03/09/2026
Two days of consultation, and one question at the center of it: what does it actually mean to grow up between age 10-14?
Tarang, our eight-year-old programme started with Very Young Adolescents in Delhi’s resettlement communities, has taught us what this age actually needs. This consultation brought that ground-level knowledge into the room with people shaping law, mental health, and gender work nationally, across four panels and an opening reflection led by Praneeta and Purnima, Nirantar Trust.
Panel 1: Entering the World of VYAs, “Unpacking the Age Group of 10 to 14,” moderated by Purnima Gupta, Nirantar Trust, with Lavina Nanda (Children First), Shailabh (HAQ: Centre for Child Rights), and Rekha Koli (Pace Wazirpur)
Panel 2: The Making of Gender, “Construction of Masculinity and Femininity in Early Adolescence,” moderated by Archana Dwivedi, Nirantar Trust, with Pravin Thote (MAVA), Riju (Breakthrough), Adiba Saher (Nirantar Trust), Christy Maria (Nazariya), and Parasnath Verma (ICRW)
Panel 3: Unheard Questions of Early Adolescence, “Desire and Sexuality in the Lives of 10 to 14,” moderated by Madhu Mehra, Partners for Law in Development, with Sangeeta Saksena (Enfold India), Nu Misra (Revival Disability India), Nasreen (BUDS), and Vani Viswanathan (TARSHI)
Panel 4: Learning Without Classrooms, “Rethinking Education for VYAs in a Digital Age,” moderated by Dipta Bhog, Nirantar Trust, with Savita Sohit (Muskaan Books), Prarthana (Nirantar Trust), Shivangni (PROJECT MUKTI), and Pallavi (CORO India)
Grateful to everyone who brought their research, expertise, and perspective into the room.