The Mantra4Change team will receive the honour at the DNDA Summit, to be held in Singapore from November 19–21, 2025.
Samartha guides stakeholders in collaboratively identifying school challenges, uncovering root causes and co-designing solutions. This collaborative, HCD-driven approach “places leadership in the hands of stakeholders” to create ownership-driven ecosystems that enrich learning for every child.
The Don Norman Design Award is an international nonprofit accolade inspired by design pioneer Don Norman. It honours projects and programs that address community challenges with empathy, sustainability and innovation. DNDA aligns its criteria with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, requiring that the initiatives it honors have a measurable, positive impact on people’s lives. In particular, the Organisation Award recognises groups that are making a difference for the communities they serve. Selected by a global panel of judges, organizations must demonstrate how design can drive societal progress, address major issues outlined in the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and foster equity and sustainability. DNDA’s five HCD+ principles, namely - solving root causes, considering entire ecosystems, long-term systems thinking, iterative refinement, and designing with (and by) the community, are reflected throughout the Samartha program’s design.
Under Samartha, district and block mentors support school leaders in building sustainable school improvement plans. Students are given opportunities to lead club activities, anchor activity-based morning assemblies, and design teaching-learning materials to apply their learning and share with peers, fostering a culture of peer-to-peer support. Teachers conduct focused remedial sessions to ensure every child receives the support they need, while engaging in parent-teacher meetings creates meaningful spaces for parents to become equal partners in their children’s education. The activities have helped encourage the development of social-emotional skills, while parents serve as active partners, and officials collaborate to embed successful practices system-wide. Learning Circles and Pragati Hejje showcases bring stakeholders together to share best practices and celebrate progress.
By aligning with DNDA’s HCD+ ethos, Samartha embodies the principle of solving core issues (not just symptoms) in the entire school ecosystem. Its co-creative model—iteratively prototyping solutions with the community—matches DNDA’s emphasis on community-driven design. This participatory, systemic approach has helped transform government schools into vibrant ecosystems of ownership and collaboration.
Receiving the DNDA is a major validation of Mantra4Change’s impact. The award places Samartha alongside global leaders in humanity-centered social innovation and highlights the importance of empathetic design in public education. As a recognised Education award laureate, Mantra4Change’s work is seen as a model for building sustainable, equitable learning environments. The honour is expected to boost visibility for community-led education reform and encourage similar HCD-driven programs worldwide.
“Being selected for the Don Norman Design Award 2025 is an affirmation of our belief that systemic change in education must be rooted in human dignity, empathy, and collaboration. At Mantra4Change, we strive to co-create solutions with communities that make learning joyful and equitable for every child. This recognition strengthens our resolve to design for humanity and scale transformative impact across India,” said Mohammed Rafi MT, Director of Programs, Mantra4Change.
The 2025 DNDA laureates were announced in September, with formal awards to be presented at the DNDA25 Summit in Singapore this November. The ceremony will bring together educators, designers and innovators from around the world to celebrate human-first solutions. Mantra4Change and Samartha will join previous DNDA honorees in advancing the movement to improve lives through sustainable, inclusive design.
About Mantra4Change
Mantra4Change is a non-profit organisation transforming public schools in India through educational leadership. Our approach involves driving continuous school improvements by empowering education leaders, transforming schools to create an enriching learning experience, and Inspiring civil society organisations across India to collectively work towards transformation in education.
We aim to drive sustainable, continuous school improvements across 150,000 schools by 2025.
About the Don Norman Design Award
Don Norman Design Award (DNDA) is a non-profit whose mission is to champion Humanity-Centered Design (HCD+) globally, emphasising the rights and well-being of humanity, encompassing diverse cultures, the environment, and all living beings. DNDA recognises early-career practitioners of projects and educational organisations worldwide who take a humanity-centered and sustainable approach to addressing challenges at the community level. DNDA was inspired by the work of Don Norman, design pioneer, educator, and champion of Humanity-Centered Design.
