On June 20, The National Book Trust, India, under the Ministry of HRD, organised a round-table meet, Managing Psychosocial Pressures During Pandemic.
A panel of psychologists and counsellors spoke on the psychological challenges faced by various segments of the society – parents, teachers, women, students and youth, professionals, corona warriors, corona-affected persons and their families, persons with disabilities, and others.
Govind Prasad Sharma, Chairman of NBT, said, “Books make us ask some basic questions like all the readers wish to know, ‘How did Corona start’? ‘Is it man made or natural?’ We hope to continue creating awareness in the field of mental health awareness through our publications and programmes.”
Over 100 people participated in the virtual meet. Presenting the lead address on the role of NBT in post-pandemic publishing, Yuvraj Malik, Director of NBT, said, “Considering mental health awareness as a major component of the pandemic times, we undertook a study, and are committed to make it a sustainable campaign and a major area of discussion as well as publishing. As a corollary to this study, we have taken the decision that from now, all our new titles, especially those for children and young adults, will be vetted and evaluated by psychologists with some background in publishing, so the kids get access to quality content.”
NBT also announced the launch of a three-month first-ever Online Publishing Course from July. The round-table ended with a question-answer session.