In this session, children reimagine cities through compassion and creativity. Using Happiness City, participants engage in collective reading and reflection, exploring who shapes cities, who should be involved, and what fosters happiness. The workshop concludes with a collaborative poem, co-created by all, envisioning a better city for all.

About Bhawna Jaimini

Bhawna Jaimini is an urban practitioner, writer and mother of two cats. She received the Chevening scholarship in 2023 to pursue a masters in Sustainable Cities at King’s College London and is currently setting up the Centre for Urban Commons, a platform dedicated to creating more shared public spaces in Indian cities. She tries hard to balance cynicism with hope in her practice, and her book, Happiness City is a culmination of that struggle.

About Deepa Balsavar

Deepa Balsavar has written and illustrated more than thirty books for children. As a consultant with UNICEF on the Meena Project in South Asia, Balsavar wrote scripts and trained animation houses in Bangladesh. She has also developed communication material on HIV/AIDS, sexuality and gender education, mental health, and women’s studies. Deepa’s illustrations for this book are a bit like the concept of Happiness City itself. Using collage work, watercolours, transparent inks and crayons, each image was layered to form the final pictures.