Home > Events > Nayi Dishayein: Winter School on Rethinking ‘Development’ Dec’21
19 December, 2021
10:00 am
Sambhaavnaa Institute,

Nayi Dishayein: Winter School on Rethinking ‘Development’ Dec’21

a space to think critically, to listen, to have a dialogue, and evolve pathways for a gentler and more sensitive society

Background

Inequality and injustice are deeply entrenched in the socio-cultural and economic fabric of our country today, and the economic gaps in particular, are widening at an alarming rate. The pandemic has exposed and exacerbated the brokenness of the enigma which is: Development. The narratives of ‘modern development’ seem to have picked up speed under the pandemic, exemplified by the Central Vista Project, the so-called modernisation of Lakshadweep, and lack of policy-level discussions stimulated by the economic, unemployment and agricultural crises. These ‘macro’ level events continue to exist alongside some of the other problems as parts of our everyday lives have been compromised due to inequalities in access to dignified healthcare facilities and quality education. In the rush for digitalization, our desires to seek technological solutions for most of our structural problems are becoming monsters of our own aspirations.

The Indian state has also used the pandemic as an instrument of control, as they have cracked down voices of dissent, human rights, environmental, and social activists. As the pandemic-induced atmosphere of fear and uncertainty has embedded into the daily lives of people, the fundamental rights of life, freedom of speech, religion, and dissent guaranteed to all citizens by the Indian Constitution have been infringed upon, with impunity. Due to public health responses like lockdowns, curfews, and social distancing, we have also been left with few options to balance different aspects of our emotional, physical, and mental lives.

The pandemic has influenced the narratives of development in India in multifaceted ways; and has posed more challenges for us, as citizens, both at the level of individual and social. But it might not be an understatement to write that the current conditions of our society, wrought with conflict, discrimination, and exploitation, is a grim reminder that these thought processes need to be explored with a sense of urgency.

About the workshop

This program will be conducted in 3 parts; The applicants do not need to commit to all the 3 parts of the program right away, you may apply using the form below for Part One of the program and take a decision post 29th December.

PART 1: This will be held at Sambhaavnaa Institute, Himachal Pradesh from December 19, 2021 to December 30, 2021. Sambhaavnaa Institute has for the last eight years been organising a participatory, reflective and perspective-building program on ‘Rethinking Development’ called NayiDishayein. This program aims to interweave theory and practice, focusing on building a varied and dynamic understanding of some of the pertinent issues facing our society today. Ideas are never context-less, we shall avail this opportunity to understand the sociocultural and political contexts that have led to the present climate in our country, with a focus on development and pandemic.

In this program, we work with young people to:

  1. Deconstruct, and critically examine, the notion of development – to understand it as a field of ideas.
  2. Examine the root causes of growing inequity in distribution of wealth and resources and opportunities, and its impacts on nature and people, in a society fractured along the lines of gender, caste, race, class, ethnicity, religion, sexuality, knowledge, and language.
  3. To re-examine and challenge our beliefs, views, convictions, and privileges resulting from the enduring power structures that stem from the social markers of caste, gender, religion, and class; and how they are linked with the notion(s) of development.
  4. Examine how the State and its institutions of policy-making and governance influence these power structures and vice versa.
  5. Assess possibilities of transformation through people’s actions, through an exposure to, and dialogue on, a range of initiatives/movements towards a more just society.

The workshop will use an interactive and didactic approach to learning and will have a collaborative curriculum – themes, concepts and case studies. Through the mediums of interactive discussions and conversations, field trips, theatre, film/documentary screenings, lectures, songs of resistance, and sharing of lived experiences by activists and scholars, we shall engage with the abovementioned themes.

Participants are expected  to contribute an amount of Rs. 8,500 towards workshop expenses, inclusive of all on-site workshop costs: boarding, lodging, and all the materials used in the workshop. This sum of money(Rs 8500) is meant to be a contribution amount for PART 1 of the workshop only.

Need-based partial waivers are available; we have a limited number of partial waivers, preference will be given for scholarship and subsidies to applicants from marginalized communities, please apply only if you really need it. Remember that there may be others who need it more than you.

PART 2: The second part of the program consists of a month long internship anytime between January to June, 2022. The internship will be assigned based on a participant’s field of interest and geographical location. Sambhaavnaa Institute will arrange the internship with an institution within the field of social work or a movement space. The internship is primarily for the participant to engage with groups that work on the issues which will be discussed during the course of our program. (No financial support is available from Sambhaavnaa Institute for this component.) These spaces usually take care of accommodation and food. The participants are expected to bear the cost of travel and food expenses during the course of the field-based internship. A certificate of experience will be given to the participant upon completion of the internship.

PART 3: Participants will return from their respective organizations/spaces of internship to Sambhaavnaa Institute for the third part of this program (for 5 days) to reflect on their learnings and experiences, based on their internship. This will also be a space for discussions to set a direction for the future. Sambhaavnaa Institute will charge a minimum fee of Rs 2000 for these five days. The amount will include accommodation, food and spaces meant to be part for these five days.

Again, do not let money be a reason for not applying. Email us with a need for partial waiver. We will try our best to accommodate these needs to the best of our abilities.

A FEW IMPORTANT POINTERS

  • Organizations and individuals can also sponsor an applicant (partly or fully), so that lack of money does not get in the way of learning opportunities.
  • The fees include only the expenses incurred during the campus component of the program at the Sambhaavnaa Institute: boarding, lodging, and all the materials used in the workshop.
  • The internship is primarily for the participant to engage with groups that work on the issues which will be discussed during the course of our program. (No financial support is available from Sambhaavnaa Institute for this component.)
  • The applicants do not need to commit to all the 3 parts of the program right away, you may apply using the form below for Part One of the program and take a decision post 29th December.

Who is the program for?

If you are in the age group of 21-28 years and seeking an engagement with the above deliberations, or you are just figuring out how to frame the questions you would want to ask yourself, or trying to understand the interconnections between different issues that you see around yourself, especially in the wake of the pandemic, then please join us for an intensive collective churning on them – to open up ‘nayi dishayein’ in both your thinking and … hopefully, living.

Language: Primarily English, and some Hindi.

Dates and Venue: Part 1: 19th to 30th December, 2021, Sambhaavnaa Institute, VPO – Kandbari, Tehsil – Palampur, District – Kangra, PIN 176061, Himachal Pradesh. Part 2: One month of internship at an organisation in India, anytime between January and June, 2022. Part 3: 5 day workshop in July, 2021 at Sambhaavnaa Institute to discuss the internship experience of working on field and propose a direction forward.

Contact: For more information please Whatsapp or call Mohammad: +91-86 79 32 56 26 or Shashank 8894227954, or email: programs@sambhaavnaa.org.

Getting to Sambhaavnaa – Please visit: Getting here

Please fill the application form below:

(There is a sincere request we have to make. If you fill the form and get a confirmation from our side for your participation, please do not make cancellations at the last moment, unless there are unforeseen circumstances. So, while filling the form, please try to make sure you do not have anything else planned in advance for the dates of the workshop. It takes some time to process the forms and begin our preparations for the workshop. If you back out after the confirmation, it sends our preparations for a toss, in addition to the time and effort we are expending. Also, many other people who are eager to attend miss out on the opportunity. We shall really appreciate your consideration; and hope you understand the need for such a request.)