A three-day National Workshop on ‘The Localization of Sustainable Development Goals (LSDGs) in Gram Panchayats through Adopting Thematic Approach of Theme -1: ‘Poverty Free & Enhanced Livelihoods Gram Panchayats’ was held at CIAL Convention Centre, Kochi Kerala from 14-16 November 2022.  Shri Kapil Mureshwar Patil, Minister of State (MoPR), Government of India inaugurated the workshop by lighting the lamp.

Shri M.B. Rajesh, Minister, Department of Local Self - Governments, Government of Kerala delivered the Keynote address. He expressed his gratitude to MoPR for giving the state of Kerala the opportunity to host the National Conference on the localization of SDG. He opinionated that it is a great opportunity for Kerala to share our experience with the delegates from other States and also it's a learning experience which is mutually beneficial. He also mentioned that this conference is having a wider agenda to discuss the possibility of localization of SDGs in 9 themes. Grama Panchayats’ discussion aims to create awareness on the National level importance of addressing the issues of marginalization. Also the discussions should focus on the inclusion and access to basic services and also social security and protection system through Grama Panchayats. 

Panel Discussions were held on topics such as Addressing Marginalisation – Inclusion and Multi-Dimensional Poverty, Realizing the potential of SHGs for Income Enhancement and Community Development, The Role of Panchayats in Addressing Income Poverty, Safety Net for Social, Economic and Environmental Protection through Panchayats, Best Practices on Poverty-Free and Enhanced Livelihood GPs from the State of Kerala and The Way Forward.

Smt. Sarada G. Muraleedharan, Additional Chief Secretary Government of Kerala delivered the Welcome Address. Shri. Kapil Mureshwar Patil released the video of compendium by clicking the remote. More than 350 videos were prepared on the topic localization of SDG in various themes such as poverty free and enhanced livelihood village, healthy village, child friendly village, water sufficient village, clean and green villages, self-sufficient infrastructure, socially secured village, good governance village, engendered village etc.

Shri V. Muraleedharan, Minister of State of External Affairs, Government of India, Shri M. B. Rajesh, Minister, Department of Local Self-Government, Government of Kerala, Smt. Sarada G. Muraleedharan, Additional Chief Secretary, Government of Kerala, Shri. Nagendranath Sinha, Secretary MoRD, Government of India, Shri. Sunil Kumar, Secretary, MoPR, Government of India, Dr. Sharmila Mary Joseph, Principal Secretary, Department of Local Self-Government, Government of Kerala was present at the function.

'Thakadhimi 2022', State Level BUDS Youth Festival has been inaugurated. Shri. M. B Rajesh, Minister, Local Self Government Department, Government of Kerala inaugurated the programme at CUSAT Campus, Kalamassery, Ernakulam on 13 November 2022. He said that specially abled children have unique talents and skills and BUDS institutions are the most impressive and proud one among Kudumbashree's social interventions. BUDS Youth Festival is being held at Kudumbashree on 13 and 14 November 2022. 

Shri. P. Rajeev, Minister for Industries, Government of Kerala presided over the function. Shri. Hibi Eden, MP was the Chief Guest of the occasion. Shri. Ullas Thomas,  President, Ernakulam District Panchayath and Chairman, BUDS District Advisory Committee launched the documentary on BUDS Livelihood Centres.

Painting done by Akshay Raj of Thrithala BUDS School, Palakkad was gifted to Shri. M.B. Rajesh, Minister, Shri. Jafar Malik IAS, Executive Director, Kudumbashree welcomed the gathering. Shri. R. Pradeep Kumar, State Programme Officer, Kudumbashree, Dr. B. Najeeb, District Mission Co-ordinator, Kudumbashree Thiruvananthapuram District Mission, Shri. S.C. Nirmal, District Mission Co-ordinator, Kudumbashree Thrissur District Mission, Ms. Sujatha Velayudhan, Ms. Fatima Muhammad, CDS chairpersons of  Kalamassery Municipality CDSs and other officials participated. Ms. M.B. Preethi, District Mission Co-ordinator, Kudumbashree Ernakulam District Mission delivered the vote of thanks.

328 talents who topped the District Level Youth Festivals are selected in 15 categories at the State Level Youth Festival. Folk dance, Oppana, Group Dance, Fancy Dress, Light Music, Mimicry, Drawing and Painting Competitions were also held on the first day in three venues namely Theithaka, Dholak and Canvas.

The logo of the National Saras Mela 2022 proposed to be held at Kottayam was released and the Organizing Committee was formed. Shri. V.N. Vasavan, Minister of Co-operation and Culture, Government of Kerala inaugurated the organizing committee formation meeting and released the logo during the function held at Mamman Mappila Hall, Kottayam on 12 November 2022. Saras Mela, which brings products and food varieties of entrepreneurs from different states of India at one place, will be held from 15 to 24 December 2022 at Nagampadam Ground, Kottayam. Ms. Nirmala Jimmy, President, District Panchayath presided over the function.

Saras Theme Music Audio was release  by Shri. Thomas Chazhikkadan MP. The first sale of the gift coupons issued in connection with Saras Mela was carried out by Ms. Bincy Sebastian, Municipal Chairperson. Shri. Jafar Malik IAS, Executive Director, Kudumbashree explained the Saras Mela scheme. Saras Mela's logo was designed by Shri. Pradeep Kumar, a native of Kecheri, Perumannu of Thrissur district. The logo depicts the 25th anniversary of Kudumbashree and also influence and faith of Kudumbashree in the society and the advancement of women through it. The theme music is composed by Shri. D. Jayadev, Music Director.

Shri. Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, MLA,  Dr. P.K. Jayashree IAS, District Collector, Kottayam, Shri. Mukesh K. Mani, Secretary, Block Panchayath President Association, Shri. Ajayan K. Menon, Secretary, Grama Panchayath President Association, Shri. Tomichan Joseph, Ms. Omana Gopalan, Block Panchayath Presidents, Shri. Abhilash K. Divakar, District Mission Coordinator, Kudumbashree Kottayam District Mission, Shri. Prakash P. Nair, Assistant District Mission Coordinator, also spoke at the function.  Chairpersons of local self-governing bodies of the district, CDS chairpersons and Kudumbashree District Mission officials also participated in the programme. 

Organizing Committee of the Saras Mela was formed with Shri. V.N. Vasavan, Minister as Chief Patron, MPs, MLAs, District Panchayath President, Kottayam Municipal Chairperson as Patrons and Dr. P.K. Jayasree, District Collector as Chairman and Shri. Abhilash K. Divakar, Kudumbashree Kottayam District Mission Co-ordinator as Convener. Nine sub-committees were also formed.

Winners of the Competition to suggest logo and name for the BUDS State Youth Festival 2022 has been announced. Ms. Sreelakshmi M.A, a native of Mathilakam of Thrissur district bagged the first position in the State Level Logo Design Competition organized by the Kudumbashree Ernakulam District Mission. She is a second year student of M.F. A  Applied Arts at  RLV College, Thrippunithura. Rs 5000 will be given as reward.

Ms. Danny Varghese, native of Ernakulam district came first in the name-suggesting contest. The name 'Thakadhimi' bagged the prize. Ms Danny is the Social Development/DDU-GKY Block Coordinator at Ernakulam District Mission. Rs 10,000 will be given as reward.

Kudumbashree Signature Store has been opened at Karipur International Airport. Shri. M.B. Rajesh, Minister, Local Self Government Department, Government of Kerala inaugurated the Signature Store at Karipur International Airport on 10 November 2022. "Kudumbashree brand has opened its doors to the world at Kozhikode International Airport". The Minister said. He gave this title to this initiative while inaugurating Kudumbashree's signature store at Karipur International Airport.

He said that Kudumbashree has sprouted wings and the fame of Kudumbashree is growing beyond the borders. Kudumbashree Signature Store is being opened for the first time at an International Airport in the state under the 'Avsar' scheme launched by the Central Government as part of encouraging self-help groups. Only Karipur International Airport in the state has been included in Avsar project.

The 80 square feet store in the International Departure Hall has the best products manufactured by the Kudumbashree units of the district and other parts of the state. In the first phase, food products, handicrafts, clothes etc. will be available in the store. Shri. Muhammadali Chemban, President, Pallikal Grama Panchayath presided over the function. Shri. Jafar Malik IAS, Executive Director Kudumbashree explained the project. Shri. S. Suresh, Director, Karipur International Airport made the first sale.

Shri. K. Abdul Kalam Master, President, Peruvallur Grama Panchayath,  Ms. C.T. Fatima Suharabi, Chairperson, Kondotty Municipality, Shri. S. Sundar, Joint General Manager, Airport Operations, Shri.  A.V. Kishore, C.I. F Deputy Commandant, Shri. R. Rajesh, Commercial Joint General Manager, Shri.  S. S. Mohammad Shan, State Assistant Programme Manager, Kudumbashree, Shri. Jafar K. Kakkooth, District Mission Coordinator, Kudumbashree Malappuram District Mission, Shri. P. Reneesh,  District Programme Manager, Shri, P.E. Salmath, CDS Chairperson, Pallikkal Gram Panchayath, Ms. C.P. Fatima Beevi, CDS Chairperson, Kondotty Municipality, Ms. K.T. Sreeja, Entrepreneur Representative, Ms. P.K. Zainaba, Kudumbashree Governing Body Member and others participated in the function.

The results of Kudumbashree Oru Nerchithram’ Photography Competition Season 5 has been announced. Shri. Sandeep Sebastian, Kannamkulam House, Erumely, Kottayam bagged the first prize. Shri. Suresh Cameo, Thekkumbatt House, Thekkankuroor, Malappuram came second and Shri. Vincent Pulikkal, Senior Photographer, The New Indian Express, Thiruvananthapuram Bureau came in the third place. The Award for the Best Photographer is Rs. 25,000. The second prize and third prize are Rs. 15,000 and Rs. 10,000 respectively. Other ten pictures were selected for the Consolation Prizes. Cash Award of Rs. 2000 each will be given as Consolation Prize.  The jury consisted of Shri. C. Ratheesh, Senior Photographer, Shri. B. Jayachandran, Senior Photographer, Shri. V. Vinod, Chief Photographer, Information and Public Relations Department, Government of Kerala, selected the winners.

The photo clicked at a Kudumbashree Janakeeya Hotel made Sandeep eligible for the first place. The jury commented that this film which was titled as 'Enough, both the stomach and mind are full' was very heart touching. The jury also stated that the images that express the message of Kudumbashree and command the perfection of photography have been selected.

The competition was organized from 22 August 2022 till 13 October 2022. The winning films were selected from over 700 entries in the well-attended competition. Shri. Akhil E.S, Shri. Kelvin Kavassery, Shri. Arun Krishnankutty, Shri. Madhu Edachena, Shri. Bonyem Kalam, Shri. Josekutty Panakkal, Shri. Mithun Anila Mithran, Shri. Badaruddin, Shri. Shameer Oorappalli and Shri. Saju Naduvil.

To see the award winning pictures, please click : www.kudumbashree.org/photography2022

Kudumbashree Kannur District Mission's 'Woman Film Festival' has become a big hit. Kudumbashree members got an opportunity to immerse themselves in the magical world of cinema by putting aside household chores and busy work. The film festival was organized by the 81 CDSs of Kannur district in collaboration with the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy. So far more than 10,000 Kudumbashree members have participated in the festival organized at 69 places.

The festival also has the mission of introducing films that have gained national and international attention to the inner villages. The cinema is shown from 10 AM to 5 PM on a fixed day in a particular CDS. The exhibition space will be decided according to the availability of school and panchayat auditoriums. The exhibition will be arranged in such a way that up to 150 people can watch the movie at a time.

The film festival showcases notable films like Basanti, Freedom Fight, The Great Indian Kitchen, Manhole, Ottamuri Velicham, and Ozhimuri. Apart from the NHG members, their family members and Auxiliary Group members are also part of the mela. Kudumbashree Kannur District Mission aims to complete the screening of films in the remaining CDSs by November 2022.

Kudumbashree has launched ALIVE 2022 Campaign to improve and achieve self-sufficiency and equip the Community Resource Persons (CRPs) at the CDS level in various animal welfare livelihood activities implemented in the state through Kudumbashree as part of the National Rural Livelihood Mission project.

As part of this, Kudumbashree will give five-day CRP training to the master farmers selected from 941 CDS in rural areas of the state. Those who successfully complete the training will be empaneled as CRPs by their respective CDSs. CDS will provide their services in selected wards under the leadership of CDS Enterprise Sub-Committee. The services provided by CRPs are to avoid losses due to diseases and introduce better practices.

The first phase of CRP training was conducted in Thiruvananthapuram from 1 to 5 November 2022. One person each was selected from the blocks and was extended training. The remaining selected CDSs will complete their training by 15 December 2022. Master farmers interested to act as CRPs may contact their respective CDSs. Voluntary members can apply to find and introduce best maintenance practices and ensure integration in the designated cluster and work on self-employed basis for service fee.

Shri. Jafar Malik IAS, Executive Director, Kudumbashree distributed certificates to the participants of the first phase training. Dr. Sajeev Kumar A, Programme Officer, Kudumbashree and Shri. Ratheesh. S, State Assistant Programme Manager gave leadership to the training programme.

A Three-Day State Level Training was held for the Block Co-ordinators the Micro Enterprises section.  The training will be conducted in three batches from 17 October 2022 to  4 November 2022. A total of 122 block co-ordinators participated in the training.  Experts conducted classes on various topics like micro-enterprises, marketing, local economic development, Thozhil Sabha, work of block co-ordinators at community level, various schemes of Kudumbashree and capacity building etc.

Shri. Sreekanth A.S, Chief Operating Officer, NRLM, Suchithra S, State Programme Manager, Kudumbashree, Akhila Devi. P, Renu Georgy and Jayasree S, State Assistant Program Managers, Kudumbashree gave leadership to the training program.

District Level BUDS Youth Festivals are creating history. The differently abled children from across the state are making history through art performances like singing, dancing, drawing, mimicry, mono act, masking, etc without reducing the passion, eloquence and artistic value through BUDS Youth Festivals. The district-level BUDS Youth Festivals for children of BUDS institutions (BUDS Schools and BUDS Rehabilitation Centers) run by Kudumbashree in association with local self-government bodies for differently-abled children began in Idukki on 20 October 2022. This year's BUDS Youth Festivals will conclude with the State Youth Festival which is proposed to be held at Ernakulam on 13-14 November 2022.

BUDS Youth Festivals have already been held in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Idukki, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Palakkad, Wayanad, Kannur and Kasaragod districts. The youth festivals in the remaining districts will be completed by the 5 November 2022. About 1500 children from more than 250 BUDS Institutions in these districts took part in the youth festivals.