Donate to Silver Inning Foundation :Make a Difference to our Elders

Donate to Silver Inning Foundation :Save Tax and Make a Difference to our Elders

If you feel we have done justice to the cause of Senior Citizens and made difference to life of our Elders and if you would like to support our effort to work with our Elders, please donate to the ‘Silver Inning Foundation’ to help us expand our network and for our outreach programme/services to our Elders.

Donation Options:

1) People outside India: can pay in Foreign Currency by your Credit Card, Debit Card to Pay Pal account https://www.paypal.com/in/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_home-general&nav=0 TO: ‘ Sailesh Mishra’ sailesh2000@gmail.com

2) People in India: can pay by Cheque /Demand Draft / Bankers Cheque: in favour of ‘Silver Inning Foundation’ accompanied by a covering letter with your Name, Postal Address, Contact No., Email and PAN Number to Correspondence Address : Silver Inning Foundation, C/o. Sailesh Mishra, ARENA III, Flat - 801/802, Poonam Garden, Mira Road -East, Mumbai. India – 401107. You can also send your query to: silverinnings@gmail.com or call us at: 09987104233 (Monday to Friday only).

3) People in India can also Pay by Bank Transfer / NEFT to below account:

Bank Account detail: Account Number: 018010100538299
Account Name: Silver Inning Foundation
Account Type: Saving A/C
Bank address: AXIS Bank Ltd., Nandnandan Bhavan, Sodawala Lane, Borivali (West) ,Mumbai, India – 400092
IFS Code: UTIB0000018


Donations to Silver Inning Foundation are eligible for tax benefits under Sec. 80G of the Income-Tax Act 1961 (50% tax exemption) to people of India.


Silver Inning Foundation is registered NOT FOR PROFIT (NGO) under the:

1) Societies Registration Act of 1860 vide registration number: 1300/2008/GBBSD dated 14/07/2008.
2) The Bombay Public Trusts Act 1950 vide registration number: F- 36344 Mumbai dated 8/12/2008.
3) Reg.No. U/s, 80-G from the Income Tax: DIT(E)/MC/80-G/1696/2010-11 dt. 6/5/2010 effective 17.02.2010.


Mission:
To uphold and secure the rights of elderly and actively work towards improving their quality of life by networking, advocating and researching elderly issues and providing a wide range of services according to their needs

Goals:
1. To advocate and create awareness of elderly rights and issues at micro and macro level.
2. To address basic needs of the elderly (aged 50yrs +) and their family members.
3. To provide and create innovative programmes and services for the elderly that enable them to reintegrate back into society with dignity.
4. To promote research and development on issues related to elderly.
5. To develop and implement training of professionals and para-professionals in Gerontology, Geriatrics and Geriatric Care Management.

Being relatively new entry to ageing sector working since April 2008, we are confident that with your support and blessings we will accomplish in 2011 and beyond.

With our dedication, passion and with help of our networking partners we are trying to make a measurable, meaningful, and sustainable impact on the life of our Elders around the globe.

Together we at Silver Inning Foundation are working towards our Vision of creating Elder Friendly World where Ageing becomes a Positive and Rewarding Experience.

Website: www.silverinningfoundation.org


Silver Innings - Blog for Senior Citizens: DONATION: Donate to Silver Inning Foundation :Save Tax and Make a Difference to our Elders If you feel we have done justice to the cause of Senior Citizens

Forget yourself for others, and others will never forget you.

KARMAYUGA- ‘The Right every Wrong Generation’ Campaign launched to ignite the ‘Volunteer’ spirit among citizens

No Individual, Institution or Organization, not even the UN or any government  can Change the World but if every citizen practices her / his fundamental duties & Individual Social Responsibility,  then maybe collectively we could make the world a more egalitarian, just, humane & responsible society. Each of us can right a wrong and thus together as ONE we can RIGHT every WRONG.  ‘KARMAYUGA- The Right Every Wrong Generation’, a nationwide campaign has been launched by iCONGO and CtrlS on 12thOct’11, from Mumbai, with the core objective of bringing together and recognizing citizen volunteers/uncommon and unsung heroes , who through their focused action, are trying to lead the society towards a better tomorrow.

This initiative salutes and showcases the extra ordinary and inspiring work done by ordinary mortals, to Right a Wrong that they see around them. To be a part of the “Karmayuga Campaign” one need not join an NGO or campaign, nor give any money, clothes and newspapers to charity. All that one needs to do is do small simple acts with big commitment & involvement” to address wrongs in the society. The person can post his story on the official Karmayuga website www.righteverywrong.com , so that more people can follow his/her example and the tipping point reached, wherein everyone gets together to RIGHT every WRONG.

On the occasion Mr. Jeroninio Almeida, Founder-iCONGO said, “All our SIMPLE ACTIONS can make a BIG DIFFERENCE in bringing about a change in our world. We believe that a selfless citizen action can spark a mass movement where all citizens work “Together as One to Right every Wrong”.  The Matchbox symbolizes the idea of “Igniting Citizen Action”. He further added, “Our mission in a nutshell is to encourage social justice through citizen action. We believe that if citizens start doing small, simple actions in our own space and time, then one day we will see that big difference in real sense and this shall benefit our future generations. Probably the most powerful healing for all socio-political evils is the creation of more and more citizen heroes”. He appeals to all citizens to. Act NOW; DO SOMETHING to Right a WRONG around you and Belong to Karmayuga- The RIGHT every WRONG generation.
Present at the event Ms. Gul Panag, Founder, Social Outreach and Accreditation Programme (SOAP) said, “The Karmayuga Campaign is in its true meaning ‘Voluntary’ and to be a part of it each one has to become Anna Hazare themselves and to motivate people to help each other  in the real world.It is the most ethical concept ever put down to work. According to one’s own capabilities and discretion, volunteers are expected to work in their desired area of interest in their own way.”

Mr. P Sridhar Reddy, Chairman and Managing Director, CtrlS, shared his thoughts “Being India’s largest and only certified tier IV data center, we have always been led by an inherent drive to deliver technological innovations that build a sustainable eco system, thereby making this world a better place to live in. We’re proud to say CtrlS Mumbai; with a PUE of 1.4 is the most energy efficient datacenter in India. From implementing eco-friendly practices in our workplaces, to following tier IV standards of operation, or delivering excellence through our philosophy of ‘Total Ownership’, we believe sustainable solutions are the stepping stones for a secure tomorrow. We are in the business of protecting data with full confidentiality and have partnered Karmayuga to create more protectors for our planet and people.

We are delighted to say that partnering with iCONGO, has brought us another step closer to building healthier ecosystem. Every company today must have a holistic CSR policy that encourages employees to get involved in social issues. This will push the organization towards better efficiency and profitability.

The entire movement is powered by Ctrls – iCONGO Karmaveer Puraskaar- Global awards for Social Justice and Citizen Action, initiated by iCONGO 6 years back. Through KVP, iCONGO has been felicitating and highlighting the work done by citizens who have gone beyond their usual business and have readily Lead the Change in the society through selfless actions. Karmaveer awardees are fondly referred to as Noble Laureates and many of them have gone on and joined national committees and planning commissions as core members and had also served as ambassadors of global movements.”

“Belong to Karmayuga- The RIGHT every WRONG Generation – this is an opportunity to be a part of a social movement” says Rakhi Sarkar, Country Director – VSO India. We usually talk about our rights but as citizens of this country we have responsibilities as well. By becoming a part of Karmyuga it will be an excellent opportunity for citizens to engage and address the problems of social and economic inequity that surrounds them. Volunteering is a powerful instrument to promote inclusive development through active civic engagement.   Be a “Karmyugi” – this is an opportunity to be a part of a social movement and make a difference – your efforts do matter and can improve the prospects of people, communities and Indian society as a whole Rakhi added.

The top 20 stories will be awarded CtrlS- iCONGO Karmaveer Chakra, a medallion for proactive voluntary actions to Be The Change, instituted with the UN. . All people/ children/ youth who participate shall be awarded the “CtrlS- iCONGO KARMAVEER- THE RIGHT every WRONG Generation Certificate” for being the change and for promoting Social Justice through her/ his action.

The movement conceptualized & initiated by iCONGO (International Confederation of NGOs and VSO India) the world’s leading independent international development organization that works through volunteers to fight poverty in developing countries. The campaign is emphatically supported by renowned personalities including Mr. P Sridhar Reddy, Chairman and Managing Director of CtrlS, the largest tier iv datacenter in South Asia, and social activist and actress Gul Panag, (Founder of the volunteering movement SOAP).

Those Present at this event were Jeroninio Almeida , Gul Pang, P Sridhar Reddy , Abha Singh , Sailesh Mishra , Vincent Nazareth and Vandana Shah.

Many organizations, NGOs, Corporates, Academic Institutions and Media Houses, have joined hands with the Karmayuga Campaign as Initiative Partners to spread the message. The Initiative partners include-  UNV ( United Nations Volunteers), SOAP, RTF, RTI Nation, Goa Forgiving, The Image India Institute, World Comics Trust, GOD, SOIL, Skill share International, Silver Innings, Masoom, HFI, Samarthanam, OLPC, THF, Olives Bar and Kitchen, Dialogue India, Good Shepherd’s Home.

A co-branded Chakra has been created with each Initiative partner to felicitate their partners and supporters.

Forget yourself for others, and others will never forget you.

Corruption in India is endemic because like charity corruption begins at home too

Corruption first creeps in slowly and quietly into individual brains. If we look back upon our childhood days, we would know how we—or our siblings and friends—snatched from others whatever we liked, no matter who the rightful owner was. A loving and caring elder always stepped in and quietened those he could, but helplessly gave in to the more stubborn who would not stop crying until his whims were met. That was how the first software of corruption was embedded into our personal systems. We grew up with an obsession of whims and preconceived notions that gradually took command of our behaviour.

Today we have reached a stage when nothing attracts us more than figures and statistics.We all feel greedy to have more—whatever, whenever, wherever and however! After all, when you have more than your neighbour, you earn his envy. 'Life is no good unless I have an edge over others'—we seem to think even when we have enough to lead a normal life. Accumulation of assets gives us an expanse to gloat over with a sense of triumph in a world that is racing to grab more. Of course, far from being sinful, honest pursuit to earn and create more resources in life is a highly-desirable activity and ultimately it benefits society. What is harmful and dangerous for society is acquisition of resources and privileges through dishonest pursuit and machinations. Spread of such a culture vitiates the atmosphere and promotes unfair competition, rivalry and crime.

The quest to excel, however, has different meanings for different people. The fear of being left behind in the race forces us to ignore the fundamentals of life in this fiercely-competitive environment. We find parents boasting of their kids getting as high as 99% marks. Teenagers attend school, tuitions and coaching for competitive examinations with no time for societal chores, nature watch, hobbies, games, outdoor adventures and so on. Care is taken to enrol into those tutorials where the student's teacher has commercial interest. The aim is clear: to get highest possible marks, no matter how. And so we know why teachers perform perfunctorily in classroom teaching, but do their most in 'tuition' sessions out of school. Every year, we also witness how question papers are secretly fished out and sold for hefty amounts a few days prior to the date of the examination. And the malaise is no longer confined to Boards alone, it has now become a high-paying furtive business eating into the country's most prestigious competitive examinations like JEE and other UPSC-controlled or institutionally-conducted examinations. And yet, universities and colleges too joined the mad race to rake in students who are in the highest slot of the cut-off percentage set as high as 98% and, in some cases, 100%. Is the percentage of marks obtained by students the only measure of their worthiness for the institution, society and the nation? Who would look for the more vital attributes in personalities the country and society need like aptitude, vision, character, disposition towards social/national issues and so on?


Read More : Corruption in India is endemic because like charity corruption begins at home too - Moneylife Personal Finance site and magazine


Forget yourself for others, and others will never forget you.

Citizen Journalism (CJ) , Exclusively 3 days course for Senior Citizens at Mumbai

The JM Foundation for Excellence in Journalism announces a new module of its Citizen Journalism programme from September 30 to October 2, 2011 (Friday, Saturday and Sunday)  -- this time exclusively for senior citizens. Individuals aged 60 years and above are eligible to apply.

Silver Inning Foundation promotes this unique programme for Senior Citizens for the empowerment of silver citizens across the country, to harness the wisdom and experience of senior citizens towards a deeper participation in our democracy.

What
The course is designed as an extended weekend programme stretching over three days. Specialists from areas connected with the content of this course, professionals and domain experts would be conducting the training and information exchange programme.

Why
Increasingly, the citizen is being asked to contribute to the news gathering process, either through write ups, pictures, video or information. Moreover, there are issues which need to be reported about. Be it environment, transport or water conservation. Often, it could be something as critical as an inadequacy we notice in the state's performance.

But how does one go about it. How does one gather facts? How do one verify these facts? If one needs to seek information, does one know how to avail of the Right to Information (RTI) process? What are the basic laws which one is governed by, or which one sees being violated time and again, and against which one can raise a voice? Does one know the basic traffic and civic laws and redressal mechanisms, the penal code and basic constitutional rights. Does one know the process of seeking redressal? How do the courts in India function? Can I be heard there and how?

This and much more could be the reasons a citizen should avail this programme.

Who
This module has been tailored exclusively for individuals of/above 60 years of age. No formal qualification needed. You need to have a basic understanding of reading and writing.

Course Contents
Some of the key areas covered in the course include Citizen Journalism backgrounder and how it is practiced globally, basics of reporting, news gathering, presenting the story through words and pictures, ethics including accuracy and fairness, laws including slander and privacy, introduction to Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Criminal Procedure Code, civic laws and use of technology in Citizen Journalism.

Reporting by Citizen Journalists will be put on a portal dedicated to citizen journalism called CitizensReport.in

Eligibility
Any senior citizen interested in becoming a citizen journalist. Basic language skills in any Indian language or English needed.

Where
St. Andrew's College, Bandra (W), Mumbai.

When
September 30 - October 2, 2011. (Friday, Saturday, Sunday). 9.00 am to 5.00 pm.

Fee: 
Rs. 1250/-inclusive of reading material, food on all three days,and a certificate of participation. Senior citizens keen on registering in groups of five and above can avail of a further discount of Rs. 250/- per participant.

To register:
1. Download and fill out the soft copy of the registration form , click here :  http://journalism.org.in/index.html

2. Mail the form as an attachment to lavanya.varadrajan@journalism.org.in
3. Send a draft or cheque of the requisite fee amount favouring "JM Foundation for Excellence in Journalism" to:
JM Foundation for Excellence in Journalism
104 Sanjay Appa Chambers, 83 Guru Hargobindraiji Marg,
AG Link Road, Andheri (E), Mumbai 400093.

Contact:

Lavanya Varadrajan: 022-40155197 / +91-98207 87949  /  +91-98209 85853 

Programme Directors
Shishir Joshi and Aloke Thakore

Shishir Joshi was till recently the Group Editorial Director of the Mid-Day group of publications, which includes Mid-Day (Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Pune), Sunday Mid-Day, Gujarati Mid-Day and Inquilab. Prior to Mid-Day, Joshi was with the TV Today group, where he was executive editor. He has also been editorial consultant for the Sahara group, helping set up TV channels across India as well as recruiting and training professionals for them. Prior to that he was with NDTV as its sole business news correspondent based out of Mumbai. He has worked with CNN.com, written for Reuters and AFP and has contributed to UK based ITN-Channel 4 News and has been the South Asia Representative of Peter Arnett's Broadcast News Network (BNN TV). A law graduate, he is a Chevening Scholar. He is the co-founder of Journalism Mentor.

Aloke Thakore is a journalist, researcher and teacher. He has worked in print and television. At various times he has reported, written columns, authored academic articles, anchored programmes, taught at university and colleges, and coached in news rooms. He has also helped launched newspapers and magazines both as editorial and management consultant. He counts many journalists and media professionals among his students and trainees. A Media Leadership Fellow of the Poynter Institute for Media Studies, he has a Ph.D. in Mass Communications from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, an AM in International Relations from the University of Chicago, an MS in Journalism from the University of Kansas. His first degree is from Calcutta University. He is the co-founder of Journalism Mentor.

Background
Citizen Journalism with its variants in Public Journalism or Civic Journalism acquired the accoutrements of a movement in the early 2000s, particularly in the United States. But the origins of Citizen Journalism are as old as journalism, when pamphlets and reports were issued by citizens. Some of the most powerful pieces of journalistic writing can be traced back to individual initiatives of citizens as reporters not reporters as professionals.

The need for citizens as journalists and for citizen journalists has been increasingly felt as media companies with their business and professional news gathering models do not necessarily commit enough resources to covering issues that beset a democracy such as ours or do not have any incentive to cover problems from a wide swathe of society. But not covering these problems and issues does not wish away the reality. And that is precisely where citizen journalists can reclaim the conversation. It needs to be remembered that the freedom of the press in India is an extension of the freedom of expression given to each citizen.

JM Foundation for Excellence in Journalism believes that India needs vigorous citizen journalism since it is well nigh impossible, for various reasons, for the news media organizations to cover all issues that need to be brought into the public eye. Hence, we have launched a Citizen Journalism initiative, which will both train citizen journalists and also provide them with a forum where they report.

JM Foundation for Excellence in Journalism
104, Sanjay Appa Chambers,
First Floor, Plot No 82,
Guru Hargobindraiji Marg,
A. G. Link Road, Andheri (E),
Mumbai – 400 093
Phone Nos:             +91-22-4015 5384       / 197
http://www.journalism.org.in
http://www.journalismmentor.in
http://www.citizensreport.in
 

Forget yourself for others, and others will never forget you.

After the Slutwalk

I’m sitting in London and the BBC is reporting that hundreds walked Delhi’s streets on July 31 to protest sexual harassment – although, it noted, there was “little of the skimpy dressing that has marked protests elsewhere” (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-14357443). They write: “Most of the marchers in Delhi were soberly dressed in jeans and T-shirts or traditional shalwar kameez.” (Someone tell the BBC that even jeans and T-shirts are controversial in India – especially when young women wear them, provoking calls to ban women from wearing jeans every few years.) This would have left Indian media rather disappointed, having spent considerable airtime and vocal energies in the last few weeks anticipating with rising excitement what girls participating in Delhi’s SLUTwalk would wear. It’s that word that has caused all this excitement and disappointment, the debate, the sermonising, the distancing, the embracing.  

I’m at first relieved that Delhi’s Slutwalk march (also called Besharmi Morcha in an attempt to localise the march) did take place after all without any scuffle from rightwing hoodlums. I’m impressed that 19- and 20-year-old women pulled off organising it and articulating their thoughts to a paparazzi-like media. While I’m not sure if there really were ‘‘hundreds’’ of people on the street (and if there were, I don’t doubt that half of them were media) but just the fact that young girls and boys, a common public, not attached to women’s groups or political parties, came out onto the streets on a Sunday morning to protest against sexual harassment of women is to me, a critical turn in sexual politics. 

The resistance to the word ‘slut’ though is more difficult to understand. So a police officer in Toronto said in January 2011 that ‘‘if women don’t want to be raped they shouldn’t dress like sluts’’. So what? It’s not new to Indian ears. Our rape law was born from one such judgment – the Mathura case in which a young girl was sexually assaulted by two policemen, but the court did not find the policemen guilty, saying that Mathura was ‘‘habituated to sexual intercourse’’. The judgment led to outrage from women’s organisations, which called on the government to reform rape laws, which it did in 1983. Many cases have followed in Mathura’s wake: all of them have shown us that the state machinery routinely attributes blame for violence against a woman to her ‘character’ or lack thereof – insinuating of course sexual impropriety – or in other words, ‘sluttiness’.

The central idea behind the Toronto police officer’s comments is therefore not new to us even if the word ‘slut’ is. Just as the Mathura judgment enraged women’s organisations here in the early-1980s, the police officer’s comments enraged a young generation of women who decided to march the streets in their skimpiest clothing, making the point that whatever women wear, they cannot be violated – that a woman’s clothing has nothing to do with rape or sexual harassment. Within months women mobilised to hold mass demonstrations from Toronto in April 2011 to Chicago in June 2011 and in between in smaller towns like Dallas, Asheville, Ottawa, Boston, Denver, Calgary. Fuelled by social media outrage and videos and ideas going viral in cyberspace, it quickly outgrew Canada, sliding into neighbouring USA and even crossing the shores to Delhi – demonstrating the resonance that such an idea has across cultures.  

Over the last month, the chatter around Delhi’s planned Slutwalk has been phenomenal. Five thousand people have associated themselves with their Facebook page and even bothered to write a comment and engage with the issue. I have read debates on a feminist listserve, watched in amazement a whole page of newspaper dailies devoted to the event and listened quite agog to the special debates on the issue on news channels. The usual grouses have been shared widely: that it is a Western import– which it is but so was Take Back The Night and the 16 Days of Activism that takes place every November; not about poor women – which is not a necessary condition for the validity of a protest march; culturally insensitive and contextually misplaced – an old grouse. Women young and old, but especially young, from around the country have analysed, discussed and critiqued various aspects of the chatter: the problems with the word ‘slut’; the politics of clothing; strange justifications as to why men sexually harass women and so on. The discourse just got wider, more populated with opinions and just turned into a dynamic landscape over the last few months. 

Will there be any more Sluttalking now that the Delhi Slutwalk is over? Who knows, but beyond the chatter, I think we missed talking much about the elephant in the room: women’s sexuality and how younger women today are expected to be somewhat ‘sexy’ if they want some social currency. In a recent research study I was part of which explored what middle class women experience online, the majority of young women explicitly stated the desire to represent themselves as ‘sexy’ in pictures they put up online, believing that it increased their social status amongst peers and raised their own self-esteem. Their own definition of ‘sexy’ was very broad and hardly controversial – anything from fitted jeans or a sleeveless top or even styled so that they looked like a movie star. 

It is complicated: we now have a bevy of cheerleaders in IPL (usually women who are conspicuously not Indian), advertisements and popular culture replete with sexual and sensual references (especially positive affirmations by women themselves – think Sheila, Munni and so on) but still dressing ‘slutty’ (which, the Indian media tell us, means wearing ‘‘fishnet stockings and micro minis’’), as the subtext of debates on Slutwalk tell us, is crossing cultural boundaries. We are still hypocritical about acknowledging women’s sexuality and how it is really all around us today, and in flux.  

To be fair though, I have met many sex workers and women in prostitution, and have never seen them wear anything more or less than any other poor, marginalised women. But perhaps we would also like to be able to dress ‘like sluts’. Or wear red lipstick. Or a flower in our hair, a shiny nosepin. Just on any day, not just our wedding day when it is legitimate for a young woman to acknowledge her sexuality without the fear of being raped or being assumed to be a slut. I’ve never worn fishnets and a micro mini on the streets but now I know I probably can’t because the discussion around Slutwalk has made it clear that certain boundaries cannot be transgressed.

The division between good women/bad women is one of the deepest divides amongst women. An initiative like Slutwalk strikes a feeble but important blow at this iron wall (at least the way it has manifested in the West). Women not only spend their lives trying not to get raped but also trying not to be called sluts. This is of course difficult given that it takes very little to be called one, especially in our context: this one laughs too loudly, this one smokes, this one drinks wine, this one comes home late from work, this one is a dancer, this one talks to boys, this one leaves her hair open, this one wears lipstick, this one wore a sleeveless blouse, this one wears jeans… you get my drift. 

In our case, we were still distancing ourselves from sluts, not only not- embracing the word, but also the concept. A Slutwalk won’t reduce the number of rapes or directly reduce the number of cases of harassment on the streets – for that we will need sustained political will, convictions, safer cities, public attitudes, embracing women in the public sphere and many other things. But that isn’t the point (perhaps the most repeated refrain by people defending the initiative). A few weeks ago a man bludgeoned his daughter (in fact, try Googling ‘man bludgeons daughter’ to realise the volume of cases out there) to death because she went to the mall with boys (http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com). The point is what basic message the Slutwalk initiative gives out: in their website the Toronto organisers state that the reason for Slutwalk is ‘‘because we’ve had enough’’. 

Because, really, we have had enough.

Source: http://infochangeindia.org/women/third-wave/after-the-slutwalk.html

Forget yourself for others, and others will never forget you.

India Against Corruption: Janlokpal & CBI CVC

Forget yourself for others, and others will never forget you.

Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) : India Resource

 Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is an international medical humanitarian organization created by doctors and journalists in France in 1971.

Today, MSF provides independent, impartial assistance in more than 60 countries to people whose survival is threatened by violence, neglect, or catastrophe, primarily due to armed conflict, epidemics, malnutrition, exclusion from health care, or natural disasters. MSF provides independent, impartial assistance to those most in need. MSF also reserves the right to speak out to bring attention to neglected crises, challenge inadequacies or abuse of the aid system, and to advocate for improved medical treatments and protocols.

In 1999, MSF received the Nobel Peace Prize.


India Resource - See Excellent Stories and work of Doctors Without Borders in India:  
http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/news/allcontent.cfm?id=33
 

World wide Offices :
http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/offices/?ref=nav-footer






Forget yourself for others, and others will never forget you.

Free culture for a free society

On January 31, 2011, there was an unusual meeting at the National Institute of Technology, Calicut, Kerala. The participants were a group of young people, some of them activists of the Free Software movement in Kerala, people who were contributing to free software or to localising free software in Malayalam. Some were interested in animation, and one or two of them had experience in 3D animation. What brought this group together was a project that had been launched a few months earlier. The project was to create a 3D animation movie as a community effort using Blender and other free software. 

Blender is a piece of software for 3D modelling, animation and non-linear editing. Proprietary software to begin with, when the company found the going tough it was taken over by a group that included its developers and users who liked the software. They released it under the GNU General Public Licence, which made it free software that anyone could download and use. 

The Blender Foundation that was created to maintain the software subsequently got animators together to create three short animation films -- Elephant's Dream, Big Buck Bunny,and Sintel -- that are available for anyone to download. 

While the objective of the Blender Foundation was to demonstrate the software’s capabilities, the objective of the young enthusiasts who got together in Calicut (now known as Kozhikode) was to show that cultural products like films can be created by a community and distributed freely -- something that’s contrary to the existing paradigm of culture being viewed as an industry and a means to making profit. The project is called ‘Chamba’, following the practice started by the Blender Foundation of naming their free movie projects after fruits. It was started at the suggestion of a young veteran of free software, Praveen, who also gave it its name. Details of the project can be found at http://www.chambaproject.in.

Readers may wonder about the purpose of such an exercise. Creating a movie involves a lot of effort by a number of people, expertise, and monetary investment. If the product is distributed free, how will the money be recovered? And with little chance of the money being recovered, who is going to invest in the first place?

It’s understandable for people to consider the idea wildly Utopian. But such ideas are a sign of the changing times. We are in an age when products that used to be made by companies in pursuit of profit are increasingly being created by groups of individuals for the fun of it. Free Software and Wikipedia are very good examples.

Read in detail:  http://infochangeindia.org/technology/analysis/free-culture-for-a-free-society.html

Forget yourself for others, and others will never forget you.

Distance Learning Diploma in Social Entrepreneurship (DSE)

The Centre for Social Entrepreneurship & CSR at Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDI) has launched its unique program for training and developing social entrepreneurs. 

You will agree that we need more and more social entrepreneurs who can bring positive changes in the lives of the poor people whose daily income is less than one dollar a day.  Purpose of this DSE is to train potential social entrepreneurs who can set-up for-profit, self-sustainable social businesses anywhere in the world.

This course is for anybody who wish to change the world because they think that they can.

DSE is unique course offering various features like: Social business opportunity identification, practical four-week field work as a volunteer in for-profit social enterprise (in your respective location/ region) and social business plan preparation, etc.

NGOs/ PVOs can sponsor their employees to start separate for-profit social businesses to address social issues with measurable social impact. 

I request you to go through the brochure which is attached herewith and if you are interested kindly download the application form from our website www.ediindia.org , and send it along with demand draft of Rs.7721/- (for international participant US$772 only) and send us immediately.  EDI offers this course twice in a year in every October and April. 

You are most welcome to call me or send email for any further information if you need in this regards. 

Let us together change the world.

Thanking you

With regards,

Ajay Dixit
Sr. Faculty
Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India
P.O. Bhat 382 428- Dist. Gandhinagar -Gujarat-India
Mobile:09925008328; Phone:  +91 79 23969163, 161, 159; Fax: +91 79 23969164
Email: dse@ediindia.org; Website: www.ediindia.org
Skype: ajaydixit4

Forget yourself for others, and others will never forget you.