Durex launches Asia’s first ‘Consent Café’ at Hornbill Festival 2024

Our Correspondent
Kohima | December 3

Durex ‘The Birds and Bees’ introduced Asia’s first Consent Café at the 25th edition of Hornbill Festival 2024 at Naga Heritage Village, Kisama.

It also plans to introduce Consent Cafés across 10 states in India to drive transformative conversations on five key pillars – Inclusion, Consent, Protection, Awareness, and Equity,  said Ravi Bhatnagar, Director, External Affairs & Partnerships, Reckitt-South Asia while talking to media persons here today.

Durex’s “The Birds and Bees Talk (TBBT), an impactful life skills program by Reckitt, a global leader in health and hygiene, marks its third consecutive year as the official Health Partner of Northeast India’s most iconic cultural celebration—the Hornbill Festival.

Asia’s first Consent Café, a pioneering initiative is designed to spark meaningful conversations around consent, equity, and healthy relationships.

In 2023 alone, over 28,811 gender-based complaints were reported, including cases of rape, sexual harassment, outraging modesty, stalking, cybercrimes, and other violations, as per the National Commission for Women.

The TBBT Consent Café aims to provide an immersive space combining light, music, and art to help attendees reflect on the meaning of consent and its role in fostering healthy connections.

This initiative is focused on addressing the pressing need for consent education, especially in light of increasing incidents of gender-based crimes in India.

Durex TBBT’s dynamic participation at Hornbill Festival 2024 will also includes TBBT Music Carnival at Imagiland, featuring electrifying performances by celebrated local talents like Moko Koza, Eva Rongmei, and Keneisenuo.

To further TBBT’s mission, an AI-based conversational chatbot was launched to equip young individuals with essential knowledge on consent and growing-up skills.

The bot adheres to UNESCO’s eight global standards on comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) and aims to offer accurate and scientifically reliable content to foster informed decision-making among adolescents.

2nd edition of the Painting Competition: Empowering young artists to express their creativity around the five key themes- Inclusion, Consent, Protection, Awareness, and Equity.

The festival’s largest Health Pavilion, featuring interactive sessions on life skills, TBBT’s comic characters inspired by the five Nagaland tribes-Angami, Sumi, Chakhesang, Ao, and Lotha, bringing key conversations to life in a culturally relevant way.

Veyielo Duolo, Director, Tourism Department, expressed his enthusiasm: “The 25th Hornbill Festival stands as a beacon of cultural pride, and we are thrilled to have Durex’s The Birds and Bees Talk implemented by Reckitt and Plan India as our official Health Partner. This remarkable initiative empowers adolescents with critical life skills, enabling them to grow into informed, responsible individuals. Together, we celebrate inclusion, awareness, and equity-milestones of progress and well-being.”

Gaurav Jain, Executive Vice President, Reckitt –South Asia, remarked, “At Reckitt, we believe that knowledge is the foundation of empowerment. Our continued partnership with the Hornbill Festival exemplifies our belief as we honor Northeast India’s cultural legacy while addressing critical societal issues like consent and inclusion. Together, we are shaping a generation of informed, inclusive, and empowered youth.”

Ravi Bhatnagar, Director, External Affairs & Partnerships, Reckitt-South Asia, echoed this vision “Durex TBBT’s partnership with the Hornbill Festival reflects our unwavering commitment to integrating critical conversations into cultural celebrations. By focusing on consent, we aim to inspire young minds to embrace progressive values. We are creating a platform for transformative conversations that can shape a brighter, more inclusive future. Initiatives like the Consent Café and Music Carnival highlight the power of culture to drive meaningful change, and we are honored to play a role in empowering the next generation.”

Implemented by Plan India, Durex TBBT blends offline and digital platforms to deliver culturally tailored life skills education.

Having reached over 4 million young people across 10 states, including six in Northeast India, it exemplifies how integrating traditional practices with modern values can transform lives and inspire progressive learning.

Reckitt exists to protect, heal and nurture in the relentless pursuit of a cleaner, healthier world.

It believes that access to the highest-quality hygiene, wellness and nourishment is a right, not a privilege.

Reckitt is the company behind some of the world’s most recognisable and trusted consumer brands in hygiene, health and nutrition, including Air Wick, Calgon, Cillit Bang, Clearasil, Dettol, Durex, Enfamil, Finish, Gaviscon, Harpic, Lysol, Mortein, Mucinex, Nurofen, Nutramigen, Strepsils, Vanish, Veet, Woolite and more.

Every day, more than 30 million Reckitt products are bought globally.  Reckitt is the trading name of the Reckitt Benckiser group of companies.