DesignForGivingContest.com

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DesignForGivingContest.com was the official website of the Design for Giving Contest, an ambitious educational and social-change initiative launched in India in 2009. Created to encourage schoolchildren to identify problems in their communities and develop practical solutions, the contest became an important early chapter in the international Design for Change movement. Its central message was that children should not have to wait until adulthood to make a meaningful contribution to society.

The initiative was conceived by Indian educator, designer, and social entrepreneur Kiran Bir Sethi, founder of The Riverside School in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Drawing on her background in design thinking and educational innovation, Sethi developed a program that encouraged children to observe the world around them, imagine improvements, and take action. The contest invited young people to address problems involving education, poverty, environmental protection, public spaces, and social inequality. It also encouraged children to recognize that meaningful change did not always require substantial financial resources or adult leadership.

The inaugural campaign attracted extraordinary participation. Contemporary reporting described the involvement of 32,274 schools across India, while the competition generated more than 1,300 submitted stories of change. An international jury selected 100 winning entries, recognizing projects that demonstrated creativity, practical impact, and the potential to inspire others. DesignForGivingContest.com served as the digital center of the campaign, providing information about participation, registration, project development, promotional materials, and the contest's objectives. Although the original 2009 event has ended, the website preserves information about a formative moment in a movement that eventually expanded well beyond India.

The Origins of the Design for Giving Contest

The Design for Giving Contest emerged from Kiran Bir Sethi's belief that conventional education frequently underestimated children's ability to solve real-world problems. She believed students should have opportunities to exercise independence, develop empathy, and experience the satisfaction of making improvements in their communities. Rather than limiting education to academic instruction, Sethi envisioned schools as environments where children could develop the confidence and skills necessary to become active participants in society.

Sethi founded The Riverside School in Ahmedabad in 2001. Rather than treating education primarily as the transmission of information from teachers to students, Riverside experimented with approaches that encouraged curiosity, practical experience, creativity, and social responsibility. The school became a testing ground for educational methods that connected classroom learning with everyday life. Her work was influenced by design thinking, a problem-solving approach that emphasizes understanding people's needs, developing ideas, testing solutions, and improving them through experience.

In 2009, Sethi launched a nationwide campaign that challenged schoolchildren to spend approximately one week improving something in their communities. The initiative drew inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi's philosophy of personal responsibility and constructive social action. The principal week of activities was organized around October 2, Gandhi's birthday, a national holiday in India that commemorates his contributions to the country's independence and his philosophy of nonviolent change. By connecting the competition to Gandhi's ideals, the organizers gave children an opportunity to demonstrate social responsibility through projects they designed and implemented themselves.

Kiran Bir Sethi and the Educational Philosophy Behind the Contest

Kiran Bir Sethi's professional background helps explain why the Design for Giving Contest differed from traditional school competitions. She studied visual communication at the National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad and initially pursued a career in design before becoming increasingly involved in education. Her experience as a parent contributed to her interest in changing how schools approached learning. She questioned educational systems that emphasized obedience and predetermined answers while offering students limited opportunities to make decisions or develop original solutions.

At The Riverside School, she began exploring how the principles of design could be applied to teaching, school administration, and community engagement. These experiments eventually informed initiatives that extended beyond the school itself. One was aProCh, short for A Protagonist in Every Child, an initiative designed to make cities more welcoming and accessible to children. Sethi became an Ashoka Fellow in 2008 in recognition of her social entrepreneurship, reflecting growing interest in her approach to educational and community innovation.

The Design for Giving Contest represented another extension of her educational philosophy. It offered a way to bring lessons developed at Riverside to thousands of schools throughout India without requiring them to adopt Riverside's entire educational model. The campaign emphasized the phrase "I CAN," which became central to the movement's identity. This message challenged the assumption that children were too young, inexperienced, or powerless to address social problems. By successfully completing even a modest community project, students could develop confidence in their ability to influence their surroundings and understand the relationship between individual initiative and collective improvement.

Ownership, Organization, and Institutional Support

The Design for Giving Contest was closely associated with The Riverside School in Ahmedabad, which played a central role in organizing and implementing the 2009 initiative. Kiran Bir Sethi provided its founding vision and educational direction. The contest's historical website identified Riverside as the school leading implementation in collaboration with JGW, while contemporary accounts also associated the campaign with the Give India Foundation and other supporting organizations. The available historical information establishes these organizational relationships, although it does not conclusively identify the legal registrant or technical owner of the domain during every period of its existence.

The National Institute of Design and international design organizations were also connected with the initiative. Contemporary reporting identified participants and partners associated with the National Institute of Design, Stanford University's d.school, IDEO, and other design organizations. These relationships were significant because the competition was not simply a fundraising campaign. It was an experiment in applying professional design methods to social challenges through the participation of children, supported by educators and organizations interested in innovative approaches to learning.

Schools provided the organizational structure for recruiting participants, coordinating activities, and documenting projects. Teachers and principals helped children organize their ideas, while sponsors and institutional partners contributed promotional assistance, resources, and public visibility. The initiative's administrative center was in Ahmedabad, but the competition was national in scope. Participating schools and students were located throughout India, allowing the campaign to reach communities with widely differing economic, geographic, and social circumstances.

How DesignForGivingContest.com Worked

DesignForGivingContest.com functioned primarily as an informational and participation website rather than a conventional commercial platform. Its purpose was to help students, teachers, school administrators, and families understand the competition and take part in it. The website provided guidance about eligibility, participation requirements, registration, project ideas, promotional resources, and communication with organizers. Its frequently asked questions were especially important because the campaign involved thousands of schools that could not receive individual assistance from Riverside.

Students could participate through their schools or undertake activities independently. The contest encouraged children to recruit friends, classmates, and teachers, creating opportunities for both individual initiative and collaborative action. The site also offered downloadable materials, including a toolkit and promotional posters. These resources helped schools explain the contest, publicize activities, and organize participation without requiring extensive financial support. Children whose schools were not participating were encouraged to take action independently or persuade their school administrators to become involved.

The original FAQ indicated that no registration fees were charged. Schools were not required to submit a draft project plan before beginning, and registration did not carry a penalty if a school ultimately failed to participate. A minimum commitment of approximately one week was recommended, making the contest accessible to schools that could not accommodate a lengthy extracurricular program. The website's approach was practical and deliberately inclusive, encouraging children to begin with manageable activities rather than assume that meaningful social change required large budgets, specialized equipment, or formal institutional authority.

The Contest's Goals and Educational Objectives

The central objective of the Design for Giving Contest was to demonstrate that children could become active contributors to society. Rather than positioning young people exclusively as recipients of education, charity, or adult guidance, the campaign encouraged them to become designers and implementers of solutions. This objective combined several educational and social goals. Students were expected to develop empathy by recognizing problems that affected other people, creativity by proposing possible improvements, and practical problem-solving abilities by translating their ideas into action.

The contest also emphasized collaboration. Many social problems cannot be addressed effectively by one person, so children were encouraged to work with classmates, teachers, parents, local organizations, and community members. Another goal was to make civic responsibility part of ordinary childhood experience. Instead of presenting community service as an occasional obligation, the contest encouraged children to see helping others as something they could incorporate into everyday life. This philosophy was intended to develop a lasting sense of personal responsibility rather than simply reward participation in a temporary competition.

Importantly, the program did not require every project to be elaborate or technologically innovative. A neighborhood cleanup, a donation campaign, or an effort to improve conditions for vulnerable people could be just as valuable as a more complex project. This flexibility allowed students from different socioeconomic backgrounds to participate. Schools with substantial resources could undertake ambitious activities, while children with limited financial support could still create projects based on time, cooperation, creativity, and personal commitment.

The Feel, Imagine, Do, and Share Framework

One of the most influential features of the Design for Giving Contest was its accessible approach to design thinking. The early competition encouraged students to recognize a problem, develop a possible solution, and carry out their plan. This process eventually became formalized as the four-stage Feel, Imagine, Do, Share framework, commonly abbreviated FIDS. The framework provided educators with a straightforward way to introduce design thinking while giving children enough freedom to develop projects based on their own interests and circumstances.

The first stage, Feel, encouraged children to observe their surroundings and recognize circumstances that needed improvement. Students might notice that a public park was neglected, that disadvantaged children lacked school supplies, or that elderly residents needed assistance. During Imagine, students developed possible solutions by brainstorming, comparing ideas, and choosing an approach that could realistically be implemented. Rather than relying entirely on instructions from adults, children were encouraged to exercise judgment and develop confidence in their own ideas.

The Do stage required participants to turn their ideas into action. Children organized activities, recruited volunteers, collected materials, and worked directly with people affected by the problem. Because the original contest emphasized a one-week project period, students had to develop plans that were achievable within a limited timeframe. Finally, Share encouraged participants to document their experiences and communicate their results. Sharing allowed successful ideas to inspire children in other schools and communities, creating opportunities for projects to be repeated or adapted elsewhere. The simplicity of this framework helped educators introduce design thinking without requiring advanced training or specialized technology.

Examples of Projects and Community Activities

The Design for Giving Contest encouraged an unusually broad range of activities. Participants were not limited to a single charitable cause or prescribed project category. Instead, they could identify problems that mattered to them and develop solutions appropriate to their circumstances. Environmental projects were particularly popular, with children organizing cleanup campaigns, collecting discarded materials, promoting recycling, and improving neglected public spaces. One documented example involved students converting a waste dump outside their school into a garden, demonstrating how an unattractive and potentially unhealthy area could become a useful community resource.

Educational projects also attracted considerable attention. Some students collected books and school supplies for disadvantaged children, while others developed activities to improve literacy. Contemporary accounts described children teaching parents to read and write, recycling newspapers to create books, and helping improve facilities at other schools. Social welfare projects addressed the needs of elderly residents, disadvantaged families, and people who were frequently overlooked in their communities. Students organized charitable collections, offered practical assistance, and developed campaigns intended to encourage greater understanding and inclusion.

Other projects tackled more difficult social issues. Reported entries addressed child marriage, discrimination against transgender people, homelessness, and the protection of mangrove ecosystems. A particularly memorable project described by Design Observer involved a school located near a cremation ground. Students were distressed by what they could see from their schoolyard and organized a successful effort to have a wall constructed. The new wall also provided space for public announcements, turning a practical solution into an additional community resource.

The contest also welcomed smaller acts of kindness. Historical participation guidance suggested helping elderly people, collecting toys and books, organizing neighborhood cleanup drives, and holding school bake sales to raise money for charitable causes. These examples illustrate the contest's central philosophy: social change could begin with a problem that children encountered in their daily lives, and even modest projects could have meaningful results. The emphasis was on identifying a need, taking responsibility, and completing an activity that benefited others.

Participation, Popularity, and National Reach

The scale of the 2009 Design for Giving Contest was remarkable given the limited time available to organize it. Contemporary reporting indicates that 32,274 schools participated, exceeding the campaign's early ambitions. The initiative reached both rural and urban communities, including public and private schools. YourStory reported that the campaign's toolkit was translated into eight languages, allowing participating schools to access instructions without relying exclusively on English. Stories came from geographically diverse locations, including Nagaland in northeastern India, rural Rajasthan, and the mountainous state of Sikkim.

A survey of participants reported by Design Observer provided additional insight into the contest's audience. Approximately 78% of surveyed students came from cities, while 56% were between 12 and 13 years old. The reported gender distribution was relatively balanced, with 53% female and 47% male participants. Environmental issues accounted for approximately 29% of surveyed projects, while educational issues represented about 21%. The survey also found that 73% of respondents expressed an intention to participate in future community-service activities.

These figures suggest that the campaign successfully engaged children in practical civic activities. However, the survey findings should not be interpreted as proof that every participant experienced lasting behavioral change, since long-term follow-up data would be necessary to establish that conclusion. The initiative's popularity reflected several factors, including its simple participation model, low financial barriers, support from schools, and emphasis on activities that children could choose for themselves. Its broad geographic reach also demonstrated that the educational approach could be adapted to communities with substantially different resources and priorities.

Judging, Awards, and Recognition

Although the Design for Giving Contest emphasized cooperation and social responsibility, it also incorporated a competitive element intended to recognize outstanding projects and encourage participation. An international jury reviewed submitted stories and selected 100 winning entries. The selection process considered the practical impact of each project rather than focusing exclusively on presentation quality or the amount of money spent. According to contemporary coverage, judging criteria included the number of people affected, the speed with which results were achieved, the potential for long-term change, the ease with which a project could be replicated, and its environmental benefits.

These criteria reinforced the contest's educational objectives. A project that improved conditions for many people or could easily be repeated in other communities might receive greater recognition than an elaborate activity with limited practical impact. The competition also included a special Gandhi Prize, reflecting its connection to Gandhi's philosophy of social responsibility and constructive action. The winning stories were announced on November 14, 2009, Children's Day in India, which commemorates the birthday of Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first prime minister.

Contemporary reports also described plans for recognition involving former Indian president A. P. J. Abdul Kalam. The available sources establish that such recognition was discussed during the campaign, although they do not independently verify every detail of the final award presentations. Beyond individual prizes, the contest offered recognition through publicity, storytelling, and opportunities for winning projects to inspire other schools. This approach meant that the competition's value extended beyond the students who received formal awards.

Press Coverage, Media Attention, and Public Reception

The Design for Giving Contest received attention from educators, journalists, designers, and organizations interested in educational reform. Its combination of child participation, community service, and design thinking made it appealing to audiences beyond conventional school-competition circles. One important source of contemporary coverage was Design Observer. In a May 6, 2010 article, designer and writer William Drenttel examined Kiran Bir Sethi's educational philosophy, the development of The Riverside School, and the national success of the contest. The article documented participation figures, judging criteria, project examples, and early plans for international expansion.

The campaign received additional attention through presentations and school events. An August 2009 account by educator Mark Parkinson described a meeting for school principals and a press conference where Sethi explained the competition's objectives and encouraged participation. Indian actor and activist Rahul Bose served as a public ambassador for the contest, helping communicate its message to children, educators, and the wider public. At promotional events, Bose emphasized the importance of allowing children to choose meaningful projects rather than treating community service as another compulsory school assignment.

Another important milestone occurred on November 6, 2009, when Sethi presented her educational philosophy and the Design for Change concept at TEDIndia. Her presentation introduced the initiative to an international audience interested in innovation, education, and social entrepreneurship. In June 2010, YourStory published an article describing its partnership with Design for Change and reviewing the achievements of the original competition. The publication highlighted the participation of children from different regions of India and the growing interest in adapting the initiative internationally.

Subsequent coverage in publications such as The New Indian Express documented the movement's continued expansion and its efforts to involve additional schools. The available evidence establishes substantial educational and media attention, although precise television audiences, website traffic statistics, and historical social-media engagement figures are not reliably documented. The campaign's visibility was nevertheless important in attracting institutional support and helping its educational model reach audiences outside India.

The Website's Audience and Practical Resources

DesignForGivingContest.com was designed for several overlapping audiences. Schoolchildren were its primary users, but teachers, parents, principals, community organizations, and potential sponsors also had reasons to visit. For students, the website explained how to participate, suggested possible projects, and provided encouragement. Its frequently asked questions addressed practical concerns, including whether children could participate without their schools, how to organize activities, and where to donate collected materials.

For teachers and school administrators, the website provided information about registration, promotional materials, timelines, and school coordination. These resources were particularly useful because the competition operated across thousands of geographically dispersed institutions. Parents could use the website to understand the program's educational objectives and help their children participate safely and effectively. Community organizations could also become involved by assisting with charitable activities or providing expertise relevant to student projects.

Unlike a commercial website, DesignForGivingContest.com did not have a conventional product catalog, restaurant menu, or paid membership structure. Its downloadable toolkit, participation instructions, promotional posters, and FAQs were its principal resources. The historical website stated that participation was free, an important part of the campaign's accessibility because charging registration fees could have discouraged schools and families with limited financial resources. The site's emphasis on practical information made it an organizational tool as well as a promotional platform, helping convert an ambitious national campaign into activities that individual schools and children could understand and implement.

From Design for Giving to Design for Change

The success of the 2009 competition encouraged Kiran Bir Sethi and her collaborators to expand the initiative beyond India. During 2010, the campaign increasingly adopted the name Design for Change, reflecting a broader mission that extended beyond charitable giving. The new identity emphasized the idea that children could change their communities through creativity, empathy, and practical action. This shift allowed the program to include projects involving environmental protection, education, social inclusion, public health, and other areas that did not necessarily involve donations or fundraising.

Early international participants and partners emerged in countries including Canada, Finland, Mexico, Pakistan, Thailand, and the United Kingdom. Additional countries expressed interest as the program gained visibility. By 2010, contemporary accounts described the initiative as reaching approximately 250,000 children across 22 countries. The expansion was supported by international educational networks, design organizations, and local partners who adapted the program to their own school systems and communities.

The movement's international development also led to additional resources for educators. These included teaching materials, design-thinking guides, student storytelling opportunities, and programs that encouraged schools to integrate community problem-solving into regular learning activities. Design for Change eventually developed into an international organization with activities across multiple continents. Its official historical timeline records continued growth, including the development of conferences, educational resources, international partnerships, and new initiatives. The original Design for Giving Contest therefore occupies an important position in the movement's history because it demonstrated that a simple educational challenge could attract national participation and provide a model that other countries could adapt.

International Growth and Later Achievements

The years following the original competition brought substantial growth to Design for Change. According to the movement's official timeline, the initiative expanded internationally in 2010 and continued developing its network throughout the following decade. By 2011, the organization reported approximately 4,000 stories of change across 11 countries and regions. In 2012, the figure had increased to approximately 5,000 stories across more than 13 countries and regions. The movement also received recognition for its educational innovation, with its historical timeline listing an INDEX Award in 2011 and a Rockefeller Foundation Innovation Award in 2012.

By 2015, Design for Change reported more than 8,000 stories across over 32 countries and regions. The organization also highlighted research associated with the Harvard Graduate School of Education examining the relationship between participation in the program and the development of empathy. International gatherings became another important part of the movement. Be the Change conferences brought together students, educators, and partners to share experiences and discuss approaches to community improvement.

In 2019, Design for Change helped organize an international children's gathering at the Vatican in Rome. The event brought together more than 2,500 participants from approximately 40 countries, illustrating the movement's growing international profile. The organization's official timeline reports that by 2024 its network had reached 73 countries and regions, approximately 2.03 million students, more than 33,000 schools, and 120,000 teachers. It also recorded 44,795 stories of change. These figures describe the broader Design for Change movement, not participation in the original 2009 Design for Giving Contest, but they demonstrate how an initiative that began with a national school competition developed into a much larger international educational network.

Cultural and Social Significance

The Design for Giving Contest was culturally significant because it challenged traditional assumptions about children's roles in education and society. Rather than viewing young people primarily as learners preparing for future responsibilities, it encouraged them to exercise responsibility in the present. This philosophy was particularly relevant in educational environments where classroom instruction often emphasized examinations, memorization, and adherence to established procedures. The contest introduced an alternative approach that valued initiative, empathy, and practical accomplishment.

Its connection to Gandhi's philosophy also gave the initiative cultural resonance in India. By encouraging students to improve their communities through personal action, the campaign translated familiar ideals of service and social responsibility into activities appropriate for children. The competition also helped broaden public understanding of design. Instead of treating design exclusively as a discipline concerned with products, graphics, buildings, or aesthetics, it demonstrated how design principles could be applied to social relationships and community challenges.

The emphasis on children identifying problems for themselves was especially important. Students were encouraged to recognize needs that adults might overlook and develop solutions based on their own experiences. For example, children might notice that a neglected public space affected their daily lives, that classmates lacked necessary educational materials, or that elderly neighbors experienced social isolation. These observations could become the starting points for practical interventions. The contest also encouraged cooperation across generations, since successful activities frequently required assistance from teachers, parents, community organizations, and local authorities. This collaboration helped connect schools with their surrounding communities and demonstrated that educational institutions could contribute directly to local improvements.

Educational Influence and Long-Term Impact

One of the most important legacies of the Design for Giving Contest was its demonstration that community engagement could become a meaningful part of education rather than an unrelated extracurricular activity. The contest connected classroom skills with practical experiences. Students used communication, planning, research, teamwork, and creative thinking to address problems with visible consequences. These experiences offered opportunities to develop abilities that conventional examinations may not fully measure.

Children had to persuade others, coordinate activities, manage limited resources, respond to unexpected obstacles, and evaluate whether their solutions worked. The program also introduced students to the idea that failure and revision are natural parts of problem-solving. A proposed solution might not work immediately, requiring children to reconsider their assumptions and try a different approach. This iterative process reflected Sethi's design background and became a distinguishing feature of the broader Design for Change educational philosophy.

The movement's continuing activities suggest that the original contest provided a useful foundation for future educational programs. However, claims about permanent changes in individual participants' behavior should be distinguished from documented participation statistics and organizational growth. The strongest evidence of the contest's lasting influence is the survival and international expansion of its central educational model. The principles first demonstrated on a national scale in India remain recognizable in the later Feel, Imagine, Do, Share framework, which continues to encourage students to approach community challenges with empathy, creativity, and practical action.

The Historical Importance of DesignForGivingContest.com

DesignForGivingContest.com represents an early period in the development of a significant international educational initiative. Its historical importance lies not in commercial popularity or technological sophistication, but in the role it played in organizing and explaining a large-scale experiment in child-led social change. The website documented the contest's original identity, its connection with The Riverside School, and its practical approach to encouraging children to participate. Its archived information also helps distinguish the 2009 Design for Giving campaign from the broader Design for Change movement that developed afterward.

That distinction matters because the names, organizational structures, participation figures, and international activities changed as the initiative expanded. The original competition was a specific event centered on India in 2009, while Design for Change became a continuing international educational movement. Historical descriptions of the site establish its purpose as an information and coordination platform. However, publicly available evidence does not establish complete historical visitor statistics, independent website-review scores, advertising revenue, or a verified sequence of domain ownership changes.

For researchers, educators, and people interested in the history of social entrepreneurship, the website offers a useful starting point for understanding how a relatively simple school challenge helped inspire a larger movement. It also illustrates the importance of preserving early digital records of educational initiatives, particularly when their names, websites, and organizational identities change over time.

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DesignForGivingContest.com was associated with one of India's most ambitious child-centered social-change initiatives of 2009. Through the leadership of Kiran Bir Sethi, the support of The Riverside School, and the participation of thousands of schools, the Design for Giving Contest demonstrated how children could contribute meaningfully to their communities. The competition combined empathy, creativity, practical action, and storytelling in a format that was accessible to students from different backgrounds.

Its emphasis on achievable projects allowed children to address problems involving education, the environment, social welfare, and community life without requiring extensive resources. The contest's success attracted national and international attention, encouraged the development of partnerships, and contributed to the emergence of the global Design for Change movement. Although the original contest is now part of educational history, its underlying message remains relevant. Children can learn important academic and personal skills by participating in projects that improve the world around them, and schools can play an important role in creating opportunities for that participation.

The history of DesignForGivingContest.com illustrates how a website supporting a one-week national challenge became associated with a much broader educational idea: empowering children to recognize problems, imagine solutions, and act on their belief that they can make a difference. Its lasting significance comes from the educational philosophy it helped introduce to a large audience and the international movement that developed from those early efforts.

DesignForGivingContest.com