The event started on an auspicious note with the Scouts and Guides Prayer which was then followed with the presentation of scarf to all the guests as part of a ceremonial welcome. This was followed with a formal welcome address by the cwsn scout and guide. This set the stage for the cultural delight that began with an energetic performance of zumba. This was succeeded by an ebullient display of Malay song and dance performed with great elan.
Next, an invigorating patriotic rendition of community song ‘Taqat Watan ki humse hai’ and group song ‘we shall overcome’. These were aptly complemented by an spellbinding dance on ‘Jai Ho’. Malaysian delegation also enthralled the audience with their euphoric performance. This session also involved an interaction of the delegates with the CWSN scouts and guides wherein they were able to share their experiences.
Everyone felt immensely inspired and applauded the address of the Joint Director of Guides, Bharat Scouts and Guides, Smt. Darshana Pawaskar. She appealed to gather the support of the Special Educators in order to prepare a comprehensive curriculum for CWSN Scouts & Guides.
She expressed her joy and infused the young Scouts and Guides with her words of wisdom.
Thereafter, Leader of Malaysian Delegation Ms. S. Jeyadhevi S. Subramaniam praised the teachers of District North East I for providing quality education to the students despite high enrolment in the schools. She also assured the students to strive for organizing a similar exchange programme for our students in Malaysia.
She said, ” 14 delegates have arrived from a small country like ours so, we expect that now a delegation at least four times of this number must make a visit to Malaysia as part of future cultural exchange.”
Hon’ble Secretary of Education, GNCT of Delhi, Shri Ashok Kumar in his engaging address, also emphasized the fact that the students were actively engaged and felt happy to be involved in such an inclusive manner. He showered generous praise for the excitement and Happiness on the faces of participants and noted the commendable efforts of the young Scouts & Guides of DoE. He also highlighted the need of more such exchange programmes and involvement of a much more cwsn students to provide them rich global exposure. Secretary Sir advised them to ‘break the barriers’ and keep learning to become active citizen of our democratic nation.
Thereafter, delegates were presented the handcrafted souvenirs from Banaras as a token of love and lifelong friendship.
This was followed by a vote of thanks graciously presented by respected DDE NE I, Ms. Razia Begum who expressed her deep gratitude for all the Malaysian delegates, Bharat Scouts & Guides Officials, Honourable Secretary of Education, DDE zone 04, Principals of Zone IV, teachers of District North East I, Support Staff along with participant CWSN Students of DoE. She also expressed her heartfelt gratitude towards the DM, North-East Sh Arun Mishra and DCP North East Delhi Sh. Joy N. Tirkey for extending whole-hearted support and cooperation of all concerned agencies for the successful organization of this event from the very first meeting.
DDE North East 1 Smt Razia Begum , in her address stressed upon the fact that such a comprehensive exposure of cwsn students in such entertaining, engrossing and inclusive manner will prove to be highly effective for them and lead to their Happiness and Holistic development. The Cultural extravaganza concluded with the National Anthem sung by scouts and guides in an inclusive manner with sign language and later the guests were served the high tea.
After the tea break, scouts and guides, officials of Bharat Scouts and Guides, DoE and all the delegates witnessed sunset while enjoying the boat ride in river Yamuna at Sonia Vihar Water Sports Club.
However, the highlight of the eventful day was the amazing camp fire that commenced in the evening with a soulful, mellifluous performance that captured perfectly, the myriad of emotions felt by everyone and reached a crescendo with a mesmerizing group dance on some popular beats from India and Malaysia symbolizing the Cultural confluence.
The events of the day came to a close after everyone enjoyed the sumptuous dinner.
The exchange programme gave students rich experiences in life skills, socialization, diversity, scouting, disclipline and thus led to expanding their horizons with qualitaty education. This exchange programme provided enormous exposure to the young CWSN Scouts and Guides for developing life skills and will continue inspiring and motivating others for year to come. DDE NE1 envisions in next 3 years to take not less than 250 CWSN Students to compete for the Rashtrapati Award and raise this number to 500 in the next 4 years, including CWSN students to next 19th National Jamboree that would take place in Sangam, Prayagraj. The sole objective of this cultural exchange intiative was the upliftment and empowerment of the underprivileged and deprived students by giving them global exposure to unleash their hidden strength and help them realise their true potential.