Life-Skills and Socio-Emotional Learning (SEL) for Adolescent Girls and Boys

For last 18 years, Milaan Foundation has been tirelessly working with adolescent girls and boys for gender and socio-economic equality through the flagship Girls Icon Program, Unkmut and UP Coalition of Empowerment of Girls. Their Girl Icon Program reached over 100,000 girls across India – 100,000 girls who are now confident leaders, change-makers, and voices of courage in their communities. IDS is proud to have supported Milaan for the Girls Icon Program during its inception phase.

With support from IDS, they have now designed a Life-Skills and Socio-Emotional Learning (SEL) curriculum as another step against education equity. This comprises of 40 structured sessions spread across key domains — emotional intelligence, communication. gender sensitivity, nutrition, menstrual hygiene management (MHM), sexual and reproductive health, and personal growth; all of which complements their academic curriculum. 30 sessions were delivered for grades 6 to 9 between April to September, 2025 Key Learnings:  Social Emotional Learning (SEL) has contributed significantly to promoting respect and understanding between boys and girls. Instances of teasing have decreased, replaced by cooperative peer interactions.  The program is enabling students to view education beyond textbooks- helping the explore identity, purpose and self-expression as essential life competencies.  Teachers observed that the students were initially hesitant to share person’s reflections, but with time they began to engage more freely, indicating growing emotional comfort and trust  Noticeable shifts were seen among shy or withdrawn students who are more socially connected and participative both inside and outside classroom activities.  Students displayed greater comprehension when session incorporated interactive and participatory methods, including discussion and storytelling.