Knowledge and media as empowering and enabling tools for equity and sustainability

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This section features stories of use of knowledge as an empowering and enabling tool for a more equitable and ecologically sustainable world. This includes: Initiatives that encourage cross-fertilisation between ideas, promotes information exchange and transcends boundaries between modern and traditional, formal and informal, and urban and rural spheres of knowledge; Initiatives that make information access free, or easier in places usually neglected, considered ‘remote’ or disconnected; Initiatives to make knowledge part of the ‘commons’ rather than a commodity, privately owned or controlled; Also initiatives that promote an alternative media that raises questions ignored or deliberately allowed to remain hidden in the mainstream media, and innovative use of media to communicate enabling information.

Community rain monitoring helps disaster preparedness

Community-led rain and river monitoring fills critical gaps in official datasets, enabling early warnings and timely action. Integrating community-generated data into formal disaster management frameworks offers a scalable, democratic model for climate adaptation.

Madhav Gadgil: Nature’s spokesperson, a scientist of the people

A tribute to ecologist Madhav Gadgil, who combined rigour in his research with a deep sensitivity to issues of people’s concerns and livelihoods.

A Living Constitution Pachgaon

Pachgaon offers a unique example of community governance that began with the reclamation of forest rights. Through village meetings, shared responsibility and local knowledge, Pachgaon began to practice democracy in its most grounded form.

A 200-Metre Mural In Fort Kochi Puts Coastal Labour At The Centre Of Climate Justice

In Kochi, a community mural brought together local residents, mangrove workers, fishing communities, Indian Coast Guard personnel, and Fearless Foundation artists to share stories of ancestral knowledge, everyday risks, and the living with rising waters and pollution.

Digital Detox After Dusk: How A Karnataka Village Is Fighting Mobile Addiction & Boost Mindful Learning

Halaga village, home to over 9,000 people, has launched a digital detox initiative in a community-driven attempt to step away from screens and focus on learning, mindfulness, and human connection.

Grassroots women map air pollution hotspots, spur a coal company to curb dust

Trained in air quality mapping, women leaders monitored air quality across 69 sites in Jharkhand, identifying 26 pollution hotspots. The local women that co-led the study took ownership of the data to drive action, prompting decision-makers to install water sprinklers, cover coal loads during transport, and set up air quality monitors in public places.

How people power reclaimed the Vishwamitri for Vadodara

From building a coalition against the Vishwamitri Riverfront Development Project to getting it scrapped, people’s movements have interwoven passionate activism with law, science, and data. Their collective engagement and dogged sense of purpose made all the difference. Not only have activists been appointed to a committee overseeing a flood mitigation project, they also do on-ground monitoring, record official work, track plans and progress, and document irregularities.