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The CIS Allies Network

Introducing the CIS Allies Network

Canadian International School (CIS) is a top school in Bangalore with a population of over 750 students and over 200 faculty members and support staff. Since our inception in 1996 our community has grown to include individuals from all walks of life – from diverse backgrounds to various ethnicities. Today, the CIS community has students and faculty members from over 40 different countries!​​​​​

As an international school with a large multicultural community, inclusion is a very important part of CIS and we promote inclusivity and diversity in our classrooms. The CIS Allies Network, a student initiative by our IB1 and IB2 students, plays an integral role in creating awareness to build a more inclusive community.

What is the role of the CIS Allies Network?

The CIS Allies Network was started by a group of students to ensure that the school community supports and addresses the individual needs of each child regardless of their social standing, race, or gender. The students believed that creating a sense of belonging would help them integrate better into CIS and aid them in achieving their educational goals. It started off as a small initiative that grew into something much larger after support from other students and faculty members. The CIS Allies are now actively involved in conducting workshops and roundtables discussions with high schoolers and faculty members in areas such as neurodiversity, race, social class, disability diversity, LGBTQ, and gender. They also work towards raising awareness on the importance of inclusivity in the society with the CIS community.

How do the CIS Allies plan to build a platform to raise awareness for inclusivity?

The CIS Allies are conducting a Symposium for Inclusivity on 8th April 2019. The pressing question that the symposium aims to answer is “What is the school’s role in building inclusive communities?”. Apart from various roundtable discussions, workshops, and activities for our students, we are also conducting a panel discussion with a range of esteemed panellists that is open to the public. Richa Singh, of “It Gets Better India” and the Lalit Group, a key person in lobbying the Supreme Court’s recent decision to invalidate Section 377;  Sarbani Mallick, the Bubbles founder/director, has worked to expand our perceptions of autism and neurodiversity; Prathibha Byanna, a Shanti Bhavan graduate, will share her experiences with socio-economic inclusivity; Nitya Ram of Change.org has worked with schools and accrediting agencies to develop inclusivity in schools and organizations; Nirmala Menon of Interweave Consulting will share her expertise in Diversity and Inclusion Consulting, and Akkai Padmashali, a transgender activist and winner of Rajyotsva Prashasti.

If you are interested in participating in the CIS Symposium for Inclusivity, contact Mr. Aaron Hoose at ahoose@cisb.org.in. To learn more about Canadian International School, the CIS Allies, and our programs, please email info@cisb.org.in. To enquire about admissions, email enroll@cisb.org.in or call +919845150395.