....the story of R Elango, a Dalit leader turning his village into a Model village in India

Pune has experimented with a form of Participatory Budgeting since 2006, when it was first introduced formally by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC). Citizens’ organizations have played an important role in initiating and shaping it.

This seminar is an attempt at bringing together policymakers, researchers and practitioners not only to reframe questions but also to think of novel solutions for sustainability in the areas of agriculture, human habitats and customary law in contrast to the modern legal framework.

An ethnography of an alternative school/commune, Kanavu in Wayanadu district of Kerala. It explores the diverse learning spaces and methodologies that have been incorporated into its system, where learning happens for children who participate. Kanavu is today facing several challenges as they have begun a new phase of handing the management over to the older students (now adults) who have graduated.

The Gurukula Botanical Sanctuary is dedicated to the plants of the Western Ghats, a mountain range running down the western coastline of peninsular India. Founded in 1981 by Wolfgang Theuerkauf, the Sanctuary is a garden of wild plant species grown at the edge of a rainforest reserve. The intention is to rehabilitate endangered species and restore habitats in a highly fragmented landscape, in which only a fraction of original forest remains and a high percentage of species are rare, vulnerable or threatened by imminent extinction. The Sanctuary is run by a small group of resident gardeners, naturalists and educators, and supported by a wide circle of well-wishers. Together it offers an approach that is connected to the climate, land, habitats, plants, animals and people of the Western Ghats.

Center for Learning (CFL) is a space for learners interested in discovering what it means to live an authentic, personally meaningful and socially responsible life. It is a space for understanding one’s responsibility towards oneself, others and towards one’s work. The face of CFL is an alternative education centre that supports learners of all ages to connect with themselves; figure out their values, interests and direction in life. The heart of CFL is a continuing enquiry to understand what is education beyond formal schooling. At CFL the attempt is to understand the challenges of living meaningful, responsible and self-regulated lives of inner and outer harmony. The hope is to evolve a lifestyle and a way of looking at things that is truly just, that genuinely respects the cultural and biological diversity of all living beings and bring out the best in individuals and as a collective.

India boasts of a huge variety of languages and dialects. Many of these languages do not have scripts of their own. In fact many of them are on the brink of fading away into oblivion owing to the trend of people migrating to modern cities and hence newer cultures. However, a small academy in Gujarat is standing tall to save these languages from dying. Anand Giridharadas writes in this article on how the Adivasi Academy, based in Tejgadh, Gujarat, is working towards chronicling elements of rural culture.

Shikshantar hosts a variety of activities, including cultivating projects that challenge dominant systems of education and economy.

Ravi Gulati left a corporate job and took to teaching children of drivers, barbers and maids near his home in New Delhi's Khan Market. Today, in his unusual classroom every student is a teacher and every teacher a student.