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AARTI BEDI, Madhya Pradesh

Aarti is a 25 years old. She has braved several challenges that life and identity faced her with. She struggled hard, with the support and encouragement of her grandmother and teacher to keep herself out of the web of customary prostitution that the Bedia community girls have to accept and practice. Aarti enrolled herself as a private student and completed her post graduation in 2007, supporting her own education through small jobs from high school onwards. She has been working with a Social rehabilitation initiative of the Bedia Community for the past three years. She has a big vision for her community where girls have access to education and dignified living, boys critically look at gender relations in their community and the community itself can relate to the larger social world on equal terms.

Project: Working with the youth of the Bedia Community towards greater options of education and livelihoods to challenge the customary prostitution practices in her own village in Sagar Dist of Madhya Pradesh.

AFAQ ULLAH, Uttar Pradesh

Afaq has completed his post graduation in Human Rights from the Jamia Milia Islamia and his stay in Delhi in this duration has offered him opportunity for multiple exposures to development issues and initiatives. His exposure with the SMILE programme to famine prone Baran district of Rajasthan was an eye opener on many social realities; This was only strengthened through an internship with NFI taking him to Orissa to closely witness and work on forest, water and mining issues among the tribal communities of Raigada. As part of his fellowship with NFI, he joined the Hazard Centre in Delhi to work among youth and slum communities and labour in the unorganised sector. Hailing from the Faizabad district of Uttar Pradesh, Afaq is 25 years old and these various experiences have taken him back to the many experienced realities of discord back home...

Project: Work towards redeveloping the culture of positive coexistence in Faizabad town using creative art initiatives among youth.

CHINMAY PHUTANE, Maharashtra

Born in the Amaravati district of Maharashtra, Chinmay comes from a farming family that believes in the Sarvodayi philosophy. While feeling very strongly about sustainability, his family practices organic farming. Chinmay is 23 years old; he has received training in media from the Nasik based organisation 'Abhivyakti'. Since 2004 he has been associated with 'Samvad Rawala' an organisation that organises camps for children on organic farming. He believes that education should contribute to the development of scientific temperament and has been coordinating the Jeevanshala project in Vidarbha. Chinmay is disturbed by the fact that the number of people in agriculture is slowly declining. He is also concerned about farmers not getting adequate monetory returns on their produce, even though the price of inputs is increasing.

Project: Studying, creating and adapting farm implements and machinery for food processing towards strengthening organic farming and local food processing initiatives in Amravati district of Maharashtra

HAMEEDA KHATOON, Uttar Pradesh

22 years old Hameeda had a challenging childhood and had to start working at a very young age to support her family and her own education.Working with Sanatkada, an initiative supporting women artisans in Lucknow Hameeda has worked for the empowerment and capacity building of marginalised communities including Dalits and Muslims. She feels this has developed her ability to view issues such as gender, identity and equality from a feminist perspective, this has led to a surge of excitement and self-confidence in her and given her inspiration to express herself.

Project: Computer literacy Initiatives for marginalized youth of Lucknow city, inclusive of an understanding of identity, gender, human rights, and equality through a feminist perspective.

ISMAIL ABDUL SHARIF, Maharashtra

26 year old Ismail has grown up in the Jogeshwari pocket of Mumbai. As a young man he has witnessed discrimination patterns especially after the 92 riots and wants to work against the potential threats for other youth. Ismail has had the responsibility of earning through petty jobs to support his family and his own education since middle school. His exposure to youth mobilisation initiatives of YUVA gave him a sense of purpose and he strongly believes that change can only come with effort. He has functioned as a Catalyst for a youth research group at PUKAR, researching relationships of users and PDS shop operators.

Project: Working with Youth, primarily Muslim in Jogeshwari slum of Mumbai towards skill enhancement, personality development, livelihood options and civic rights.

JOSHUA HISHEY, Uttarakhand

Joshua Hishey, 29, is a Design professional with a keen interest in applying Design for Development initiatives. Since 2005, he has been leading a furniture manufacturing enterprise to provide training and employment to local youth in Rajpur, Dehradun. In 2008, he established Studio Alaya, a platform to facilitate capacity building of craft and skill based producers in Uttarakhand and improve market access for their craft produce. Joshua serves as a member of the Cooperative of Artisans supported by a state nodal agency Uttarakhand Bamboo & Fiber Development Board. He is also actively involved as a volunteer mentor with an organization working with Tibetan youth.

Project: Setting up a graphic design studio for training youth from underprivileged backgrounds in graphic design after imparting to them training in Computer skills and English, developing their creativity as an extension of His Studio Alaya in Dehradun district of Uttarakhand.

KATHI CHISHI, Nagaland

Sharp concern for his sociopolitical context has made Kathi a journalist and environmentalist and development has pushed him towards farming. Coming from Atoizu in Nagaland, 28 year old Kathi Chishi is currently pursuing post graduation in sustainable development through correspondence. While pursuing his graduation at Delhi University he was active in student politics. Kathi was associated with the Consortium of Indian Farmers as a journalist. Over time, he has developed a deeper understanding about the need for environment conservation and development of forests and works around these issues specifically in Nagaland through 'Toka Multipurpose' an organisation he has had long term association with.

Project: Setting up an Agricultural Resource Centre for young and underprivileged farmers of Dimapur District in Nagaland to provide capacity building and agroforestry solutions.

LOKESH KALAL, Rajasthan

Currently pursuing a master's in Sociology, 23 year old Lokesh belongs to Udaipur district of Rajasthan. Since 2006, he has been associated with 'Seva Mandir' at the local level and working on issues such as youth development and child rights. Located on the Gujarat border, Lokesh's village witnessed large scale in migration of people running away from the Gujrat genocide in 2002, the situation left a deep impression on him and he became part of the OXFAM initiative of 'Stop violence Enhance peace'. Lokesh received a youth fellowship from 'Urja Ghar' for documenting the local history of the area and struggles of single women. He has continued to work in the Karawada area among children and youth; he also edits a quarterly magazine called 'apna josh'.

Project: Using Theatre and other Creative methods for strengthening Communal Harmony and evoking youth participation for addressing social issues in the villages of Udaipur Dist bordering Gujarat.

NAVEEN JHAJHARIA, Uttarakhand

Naveen has a love for nature and has grappled with many questions relating to human nature as he grew up, this prompted him to choose to do a Postgraduation in Psychology inspite of family disapproval. He worked with different groups in Kolkata including the 'Thoughtshop Foundation' on many aspects of youth development including interpersonal counselling. Naveen enjoys being with children and has experience in alternative teaching for rural kids using interesting teaching aids and methods and optimal facilitation skills. The experience of working at the grassroots and some capacity building workshops influenced his thoughts and broadened his perceptions of the world. He went to SIDH working in the hills of Musoorie to volunteer in their education programme and stayed on for over two years working as a teacher. Naveen is 27 and highly desirous of creating learning spaces for youth to explore their potential.

Project: To establish and run a drop-in counseling and support center for rural youth of the Jaunpur community in Kempty Village, Near Mussoorie of Uttrakhand.

NAVEEN VASUDEVAN, Tamil Nadu

Naveen's stint as an environmental engineer in an automobile company made him realise that the singular motive of many corporates is only to maximise their profits. This significantly influenced his thought, he quit his job with the objective of working for the environment. After volunteering at Shikshantar for some time, Naveen undertook an experiment in environmental education among school children as a Global Green Grant Fund Fellow. He also regularly contributes articles to 'Infochange India', a news portal focused on social change issues. Naveen is 26 and has been concerned in building an understanding on the processes and meaningfulness of social change. While he volunteers with a youth group in Chennai discussing issues like corporate crime and hegemony, Globalization etc, he has also extensively read and explored the philosophies of Gandhi, Krishnamurti, Vivekananda etc. Interacting with this diversity he says gives him a chance to examine various stands and identify what he finds meaningful to be involved with.

Project: Co Create a web-based platform for interested young activists/ changemakers who believe in the Gandhain approach to social change, to come together for shared learning and exploration.

NIRUPAMA SARATHY, Tamil Nadu

Nirupama feels that she is still in the process of discovering herself; every person, place and experience that she has come across has played a part in shaping the person she is. A quest for more satisfying answers took her from a graduation in Economics to study Social Work, which further opened her world-view and understanding of social situations. Nirupama has worked with Pravah in Delhi and Jaipur on various programmes promoting youth active citizenship; she has also volunteered with a number of groups including Patang in Sambalpur and Prajnya in Chennai. She has had an active concern to work towards gender equality and conceptualised and anchored a multigroup partnered initiative to mark the International 16 Days Campaign against Gender Violence in Chennai. Nirupama is 26 and she believes that her chosen path for social change needs to start with herself.

Project: Facilitating the engagement of young people in active citizenship primarily in the domain of gender and related issues through co-creating an open space for learning and action in Chennai.

PRAKASH, Delhi

Prakash has grown up with the challenge of having to work almost the full day to earn a living to support himself since almost childhood. His search for suitable options where young people from labouring families could find information, support, friendship and confidence has been incessant. Constantly occupied with work, Prakash could only imagine such a space. His brief exposure to a youth theatre group initiative of Sanjha Manch offered shape to his imagination and his desire to make it real for many other struggling youth has been at the centre of his being even as he has worked full time on petty jobs, a small aquarium business to support his family. Prakash feels that in the rapidly 'developing' Delhi, the plight of people providing basic services to the city is very vulnerable and youth need support to sustain their basic zest for life.

Project: Using theatre, sports and educational activities towards development of youth engaged in labour in South Delhi.

RAJONI LILLYAMMA KUJUR, Andaman & Nicobar Islands

27 year old Rajoni hails from the Andaman Islands. Rajoni completed her school education in 2002 and is currently pursuing her under graduation through correspondence. To supplement the family income, she has worked in a brick kiln and in local shops. She has been associated with the Nehru Yuvak Kendra Sangathan. Here, along with rural youth she has worked on various issues, such as awareness building on tuberculosis and capacity building for self-employment. In the past two years Rajoni has worked with Care India on Post Tsunami disaster management in the region. Having witnessed a natural calamity of great magnitude she feels a strong need for community based disaster preparedness. Rajoni has also received special training in first aid from a civil defence group in West Bengal.

Project: Working with Communities of 4 Tsunami effected villages in Greater Andamans on Community Based Disaster Preparedness

RANJITA PAWAR, Maharashtra

Born in the 'Laman' community which is a denotified tribe and exploitatively labelled 'criminal', Ranjita is no stranger to social discrimination. Such adverse conditions encouraged Ranjita to study further and in 2007 after completing her D.Ed. she became the first teacher in her community. Biographies or various Dalit leaders and writers inspired her to work for the community. Ranjita joined the 'Samaj Vikas' an organisation working among the Laman tandas where she learnt about management of self help groups and the various needs of children. To improve the learning ability of children, she started exploring games, music and stories for joyful learning but realised that the socio economic forces dominating the community's life also need to be challenged to facilitate education herein. She along with close friends has set up 'Samarth' an organisation committed to working among Laman tribals. Resolute and cheerful, at 25, Ranjita is sure that her purpose in life is to open greater avenues of participation, equity and dignity for the girls and women of her community.

Project: Working towards enhancing girls' enrolment in primary schools, quality education and decriminalization of the Laman Community.

RUMAL DHANGI, Gujrat

24 year old Rumal is from a small farming family of the Sabarkantha district Gujrat. He joined ‘Manav Kalyan Trust’ and started working on the issue of health around 2005. From 2008 he has been working on the issues of peace, harmony and gender as a community mobilizer in the organisation ‘Urjaghar’. During this period his thoughts underwent changes and he developed a perspective on entitlements, rights and equal citizenship. He feels that the divides of rich and poor and divergent stakes divide the nation on issues such as special economic zones, terrorism, capital punishment, activities of multi-national companies etc. which needs to be stopped. Rumalbhai believes that if youth have the perspective of equal citizenship, situations can be changed.

Project: Working among Bhil Youth of Sabarkantha towards building understandings on panchayat and forest rights and withstanding the communal forces active in the region.

SANGEETA MAURYA, Uttarakhand

Growing up in the conservative Purvanchal region of UP, Sangeeta has witnessed gender discrimination and violence since childhood. This inspired her to actively challenge this inequity and lead life on her own terms. Alongside her undergraduation, she started to work… volunteering initially with Grameen Punarnirman and moving to work with Sahyog on a statewide programme on maternal health and gender rights. Sangeeta is 25 years old, is quietly confident and believes that social change is all about taking the risk, mobilizing energy and challenging structures.

Project: Working with the Youth of the Buksa Tribe towards equitable gender relations in selected villages of Udhamsingh Nagar district of Uttarakhand.

SHAHNAZ MALIK, Maharashtra

Coming from a traditional and joint Muslim family from the Malvani region of Mumbai, Shahnaz has closely experienced the prohibitions that are imposed on individuals, particularly women, in a conservative society. While very young she witnessed family situations which made her understand the reality of gender inequality changing her perceptions about society. Opposing conservative thought, She started believing that women have their own identity and can achieve anything if they so desire and find opportunity. At 26, Shanaz is a natural leader and leads most of the rights based spontaneous initiatives in her settlement, also finding inspiration and confidence from her engagement as a youth research group anchor as part of the PUKAR Fellowships for youth.

Project: Working with Women in Malvani area of Mumbai towards women's empowerment through creation of collectives and livelihood enhancement.

SMITA SEN, West Bengal

During childhood Smita had an opportunity to join a club where she got exposure to various activities like parade, art, dance, song, drama, games, gymnastics, quiz etc. This exposure to club shaped up her creative aspect and leadership skills. After finishing her Masters in Economics in 2004, she joined development sector. Since then she has worked with several NGOs in Kolkata where she worked closely with youth of various socio – economic background and gained skill to designing, facilitating training & workshops on various development issues, develop manuals, apply Theatre therapy (Theatre for development) for providing psychosocial support and alternative method of counselling. Smita is 28 years old and has a dream of having a discrimination free society. She along with few other youth has set up "Rupantaran", an organisation which believes that every citizen have a responsibility to make the society better place to live.

Project: Developing Active Citizenship among youth through creation of safe spaces for discussions and intensive facilitation in a rural area of West Bengal.

VISHAL SINGH DHYABHAI, Rajasthan

26 year old Vishal has grown up in a happy, large joint family. Tickled by TV programmes teaching to make creative things out of waste products, he discovered a vocation of deep interest and engagement. This interest took him to the Shikshantar a Learning space in Udaipur, where he started to volunteer his time to conduct activities among children and joined the nationwide network of young people working on the 'kabaad se jugaad' concept. While in 'Shikshantar', he has been able to better understand the existing conditions of globalization, media, education system etc. His concern for nature has encouraged him to develop his understanding of the concept of 'Zero Waste'. While he is concerned about the impacts of large scale garbage dumping on our local environments, he is also grappling with the fast moving culture of garbage creation in our lives. His interests include painting, animation and architecture.

Project: Initiating school and community based efforts towards Zero Waste in Udaipur City.