In a government school classroom in Punjab, a child stands up to perform a poem about climate change. A few months ago, this same child rarely spoke in class. This transformation is what Slam Out Loud (SOL) creates every day.
Started by Harvard and National University of Singapore alumni, SOL reimagines how children learn life skills. Instead of textbooks and lectures, they use poetry slams, storytelling circles, visual arts, and theatre. The approach is simple but powerful: give children creative tools to express themselves whilst exploring big ideas like gender justice, climate action, and identity. The result? Children who not only learn but also find their voice.
SOL runs two flagship programs. The Jijivisha Fellowship embeds trained artists in classrooms across Delhi, Pune, Mumbai, and Bangalore for a full academic year. These artists become mentors, guiding children through weekly sessions that blend art-making with socio-emotional skill-building. The numbers speak for themselves: 75% of participating children show measurable annual growth in SEL competencies. But the real story is in the small moments: a shy student leading a group activity, a child articulating complex emotions through a self-portrait, or a classroom erupting in supportive applause after a peer's performance.
Their second program, Arts for All, takes this model to scale. Working with the state governments of Punjab and Maharashtra, SOL has developed a contextual arts-based SEL curriculum for the weekly arts period in government schools. Rather than replacing teachers, they train them. Master trainers learn to facilitate art experiences, which they then bring back to thousands of classrooms. It's a model built for sustainability—once teachers are equipped, the impact continues long after SOL steps back.
Meet the team
Slam Out Loud, on LinkedIn
Jigyasa Labroo, Co-founder & CEO
Gaurav Singh, Co-founder
The recognition has been substantial. The OECD, World Bank, The LEGO Foundation, and UNESCO have all acknowledged SOL's work. Their partners read like a who's who of global development: UNICEF, Girl Rising, HP, and Rainmatter Foundation. But for the team at SOL, the real validation comes from the field—from the teacher who reports a quieter, more focused classroom, or the parent who notices their child expressing feelings they couldn't articulate before.
Since 2017, SOL has worked directly with 3,00,000 children and reached approximately 10.5 million through digital initiatives. The organisation is now scaling rapidly, with plans to reach 20 million children by 2030. Their belief is straightforward: every child deserves access to quality arts education, not as a luxury, but as a fundamental building block for emotional intelligence, creativity, and confidence. They call it Creative Confidence—and they're proving it can be taught, nurtured, and scaled.
