Ludmila Ushani is an administrative assistant and operations coordinator, IT instructor and the coordinator for visitors & volunteers at the Foundation of Goodness’ project headquarters and flagship model, the OYOB Centre of Excellence in Seenigama, Sri Lanka. Ludmilla is also an alumni of the Foundation of Goodness’ empowerment programs where she built up her IT knowledge and polished her English language skills.
He is a researcher and freelance journalist with a degree in philosophy and has worked with several independent media houses. His research interests are ethics and politics of data and AI, filter bubbles and echo chambers, and cinema and internet culture.
She is a seeker of lifestyles and ideas that instills change in lives and systems. Graduating from technical backgrounds of mechanical and aeronautical engineering, she has been travelling in search of holistic living by volunteering in different farms, schools and intentional communities. Being a good story listener, she has worked to bring out stories around rural artisans associated with DEF and currently co-ordinates the story telling platform called Voices of Rural India.
She is a seeker of lifestyles and ideas that instills change in lives and systems. Graduating from technical backgrounds of mechanical and aeronautical engineering, she has been travelling in search of holistic living by volunteering in different farms, schools and intentional communities. Being a good story listener, she has worked to bring out stories around rural artisans associated with DEF and currently co-ordinates the story telling platform called Voices of Rural India.
Bachelor of Engineering, Master of Business Administration with experience in CSR program design, implementation and monitoring, Social entrepreneurship, PPP and Sports Management. Employment: 2018 onwards Shakti Foundation, New Delhi, India, Founder & Director. Shakti Foundation, was established in 2010 to develop, support, implement and measure impacts of various socioeconomic development projects undertaken.
Japleen smashes the patriarchy for a living. She is the founder & editor-in-chief of Feminism in India, an award-winning digital bilingual feminist media platform. She is also a TEDx speaker, Rise Up Youth Champion, Swedish Institute's alumni and a WSA Young Innovator. She has been recognised by the German, Swedish and Indian governments for her work on gender. Currently, Japleen oversees the strategic vision and growth at FII.
Anjana is a Research Associate at CDPP with a Master’s in Public Policy from Jindal School of Government and Public Policy. She is the Managing Editor of the Journal of Development Policy and Practice. She has previously worked with organisations like E&H Foundation, Sanket Development group and Foundation for Democratic Reforms. Her areas of research include public policy concerns such as quality of education, agriculture, philanthropy and citizen engagement in local governance.
Swaraj Shetty is a communication strategist and activist based out of Mumbai, India. He is the Co-founder/ Director - digital at khaanachahiye a crowdsourced initiative to fight hunger through relief efforts and policy interventions powered by the citizens of Mumbai MMR ( 6.7 million meals + 70,000 grocery kits shared since 2020). He is also the co-founder of the citizen collective, Litmus Test Project which works on interventions around active citizenship and good governance. He spent 10 years at the startup Gupshup, building social media platforms and communication tech.
Anshul is a social entrepreneur and the Founder of Youth Ki Awaaz, India’s largest media platform for young people to speak up and create an impact. He has worked across media, technology and citizen advocacy to build and scale community driven models of social change. Anshul is an Ashoka Fellow for social entrepreneurship and was named a Young Innovator by the United Nations ITU in 2012. He was also named a Forbes 30 Under 30 media influencer in 2018. He also serves on the UN Women Civil Society Advisory Group for South Asia.
A 29-year old woman with a Master’s degree holder in History, Preeti’s professional journey started at Protsahan as a subject coach in 2012. Formally, she is Protsahan’s grassroots social worker and teacher, but over time has grown to be much more, to the extent that she led the running of Protsahan’s flagship Learning & Innovation Centre in the slums of Uttam Nagar in Delhi. Today, she is Head Manager-Ground Operations and oversees all the art and technology programmes for disadvantaged girls across Protsahan’s 5 centers.
Hiren Pandit is a proven visionary and strategic media professional, program planner, capacity-building facilitator, and development communication practitioner that translates media and communication strategies into maximum proceeds commensurate with the best interest of the organization and communities.
Leena Kejriwal is a photographer and social artist based in Mumbai and Kolkata. A brand ambassador for Fuji India, in 2014 she founded The Missing Project, a campaign against sex trafficking and slavery with the single purpose of creating mass awareness. Her approach to creating social impact by making the public a catalyst against trafficking through art and (inter)active technology makes The Missing Project a game-changer in the anti-trafficking domain. It won the Thomson Reuters Anti trafficking campaign of the year award in 2021.
By any standard, Ishamuddin Khan is a man of remarkable talents. Back in 1995, this traditional Indian magician or madari, completed the first successful outdoor performance of a trick that had been whispered about for centuries but that no one before had mastered. When, before an amazed audience on the southern edge of Delhi, Ishamuddin managed a convincing rendition of the legendary Indian rope trick, it made headlines around the world that ought to have secured his place in the history of magic and won him lasting recognition at home. Ishamudin is a revivalists of Traditional magic of India.
Kabir Naik is a documentary filmmaker based in Delhi, India. He works on subjects of cultural communication, representation of rural issues, agrarian distress, environmental degradation, and commodification of culture. Through his vision, commitment, innovation and creativity he intends to leave a distinct footprint in the realm of non-fiction productions. His documentary "The Pressure" a film about child sexual abuse in the slums due to lack of toilet access was India's official selection for the 19'th Luksuz Film Festival, Slovenia 2021.
Ashwini is an explorer for whom life is a canvas to explore and experiment. His passion for travel has taken him through the length and breadth of the country. Being a trek and cycle enthusiast he loves slow travel as he gets to absorb the essence of the place, interact with local communities, make friends and learn valuable life lessons on the way. He graduated from the National Institute of Fashion Technology, Mumbai with a Bachelor in Fashion Technology. He worked in the conventional garment set up for some time after college before embarking on an entrepreneurial journey.
She belongs to a very patriarchal family with her father and uncle having active participation in grassroots level politics. She is the first girl in the village to study up to graduation because most of the girls in her generation were either sent to earn money for the family or married off early sometimes as young as 11-12 years old.
Bhawna Jaimini is an urban practitioner and writer based in Mumbai. Trained as an architect, she now works with the Community Design Agency on projects that seek to improve the built habitat of some of the most marginalised communities – using participatory planning, action led research and advocacy. From working with street vendors to nomadic pastoralists, Bhawna has worked with diverse communities in both rural and urban areas of India. She is deeply passionate about gender rights and believes in using architecture and design to address inequities and inequalities in the built environment. When not with communities, she spends her time writing on urban issues for various indian and international publications. She has written for The Quint, Tribune, The Wire, LiveMint, Stir, SheThePeople and others. Her first book, ‘The Happiness Guide to City Planning’ will be released later this year.
Mr Gideon Taso Lepcha is an IT professional born and brought up in Bom Busty, a small village in Kalimpong. He completed his B.tech in Electronic and Communication Engineering and earned an MBA degree from Faculty of Management Studies (FMS), Delhi. Rongring Global Lepcha language course was founded by him which has now been taken over by the Rongring Lepcha Culture & Welfare Society. He has recently launched a lepcha language learning book "Learning Lepcha in the 21st Century".
Nitesh is the Founder of Aadiwasi Janjagruti, an initiative under the Ulgulan Foundation, working on bringing Social Justice and creating hyperlocal awareness in the Nandurbar District of Maharashtra. It is bridging the gap between the government and its people and highlighting local issues using informational videos in local languages on government schemes. Nitesh is an Acumen India Fellow and a member of AgamiShaala.
Mouhamed Moustapha is a self-taught Photographer based in Pondicherry, India, right now he is engaged with various assignments in Paris, France. Hailing from an underprivileged domain of society in rural India, had to overcome immense hardships in pursuing his passion. He is lucky to work with various eminent personalities in the field of photography. Over the years he has gathered experiences by meeting people around the world that helped him to hone his skill in the field of visual art. His work has been exhibited in various cities in India and worldwide. His works have also been exhibited Affordable Art Festival Goa 2017, Art Heritage Gallery New Delhi 2018, Kuala Lumpur Photography Festival Malaysia 2017, Eyes On Main Street Photo Festival North Carolina USA 2018, Gather Art Gallery, Taiwan 2020, Port-Louis, Bretagne, France – 2021. His work has been published in various magazines such as Creative Image magazine, Art Dose Magazine, Artpil, Deep Freeze Photozine, and several leading newspapers in India. He has his own Nat Geo Moment Award organized by National Geographic Channel, India in 2014, he also won Monovision Street Photography Awards, London in 2018, and Gold Medalist from Eyewin Awards in 2018. Currently, he is working on an architectural book project – “THINNAI” with Arthur Ari Gautier, Norway. He was granted the cultural sharing Residency Programme in the (2019-2020) Val De Loire region Sponsored by France cultural center.
Dr. Madanmohan Rao is the research director at YourStory Media, charter member of TiE Bangalore, and research advisor at the Asian Media Information and Communication centre (AMIC). An author of five books, he was formerly the communications director at the United Nations Inter Press Service bureau in New York, and vice president at IndiaWorld Communications in Bombay. Madan is an editor and DJ in world music and jazz, and writes for World Music Central and Jazzuality. He produced channels on jazz and world music for RadioWalla.in, and was previously world music editor at Rave magazine, and RJ at Worldspace Satellite Radio.