GOWRI MANICKAVASAGAM
Friendship is a bond that is uniquely liberating! From being goofy to sharing wisecracks, friendship gives kids the freedom to be themselves. This liberation goes a long way toward forging true friendships. Sony YAY!’s Project Dosti ties friendship with the values that Independence Day stands for, finding freedom in friendship. Sony YAY! the popular kid’s entertainment channel brought back ‘Project Dosti’. Through this one of a kind initiative, the channel encouraged and empowered kids from different parts of the country to come under one unifying platform with an aim of cultivating the true meaning of friendship by inspiring them to look beyond boundaries.
In the 3rd edition of Project Dosti, the channel roped in three dance academies from across the country – ‘Raack Academy of Dance’ from Chennai along with Mumbai-based ‘Kudos, Dance. Art. Fun’ and ‘TrunaliPawar Choreography’, to have their students bond with children from leading child rights NGO, CRY- Child Rights and you. As part of the initiative, a heartfelt letter exchange from one child from the dance school to a kid from the NGO and vice versa enabled these children to interact and get to know each other and plough the seeds of friendship.
Additionally, the channel added its element of happiness with its characters Honey Bunny giving away special goodies to kids. Art genius Lalon added to the engagement quotient with an arts and craft workshop, ice-breaking sessions, interactive games, and quizzes which led to a fun virtual get together a session for the kids to bond with each other.
With the amplified message resonating with viewers and fans far and wide, the initiative was also joined by netizens which included mothers and young fans of the channel. By bringing kids from all across the country together for this special initiative, the channel has shown how friendship has no boundaries in such trying times shall prevail as long as we are together regardless of our differences.
Commenting on this, Leena Lele Dutta, Business Head, Sony Pictures Networks India, Kids’ Genre, said, “Right from our inception, we aim to evoke certain values that kids can imbibe from each and every YAY! toon. A major reason for Honey Bunny’s resounding fan following amongst kids across the country is how they are the embodiment of friendship. They’ve gone on to become role models for kids. Through Project Dosti, we intend to unite our young audiences in new bonds of friendship that they can cherish for a lifetime. Our heartfelt gratitude goes out to the Dance schools and NGOs that have partnered with us for making this initiative such a success.”
Kreeanne Rabadi, Regional Director, Cry-Child Rights, and You said, “We are grateful to Sony YAY! for inviting us to be part of Project Dosti. It was inspiring to see children from across the country and from different backgrounds come together to learn, play, and create wonderful memories of friendship on this platform.”
