Call for Applications: Change Looms – Supporting Young People Leading Social Change in India
Pravah and Ashoka: Innovators for the Public are together running a
support programme for young people working for change – Change Looms.
Details about the program and the application forms are given below.
Lillian Strand
Change Looms Coordinator
*CALL FOR APPLICATIONS*
Pravah and Ashoka: Innovators for the Public are currently accepting
applications for CHANGE LOOMS. Change Looms is a program that
recognizes, encourages and supports the exceptional achievements of
young people who are actively promoting social change in society. It
provides in-depth capacity building, mentoring from leading social
entrepreneurs across the country, acknowledgement at a public event, and
a grant of Rs. 40,000 for outstanding initiatives.
Last year there were more than 40 youth applicants from around the
country and 13 were invited to a week-long development centre in Delhi.
The five outstanding initiatives recognized last year were:
* Alternative Realitites, an initiative led by Abhishek Bharadwaj to
empower homeless citizens in Mumbai
* Chamna Thuptep, an effort by Rebecca Haokip to strengthen the
participation of local communities in non-violent conflict
resolution in Manipur
* Dhriiti, a Delhi-based group of young people led by Nidhi Arora
and Anirban Gupta working to build entrepreneurial skills among youth
* Saher, a community-based organization working for communal harmony
in Jogeshwari, Mumbai, led by Masood Akhtar and Rama Shyam
* Save Satpuda, an initiative by Vishal Bansod to include the local
community in conserving the tiger and its habitat
This year up to 15 teams/individuals will be invited to join the Change
Looms process.
We are looking for young people between the ages of 17-27 years who have
launched on-going social ventures in operation for at least 6 months.
These youth initiatives must be independent from existing organizations.
Both individuals and teams may apply.
An application form is attached and also available on
_www.younginfluencers.com <http://www.younginfluencers.com/>_ and
_www.ashoka.org <http://www.ashoka.org/>_. Applications will be received
through April 15, 2007.
For more information about Change Looms, please call or write to Lillian
at Pravah (mail@pravah.org , 011-2644-0619) or Dolon at Ashoka
(dsen@ashoka.org , 011-2619-0969).
We are looking forward to receiving many exciting and inspiring
applications from young people.
The Change Looms Team
PRAVAH
2nd Floor, C-24B, Kalkaji, New Delhi 110019
Tel: +91-11-26213918/26440619/26291354
www.younginfluencers.com mail@pravah.org
Introduction to Change loom-
Change Looms a tapestry for dreams in action
Pravah and Ashoka: Innovators for the Public have come together in a partnership to offer Change Looms an initiative that seeks to encourage and support young people who have launched social change initiatives, with a vision to build a broader movement of young changemakers.
Change Looms recognizes the exceptional achievements of young people actively seeking to promote social change in society. These are youth below the age of 27 who have a well-rounded understanding of the problems society faces, believe that they can make a difference, and have developed an innovative approach to making a change in society.
Youth entrepreneurs usually find it difficult to start up new enterprises because of limited access to resources, both financial and non-financial, as well as lack of avenues to develop their skills. Often the possibility of engaging in the social sector is also not considered an option because career opportunities in the mainstream are more inviting and less risky. Those that do engage often spend years re-inventing the wheel. However if young people are supported at the right stage to put their ideas into action, then they can get a head start in not only leading social change but also being at the forefront of a movement and culture of social entrepreneurship among youth.
The Change Looms Program offers of in-depth capacity building at a one-week residential workshop, an opportunity to be mentored by leading social entrepreneurs, a national collective learning event, recognition at a public event and a grant of Rs. 40,000 for outstanding initiatives.
On 22nd September 2006, the second batch of outstanding Changeloomers was felicitated in the annual Change Looms event. The groups felicitated were:
Alternative Realities was started by Abhishek Bharadwaj (27) to empower Mumbais homeless citizens. Working with the help of active and passionate volunteers, Alternative Realities works on issues of identity, health, livelihood and shelter. The volunteers sensitize the general public on issues of homelessness through street plays, and also organize studies, survey and research on homelessness and related issues. Awareness programs on human rights are used as a measure to empower the homeless citizens. Abhishek negotiates with organizations and institutions to use their existing infrastructure as night shelters and arranges access to medical facilities for the homeless. Efforts to assist homeless citizens in applying for ration cards and voter IDs are underway, shortly the team will start seminars and lecture series with officials, academicians and other stake holders on the issue of homelessness. Alternative Realities plans to facilitate the formation of functional groups of homeless citizens at city, state and national level with the help of existing homeless youth groups, with the aim to influence state policies in favor of homeless citizens. Abhishek is also working towards building a strong network of likeminded organizations towards supporting homeless citizens in restoring their right to live with dignity. Alternative Realities is based in Mumbai.
Chamna Thuptep in Thadou dialect means promises of peace or commandments of peace. Having grown up with conflict in Manipur, Rebecca Haokip (26) started forming peace cells in the localities and villages of her district to help and strengthen participation of the community in non-violent conflict resolution. Confident that youth can lead the way to peace, Rebecca mobilizes youth in villages into peace cells, and trains them to organize peace workshops in their communities. The peace workshops provide a space for communities to freely discuss issues, relax, meet and interact with the other tribe/clan, suggesting and planning together for peace. Encouraged by the positive response, Rebecca wants to train more young peace workers to open new peace cells, and is also planning to arrange social analysis workshops for community leaders and summer programs on peace for children. Chamna Thuptep is based in Manipur.
Dhriiti The Courage Within is an effort by Nidhi Arora (25), Anirban Gupta (26), Arindam Dasgupta (27) and their team to build a new venture which can inspire, support and spread a culture of entrepreneurship in Indian society. Through training workshops, interactions and individual initiatives at multiple levels, Dhriiti aims to create a pool of next generation entrepreneurs, promote and develop micro enterprises and increase the efficiency of existing small scale industries. In the coming year, Dhriiti plans to provide entrepreneurship training to students enrolled in government schools and non-formal education programs of six NGOs in the NCR region. At the college level, the plan is to do workshops and set up chapters for entrepreneurship development. The direct interventions to set up micro enterprises in Assam will continue, and hopefully expand to Meghalaya. Dhriiti’s head office is in Delhi.
SAHER (Society for Awareness, Harmony and Equal Rights) is a Community Based Organization (CBO) started by Rama Syam (26) and Masood Akthar (30). After the riots in 1993, Masood started a theatre group to channel the energies of youth towards positive action and social responsibility. Later, Rama introduced the idea that the best way to address the issue of communal differences would be to make people recognize their basic, common needs and to focus on education of women. Braving political pressure, Saher has organized activities and collaborated with others to opportunities for the local community to address their social, educational and economic needs. They have worked extensively with the Municipal Ward Office, the local Corporator and the MLA of the area on civic issues. Among Sahers many initiatives are street plays, Interschool Sports meets, police-public interactions, inter-communal workshops in sensitive communities, information meets on the Slum Rehabilitation Scheme. In the coming years SAHER wants to establish a Community Facilitation Center to house activities ranging from livelihood programs for women, adult education programs, civil rights workshops, health camps, career counseling and guidance for school-going children and drop-outs, and police-public interactions. The center will also house a library and a Labour Resource Bank, in which a database of the skill-sets of local youth will be advertised for possible job requirements. Saher is based in Mumbai.
Save Satpuda was set up by Vishal Bansod (26), Pratap Thakare (23) and their team to address the issue of conservation of forests while ensuring that tribal land rights are protected. They are working in the Satpuda landscape which is the largest contiguous tiger habitat in the world and also the source of more than 100 rivers originating from central India. Firm in the belief that people and wildlife have to co-exist, these environmentalists are working to ensure that the protection of the forests does not alienate the tribals who depend on the forest for their survival as much as the wildlife in this area. Save Satpuda aims to protect this landscape by establishing and replicating three models of landscape conservation i.e. education, conservation and research. In doing so they are working to enlist the support of communities, engage tribals in conservation work and renew the bonds of trust and coexistence between man and animals.
On 8th October, 2005 the first batch of Change Looms teams was felicitated. The three ventures were:
Ø Vipin, Nancy, and Alankaar are addressing the ‘untouchable’ issue of child sexual abuse in Chennai families. Through school workshops, they provide awareness, break myths, and above all tell children that if they have been abused, it is NOT their fault. After a year of struggle, they now have a waitlist of schools in Chennai seeking their program. Passionate, strongly committed, and bringing a deep understanding, they are the School-based Intervention for Preventing and Addressing Child Sexual Abuse.
Ø Of the myriad organizations working with street children in Bombay, hardly any are managed by the kids themselves. Sameer and Rajesh, two former street kids, have formed an association called Pukaar, which provides a range of services to younger street kids, from providing food and shelter to rights training to knowing where to access vocational training and health services. In the last year, this network has enabled 50 youth to permanently move out of the streets.
Gerald, an adivasi from Karbi Anglong district on the Assam-Nagaland border, is hoping to liberate adivasis from the strangleholds imposed on them by the moneylenders to whom they mortgaged their land. Investing his own meagre savings to pay off one moneylender, he now works with the adivasi family he liberated to convince them that their land can be a valuable resource. Training adivasi youth, mentoring young farmers, and working with the adivasi community to proactively address their problems, Gerald’s Jivan Dan brings hope where there is currently none.
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The Change Looms Partners
Pravah is a registered non-profit organisation working towards sensitising young people to various social issues since 1993. The Pravah team, which consists of professionals from the diverse fields of management, social work, theatre and psychology; strongly believes that it is the youth who have the maximum potential to bring about positive changes in our society. Pravah is committed towards creating a volunteer base of sensitive, well-informed and independent minded people who can contribute to create a better world in diverse ways irrespective of their specific chosen fields.
Ashoka: Innovators for the Public is a global non-profit organization that seeks to create a vibrant, innovative and globally integrated social sector. Ashoka invests in social entrepreneurs – individuals with innovative and practical ideas for solving societal problems. Since its founding in 1980, Ashoka has launched more than 1,700 leading social entrepreneurs in more than 60 countries, including 270 in India. Ashokas modest investments in these individuals consistently yield extraordinary returns in the form of nation-wide and cross border advancement in areas like education, health, human rights, environment, and economic development. Ashokas Young Innovators Initiative is building a movement of young changemakers around the world, and advancing Ashokas vision of Everyone a changemaker.
The Youth and Civil Society Initiative of the Sir Ratan Tata Trust recognizes the potential role of young people in development issues to become change agents. It recognizes the need for well-designed, interlinked spaces that would encourage youth action in development. The Trust focuses on expanding the space for youth action for development and supports programs that generate learning from the field, that create common platforms to bring youth organizations together, and other open programs such as summer schools, fellowships etc.
Change Looms is supported by The Youth and Civil Society Initiative of the Sir Ratan Tata Trust
Call for Applications :
Pravah and Ashoka: Innovators for the Public are currently accepting applications for CHANGE LOOMS. Change Looms is a program that recognizes, encourages and supports the exceptional achievements of young people who are actively promoting social change in society. It provides in-depth capacity building, mentoring from leading social entrepreneurs across the country, acknowledgement at a public event, and a grant of Rs. 40,000 for outstanding initiatives.