The Consent Café, a groundbreaking initiative by Durex’s The Birds and Bees Talk (TBBT), was officially launched at the Hornbill Festival in Kisama on December 2, marking the first of its kind in Asia.
The launch took place during a brief ceremony at the Heritage Village, as part of the ongoing celebrations of the annual festival.
Reckitt, a global leader in health and hygiene, continues its third consecutive year as the official Health Partner of the Hornbill Festival. The Consent Café is a pioneering initiative designed to foster conversations around consent, gender equity, and healthy relationships, aiming to educate and empower festival-goers and the broader community.
The Hornbill Festival, which attracts over 150,000 visitors from December 1 to 10 at the Kisama Heritage Village, offers a unique platform to blend traditional heritage with contemporary social values. The Consent Café aims to integrate these values with modern education on crucial life skills.
Speaking to the media, Director of External Affairs and Partnerships at Reckitt South Asia, Ravi Bhatnagar, elaborated on the transformative impact of the TBBT program, which has been running for five years. The program focuses on educating adolescents about the importance of consent, gender equity, and healthy relationships.
Bhatnagar emphasized the importance of addressing misconceptions surrounding topics like “good touch and bad touch,” especially in cultures where such conversations are often considered taboo.
He also highlighted the connection between these discussions and broader public health outcomes, such as the reduction of diseases like HIV/AIDS. According to Bhatnagar, the initiative is already active in 10 Indian states, including six in the Northeast, and has reached over 4 million young people.
The Consent Café will blend digital and cultural strategies, incorporating comic characters inspired by Nagaland’s tribal heritage to make its messaging more relatable and engaging for attendees. Bhatnagar revealed plans to expand the concept to 10 states by 2025, aiming to create a wider societal impact.
“The Hornbill Festival is the ideal venue to introduce this initiative, as it draws large crowds each year,” Bhatnagar noted. “It provides a platform to integrate traditional values with modern education, creating an opportunity for informed and empowered generations.”
In light of the increasing incidents of gender-based violence in India, including over 28,811 gender-based complaints reported in 2023, the TBBT Consent Café seeks to provide an immersive space for reflection on the meaning of consent and its role in fostering healthy connections. This initiative responds to the urgent need for consent education in India.
In addition to the Consent Café, TBBT’s participation at the Hornbill Festival includes the TBBT Music Carnival at Imagiland, featuring performances by local talents such as Moko Koza, Eva Rongmei, and Keneisenuo, alongside the launch of a new rap album.
An AI-powered WhatsApp chatbot will also be launched, offering essential knowledge on consent and growing-up skills, adhering to UNESCO’s global standards on comprehensive sexuality education (CSE).
The festival will also host the 2nd Edition of the Painting Competition, encouraging young artists to express creativity around themes of inclusion, consent, protection, awareness, and equity.
TBBT will also showcase its Durex TBBT Arena, the festival’s largest Health Pavilion, featuring interactive sessions on life skills and a cultural interpretation of key conversations through comic characters inspired by Nagaland’s five tribes: Angami, Sumi, Chakhesang, Ao, and Lotha. Through these initiatives, Reckitt and TBBT aim to create a lasting impact on young people, fostering a culture of consent and healthy relationships across India and beyond.