Port Blair : The Andaman & Nicobar Islands are being given a fresh digital storytelling opportunity, with the Administration reaching out to students, youth and emerging creators to showcase the Islands’ unique culture, heritage, traditions and tourism potential through the ‘Gems of India Challenge 2026’.
As part of the outreach, Awareness-cum-Orientation Workshops were organised on Thursday at the Tagore Government College of Education (TGCE) and the District Institute of Education and Training (DIET), Garacharama, where students were introduced to the national initiative and guided on how to participate.
Resource persons from the Information, Publicity and Tourism Department and My Bharat explained the initiative, launched by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India, as a platform to identify, nurture and promote grassroots digital creators from across the country.
The one-hour sessions focused on the registration process through MyWAVES, submission of original content and other practical aspects of participation. A live demonstration of the online registration and content-submission process was also conducted, followed by interactive sessions in which students raised queries and clarified their doubts.
The workshops are being organised in collaboration with the Departments of Education and Information Technology, Prasar Bharati, My Bharat and the District Administrations, with the objective of providing prospective participants with hands-on guidance.
The Andaman & Nicobar Islands are among six States/UTs selected for the pilot phase of the Challenge. Participants are required to create original digital content of one to three minutes highlighting the culture, heritage, tourism, history, traditions or distinctive achievements of their respective districts. The pilot-phase submission window opened on August 1 and will remain open till August 31, 2026.
The initiative could provide the Islands’ young creators with a significant national platform at a time when digital storytelling is increasingly shaping how destinations and communities are discovered beyond their geographical boundaries.
The Administration has urged students, aspiring filmmakers, vloggers, photographers, storytellers and other creative minds to make use of the opportunity and present the Islands through authentic, engaging and original narratives.
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With the challenge now moving beyond conventional publicity into creator-driven storytelling, the bigger opportunity for the Islands may lie in allowing their own young voices to tell the story of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands to the rest of India.
