Cheysta Girls Fest 2025 for celebrating International Girls Child Day

Bhubaneswar (12/10/2025): Cheysta Girls Fest 2025 celebrated International Day of the Girl Child VIEWS, in collaboration with the Cheysta Girls Collective—a network of girls’ clubs formed to empower adolescent girls living in the urban slums of Bhubaneswar organized “Cheysta Girls Fest 2025” to celebrate the International Day of the Girl Child. The program commenced with the lighting of the ceremonial lamp by the esteemed guests, followed by a welcome dance performance by adolescent girls from urban Bhubaneswar. Sunil Kumar Ghadei, Program Director of VIEWS, addressed the gathering and highlighted the purpose and objectives of the festival, emphasizing the importance of creating safe and inclusive spaces for girls’ voices to be heard. A key highlight of the event was the Balika Manch (Adolescent Girls’ Dialogue), where six adolescent girls from different slum communities shared their views on critical social issues affecting girls. G.Roja Reddy spoke on the impact of social media on adolescents. Puja Jani addressed the issue of child marriage. Tulashi Sethi discussed menstrual hygiene. Sunita Champia talked about drug addiction among youth. N.Sumitra Reddy raised concerns about girl trafficking. Santoshini Das spoke about domestic violence. This powerful session was moderated by Jitendra Rath from the Azim Premji Foundation. Following this, a panel discussion was held with guests from various development organizations, media representatives, and social activists.

The Chief Guest, MLA Babu Singh, shared his thoughts on the importance of empowering the girl child and ensuring her right to equality, education, and safety.

The discussion emphasized the need for collective action to enable girls to overcome everyday challenges and achieve their full potential. An award ceremony recognized individuals and organizations for their outstanding contributions to child rights and youth empowerment.

Awards were presented in categories such as Youth Empowerment Award, Excellence in Child Rights Award, Innovation in Girls’ Education Award, Best Journalist Award, Academic Excellence Award and Change Maker Award. Similarly, partner NGOs were honoured for their dedication through NGO Innovation Award in Girls’ Education, Best NGO in Youth Empowerment, CSO Excellence Award in Child Rights, Best NGO in Life Skills & 21st Century Skills. Post-lunch, the event came alive with vibrant cultural performances by adolescent girls under the theme “Change Through Creativity.” Activities included Social Drama for Change, Group Dance for Change, Fashion Show for Culture, Creative Art for Change, Photography for Change, and Storytelling for Change. The day concluded with the distribution of prizes to winners of various competitions and a vote of thanks, marking a meaningful celebration of the International Day of the Girl Child—a day dedicated to promoting the rights and empowerment of girls everywhere.