The Kerala State Council for Child Welfare at Thycaud here, selected as a recognised adoption centre, is being renamed Little Planet, Specialised Adoption Agency.

Council general secretary G.L. Arun Gopi has approached the government with a request for the same.

Mr. Gopi said here on Monday that the council’s adoption centre at Thycaud did not have a name; it was just referred to as the adoption centre. However, with a number of children being adopted by couples living abroad, the need for name for the adoption centre was felt acutely. Hence, the name Little Planet.

The council adoption centre at Malappuram would also be named Little Planet. The council’s other adoption centres in Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha, and Kasaragod would also be renamed gradually as part of a Statewide branding initiative, he says.

The council’s child care institution (CCI) for girls at Thycaud already goes by the name Veedu. Its Kozhikode CCI is called Shishu Vikas Bhavan, while the Kannur CCI too is set to get the name Veedu.

“Running adoption and child care institutions are just one of the many activities that the Kerala State Council for Child Welfare takes up. We plan to brand both our institutions and projects.”

This month, the council plans to organise a ‘State Science and History Workshop’ in Kannur. The three-day workshop is being held for higher secondary and college students against the backdrop of alleged attempts to distort science and omit history from textbooks.

The State workshop will be followed by district workshops and down to panchayat level meets with the aim of making children and parents aware of child rights, take “actual” science and history to them, especially Indian and Kerala history, including after the formation of a united Kerala. The idea, Mr. Gopi says, is to explore and make children aware of what makes Kerala different from other States.