‘Baatein Unlocked,’ Unique Youth Festival Breaking Taboos Innovatively

In an eventful month when the nation will celebrate International Youth Day (August 12), Adivasi Day (August 9), and Independence Day (August 15), a virtual youth festival is doing its bit to set minds free and unlock conversations on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) among under-represented young people. Steered by youth-led movement ‘Baatein Unlocked’ (BU), this one-of-a-kind online cultural fest is reaching out to youth through a series of virtual meet-ups, dance and music, skill building modules, youth forums, panels, influencer engagements, and offline activities.

What is interesting is how the fest has brought onboard content creators and pop culture influencers to spread awareness about SRHR even in rural and tribal areas.

For instance, a few days ago, Baatein Unlocked, in collaboration with Adivasi Originals, a platform that showcases tribal music, language, music, attire and cinema, and Nagpuri Tribal Hub, a platform that amplifies Nagpuri and other regional dancers and singers, hosted a series of Idea Jams that brought together dancers, singers, poets and actors to create content on SRHR. Talented young artists from various parts of India including Jharkhand and Odisha also performed virtually in front of over 300 people.

“It was quite an unusual experience to present contemporary as well as folk-dance forms like Domkach, Jhumair, and Lahasua before a virtual audience of young people and to also share information that can potentially empower them and encourage them to speak their minds about subjects that are considered taboo. This is why the theme of this session was "Learn dance steps and let’s unlock conversations,"' says B Boy R Wind, part of All Style Dance Crew from Ranchi and part of Nagpuri Tribal Hub.

Another dancer from the group, Ani Shelina says, “It was my aspiration to dance, but I wasn't allowed to dance due to family pressures. I recently started my journey with dance again, if you're true to yourself, you can take decisions. You can take a stand and be vocal about education, independence, career, and choices."

A unique aspect of this outreach initiative by 'Baatein Unlocked' is the relatability of the content creators. These are a strong part of the youth community, often representing similar demographics, lifestyles, problems, challenges, identities, and aspirations, making them extremely relatable to the average teenager.

Dhruv Arora a representative of ‘Baatein Unlocked’ added, “The festival is an attempt to meet youth where they are physically and metaphorically. By being technologically accessible, linguistically relatable, and with the help of pop culture influencers and local content creators, we are now talking to youth who have never engaged with SRHR before. Through these networks, conversations about contraceptive use, relationships, consent, gender, sexuality, and identity have now reached over 2,30,000 young people. We are now hoping to unlock even more spaces where the young can express themselves without fear of judgment."

The second session of the festival on 12 August will celebrate Adivasi Diwas and International Youth Day in partnership again with 'Nagpuri Tribal Hub' and showcase tribal identities, diverse cultures, and songs along with starting a dialogue with the audience.

More than 10 micro-influencers will also be brought in to address the audience. Various offline activities like informative puppet shows and wall art sessions will be conducted