Partners

In Jharkhand, we support our Charkha partner Manthan Yuva Sansthan. Charkha is a communication initiative started by social activists with the following aims: to expand the space for social and development issues in the mainstream media through news reports, features, and edit articles; to train and establish a network of grassroots journalists; and to impart communication skills to NGOs working on development issues.

Manthan is a feature agency-cum-media advocacy program founded in 2002. It is a long-term partner of NFI, and has made great progress in building the capacity of the development media in Jharkhand. The features published by Manthan cover a range of issues such as the migration of tribals, education, traditional self-governance, naxalism, the role and implementation of government acts such as the Right to Information and the NREGA. It has strategically leveraged its partnership with NFI to increase the depth and spread of its work encompassing print and electronic media.

This year NFI has awarded 12 Media Fellowships, 10 to print journalists and 2 photojournalists. In addition, a media apprenticeship has been awarded to a young student photographer under the programme. The Orientation Programme and Award Ceremony were held at the India Habitat Centre on the 16 and 17 December 2009. Ms. Usha Ray was the Chief Guest at the Award Ceremony. UNICEF and Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (funded by thee Bloomberg Foundation) supported the programme. The names and project titles of the media fellows follow:　

Chala Ho Gaon Mein is a 30 minute community radio programme that covers more than 160 villages of Jharkhand. With the support of NFI, Alternative for India Development (AID), a grassroots level NGO, runs two programmes using a slot on the local All India Radio FM station at Daltonganj. Chalo Ho Gaon Mein is a unique experiment in using media technologies, especially radio, for development and empowerment of marginalized, rural communities. Designed as a community-driven programme, the project takes on a special significance in an economically deprived area, marked by illiteracy and the relatively indifferent attitude of the state as well as the mainstream media towards the problems of the region.

After a discussion at a monthly meeting with village reporters and AID workers, field recordings are made on various issues using portable cassette recorders. These field recordings are then used to make radio programmes. Regular workshops are held to acquaint reporters with techniques of audio presentation and production. Issues such as illiteracy, supersitition, child marriage, dowry, NREGA, RTI, health and hygiene are taken up from time to time. Over the past 7 years, the programme has generated a great deal of enthusiasm and support amongst the local people. They not only feel that the programme is geographically and culturally more intimate to their lives, but also have developed a sense of attachment to the programme. Also, as a result of the programme local artistic talents have come to the fore, women caught up within the local social structures have begun, albeit slowly, to find a voice of their own and there is a real sense of optimism that the radio programme can help solve many of the problems of the people.

Charkha is a communication initiative started by social activists with the following aims: to expand the space for social and development issues in the mainstream media through news reports, features, and edit articles; to train and establish a network of grassroots journalists; and to impart communication skills to NGOs working on development issues.

Charkha is a communication initiative started by social activists with the following aims: to expand the space for social and development issues in the mainstream media through news reports, features, and edit articles; to train and establish a network of grassroots journalists; and to impart communication skills to NGOs working on development issues. Grants made to Charkha partners in the past include:

Communication for Development and Learning (CDL), Bangalore, Karnataka
Sampark, Mumbai, Maharashtra
Unnati, Ahmedabad, Gujarat

Manthan Yuva Sansthan, Ranchi, Jharkhand, which NFI continues to support.

The grant to Mayaram Surjan Foundation in 2007 was given under the NFI-SRTT partnership, in order to support the building and strengthening of MSF’s documentation center. The MSF library has a rich collection of reference material and documents on Chattisgarh, which is utilized by various NGOs in the region. The grant enabled MSF to organize workshops for rural stringers to train them as well-informed and skilled rural journalists possessing deep-rooted journalism ethics and values, sensitivity to social issues and an understanding of development work.

NFI has given fellowships to more than 80 media fellows over the last fifteen years. Our media fellows in the past have taken up projects related to a wide variety of topics. These include issues such as global warming, manual scavengers, distress migration, child healthcare, children in the bidi industry etc.