Community Visual News Network

On World Environment Day, Media Science and Journalism students from Brainware University visited a community associated with Prayasam’s Duo Ranir Songshar (DRS), where a community pop-up sale showcased sustainable crafts and livelihood initiatives. The students assisted with product displays, interacted with customers, and gained first-hand exposure to community-based entrepreneurship and sustainable fashion. A key attraction was the collection of reversible Kantha quilts, handcrafted using traditional patchwork techniques. The event also highlighted Prayasam’s Love Me Twice initiative, which transforms discarded materials into eco-friendly products. Through this experience, students witnessed how sustainability, creativity, and traditional craftsmanship can come together to support environmental awareness and meaningful livelihood opportunities.

Today, with the Media Science and Journalism students of Brainware University, we explored something that sits at the intersection of creativity and self-awareness — the art of creating miniature handmade books as an exercise in personal expression and deep reflection.
Each student was invited to fill their small, handcrafted book with something far more demanding than an assignment: their own poems, their own words, their own stories — written in their own voice, without a template to follow or a right answer to reach for.
Because a book made this way becomes something more than a creative object. It becomes an alter ego. A mirror. A quiet, private space where doubts can be named, confusion can be held, and the questions we carry about ourselves can finally be put down on a page.
For aspiring journalists, this kind of inward work is not a detour from their profession — it is the foundation of it. Before you can report honestly on the world outside, you need to be able to look honestly at the world within. The ability to approach your own thoughts with objectivity — to observe yourself without flinching — is one of the most essential and least taught skills in journalism, especially in an era when yellow journalism and manufactured noise make clear-eyed, self-aware reporting more urgent than ever.
What we discovered in this session was as much about the students as it was about the craft. And that, perhaps, was the point.
A meaningful afternoon of creativity, introspection, and genuine self-discovery.

The Media Science and Journalism students of Brainware University were oriented today on the crucial interplay between Gender and Democracy. At Prayasam, we have long believed that biases and preconceived judgments can significantly limit an individual’s personal and professional growth. This is why we begin our engagement by assessing a person’s Gender Quotient (GQ). Through
interactive methods such as debates, card games, and reflective exercises, we foster meaningful dialogue, self-awareness, and critical thinking. Our Founder has been actively involved in gender sensitisation for many years, regularly conducting impactful sessions for students from universities across India and abroad. The gender module used in these sessions is accredited by XLRI, Jamshedpur, and has proven to be a powerful tool in nurturing values of equality, dignity, and inclusion among young minds.