Mumbai, October 22, 2018: Phenk Mat Mumbai, an initiative by Club Mahindra and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) supported by Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), imbedded a social and sustained behavioural change in the youth of the city by internalising the habits of cleanliness and making them lifelong ambassadors for anti-littering behaviour.
The campaign, planned to internalise anti-littering behaviour in children using Social Behaviour Change Communication techniques, is run in schools with a combination of workshops, education, engagement and competitions.
The programme, which commenced in June 2017, is ongoing, and managed by the Centre for Social and Behaviour Change Communications (SBC3). Until the end of September 2018, the programme had covered 310 schools and nearly three lakh children. By February 2019, the programme will cover 400 schools. Children covered by the programme also had an impact on their households across the city.
Arun Nanda, Campaign Chairman, Phenk Mat Mumbai and Chairman, Mahindra Holidays and Resorts India Ltd said, “I am delighted to see our campaign shaping positively by imbibing new practices and learnings in children towards a cleaner city. Children are capable of influencing the mass if they are really made aware of the larger consequences taking place in the society. Phenk Mat Mumbai is one such initiative taken believing this fact and we are glad to see the encouraging result.”
The celebration event of the successful implementation of this clean-up initiative witnessed participation of children from 185 schools.
The school programme was designed using the techniques of 
Social and Behaviour Change Communication which entails the use of communication to change behaviours by influencing knowledge, attitude and social norms. The programme not only appealed to the logical mind but also connected with the children at an emotional level. The programme ran over two months in each school with direct impact of improved cleanliness and demonstration by children of their commitment to anti-littering.
