Anjali - Lattoo Academy Fellowships - Kolkota

Anjali - Lattoo Academy Fellowships - Kolkota
Anjali is delighted to announce a brand new initiative for young changemakers of Kolkata - the Lattoo Academy and Fellowships. The Lattoo Academy and Fellowships is a five day residential course/institute on rights, development and leadership for social justice. It will be hosted by Anjali in Calcutta from 19 October 2008 to 25 October 2008. 20 students and professionals with demonstrated track record and engagement in social justice will be selected to participate.

In addition to robust learning, action projects and discussions with social justice pioneers, they will also be eligible for small grants to develop and implement projects in the public domain of Kolkata.

They would be delighted if you could nominate good-fit candidates for this course and circulate this information. Details are given below.

This is Anjali’s first ever attempt at a public youth initiative for generating dialogue, enquiry, introspection and action young people by on such diverse, yet-interlinked issues as mental health, human rights, gender, sexuality, globalization and youth development. Your support in help to reach young people will greatly strengthen their efforts.

Announcing the Lattoo Academy and Lattoo Challenge
-An Anjali-Start Up! Initiative- Enabled by Sir Ratan Tata Trust
19 October 2008 to 26 October 2008

Lattoo Academy
The Lattoo Academy is a five-day institute on Rights, Development and Leadership for Social Change.

Developed especially for students and young professionals who seek to:
Question power structures
Challenge stereotypes
Understand the invisible, ‘other’ side of development and
Respond to social problems with energy and imagination

The Lattoo Academy aims to spin new ideas, build young leaders and launch new projects for social change in the city of Kolkata.

A space for active learning, action projects and interactions with social change pioneers, Lattoo will focus on the diverse, yet interconnected themes of human rights, mental health, gender, sexuality, globalization and youth development.

Every year, 20 young individuals will be selected through a competitive process to participate in the Lattoo Academy and the Lattoo Challenge. The Academy will introduce participants to the core concepts of development, rights and leadership for social change. It will link theoretical study with practical skills. Models of social innovation will be unpacked, as leading changemakers walk participants through their journeys and challenges of changing disenfranchising systems and environments. Lattoo will also support its young participants to develop practical ideas and projects for applying their Academy learning in the public domain. Participants who wish to launch action projects in their local environments or within spaces and opportunities available in their own professions will be able to access the Lattoo Challenge – modest Fellowships for spring boarding youth ideas on rights and development.

The Academy Course Content
The Lattoo Curriculum will focus on the themes of

· Human Rights and Social Justice Movements – Theory and Practice
· Rights-Based Methods and Tools for Social Change
· Mental Health and Wellness
· Gender and Sexuality
· Globalization and Economic Security
· Youth Development and Leadership – The New Agents of Social Change
· New Competencies and Skills for Social Justice Action

The teaching-learning methodology will include
· Lectures by thought leaders
· Case studies of innovative social change models
· Round tables with social justice pioneers and leading social entrepreneurs
· Group exercises and on-site action projects
· Films and theatre performances
· Interactions with leading filmmakers, and visual and performing artists who have engaged in issues of mental health, human rights and development
· Open Spaces for developing action projects and ideas for change

The learning environment will be a mix of creativity, teamwork and a fearless interrogation of the world that we live in.

The faculty will include:
· Social justice leaders and experts from the fields of gender, sexuality, mental health, livelihoods and human rights. Pioneers as Harsh Mander (human rights activist and crusader against communalism), Pramada Menon (international expert on gender and sexuality), and Anuradha Kapoor (gender expert) have confirmed participation.
· Filmmakers of national and international acclaim ( Example Suman Mukherjee who wrote and directed the internationally acclaimed Herbert – the journey of a schizophrenic growing up in North Calcutta of the 80s)
· Leading sociologists and academics who have pushed the boundaries of enquiry in social justice and development
· Communication and advocacy experts
· Senior journalists who have done significant work in the field
· Members of progressive theater groups etc

Who Can Participate?
Graduates, post graduates and professionals between 18 – 28 years.

Participants could be training for and/or working in the media, law, psychology, social sciences, film making, performing and visual arts, and the civil society sector. They should have engaged with social justice issues and/or demonstrated interest, initiative and participation in social change processes. Those working in the NGO sector should not have had more than 2-3 years of work experience.

Venue
The Lattoo Academy will be held in Calcutta. The Academy will be residential. Participants will be required to pay for their travel and contribute INR 500 towards learning materials. Their tuition, lodging and boarding will be covered by Lattoo.

Lattoo Challenge

The Lattoo Challenge will comprise 5-8 Fellowships (of upto Rs 10,000 each ) for participants of the Academy who
· Design creative ideas for applying the course learnings in the public domain.
· Wish to take a brief sabbatical from their existing work to run an independent project on the ground.

The Lattoo Challenge is our attempt at
· Creating practical opportunities for students and young professionals to imagine and implement social change processes (with a focus on rights, development and mental health)
· Deepening civil society engagement of students and young professionals

Criteria and Process of the Lattoo Challenge
Participants applying to the Lattoo Challenge will have to fill a detailed form and meet a panel of jury members (mostly comprising Academy faculty) in November-December 2008. Recipients of the Lattoo Challenge will have to commit to a project spread over 3-6 months. During their fellowship period they will be linked to relevant professionals and mentors to provide direction and guidance, as and when required. If a Lattoo Challenge recipient so wishes, we could also place her as an intern/or link her to a human rights CSO that could provide the necessary environment and supports for the duration of the project. The Lattoo Academy coordinator placed within Anjali will work closely with the Lattoo Challenge recipients to ensure timely and high quality project management and zero error budget maintenance.
The Academy participants and Fellowship recipients will co-join all Lattoo youth members and their initiatives will be recognized and celebrated during Lattoo Republic, a one-day public event to felicitate young change leaders of Kolkata.

The Organizers
Established in 2000, Anjali is a Kolkata-based mental health and human rights initiative that aims to build inclusive systems of care and treatment for persons with mental illnesses. It also advocates with the state and national government for the rights and entitlements of a large population of citizens with mental illness. Anjali believes that the youth can play a powerful role in pushing the boundaries of rights and inclusion for the most marginalized communities of India.
Start Up! is a Delhi-based social venture capital that provides a wide net of non-financial services to incubate and launch new social justice initiatives across the country. This, to ensure that many more social change ideas and new leaders join the civil society sector, energize it, and accelerate social change on their own terms.

The Lattoo Academy is enabled by Sir Ratan Tata Trust.

If you would like to nominate participants for the Lattoo Academy or if you would like to participate yourself, please call/e-mail to:
Anjali_i@dataone.net
manishagupta@airtelmail.in

9433409875 – Smita Sen