Punjab Education Minister Vijay Inder Singla Wednesday shared that 1.05 lakh entries have been received from students in the state, in response to 'Ambassadors of Hope' online contest which he had announced for children to exhibit their talent and creativity amid the lockdown. Addressing a press conference in Chandigarh, Singla said that the campaign created a 'world record'. "Never before so many students participated in an online video competition concluded in eight days. Currently, Cebu City Commission (a govt body) of Philippines holds the record of the highest participation as they had got 43,157 participants in eight day long online competition," claimed Singla. The last date for children in Punjab to send their entries was May 5. According to the district wise break-up of the entries received, maximum 16,084 entries have been received from Ludhiana, followed by Amritsar (13,862(, Sangrur (10,741), Patiala (10,614), Gurdaspur (7,030), Jalandhar (6,180), Fatehgarh Sahib (5,319), Bathinda (4,956), Barnala (4,412), Mohali (3,214) and Mansa (2,788). Meanwhile, students of Hoshiarpur sent 2,449 entries followed by Muktsar (2,253), Kapurthala (2,260), Moga (2,222), Fazilka (2,089), Rupnagar (1,982), Pathankot (1,605), Ferozepur (1,685), Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar (1,655), Taran Tarn (1,318), and Faridkot (1,182). Singla said that apart from entries, the campaign also engaged around 2.5 crore people on social media platforms in eight days. "The campaign got the highest reach of 8.5 million (85 lakh) on Facebook followed by 7 million (70 Lakh) on YouTube, 4.5 million (45 Lakh) on TikTok, 2.5 million (25 Lakh) on Instagram and around 1 million (10 Lakh) each on Twitter & Snapchat," he said. Singla said that the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) was also impressed and MHRD minister called him to seek the details of 'Ambassadors Of Hope' campaign. 'Six other states including Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh may also launch a similar campaign for their students. The ministers and education secretaries of these states have already discussed it with Punjab education minister,' said the official spokesperson. "It is heartening to see the response we have got from the children. For me, every child is a winner as they have kept the Punjabi Virsa alive . Most of the entries are deep rooted in Punjabi ethos and culture. I am grateful to all the students who shared innovative ideas through videos on just one call," Singla said while addressing media. "Me and my team will go through every video and prepare a detailed report to announce results in next 20 days," the cabinet minister said. Singla also said that 'Ambassadors of Hope' will set a precedent to be followed by the governments to launch engagement driven campaigns for the children. "Many of my relatives have also shared the videos of their kids. I assure you all they will not be considered while evaluating winners as we are committed to keep the merit and spirit of competition sacred," education minister said adding that participation from girls is higher than boys with 60:40. Urban schools have shared more entries in districts like Ludhiana, Amritsar, Patiala and Mohali while rural schools have taken a lead in districts of Mansa, Taran Tarn, Ferozepur and Bathinda. The minister informed that three winners each from all the 22 districts will be given attractive prizes that include Apple iPads, Laptops and Android Tablets for the students securing first, second and third positions, respectively. Apart from that there will be 50 consolation prizes and schools ensuring maximum participation will be given appreciation letters while teachers of the winners (students) will also be acknowledged and rewarded. All the participants will be given ' Ambassadors of Hope' appreciation letters.
