IT for Change
IT for Change is an India-based NGO working on information society theory and practice from the standpoint of equity and social justice. Through our research, advocacy, and field projects, we seek to challenge the approaches that fail to address structural exclusions in the emerging information society. We also propose alternative models that are participatory and equitable. Our work spans a range of development arenas – gender, education, community media and governance. IT for Change is in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.
ANANDI
ANANDI stands for Area Networking and Development Initiatives. Since 1995, we have been working with more than 7000 poor, rural women from four districts in Gujarat. Forming women’s collectives and working towards changing the nature and direction of systemic structures which marginalise women, is an integral component of ANANDI’s work in Gujarat. We organise women's collectives from low income groups such as tribals, migrant families, salt pan workers, marginal farmers, farm and construction labour, and fishing communities to enable them to become active agents of change for gender equality and sustainable livelihoods. Our organisation strongly emphasises collective processes, and our approach to empowerment focuses on safety and security of women, as well as enabling them to gain greater control over their livelihood security. Through training and networking, ANANDI also works in several other states of India – Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra,West Bengal, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh.
Since 1997, ANANDI has worked on issues of local self governance, strengthening elected women representatives in all its field areas, and advocating greater decentralisation of power for panchayats in Gujarat. In Bhavnagar district, ANANDI engages in a unique process where they work with feminist understanding for women's empowerment in formal and informal political structures, like Panchayati Raj Institutions.
Kutch Mahila Vikas Sangathan (KMVS)
Kutch Mahila Vikas Sangathan (KMVS) was founded in 1989 with the goal of organising rural women of Kutch to facilitate their empowerment. The overarching mission of KMVS is the empowerment of rural women and fostering their leadership in all areas – economic, political, social and cultural. With this end in sight, KMVS engages in consciousness-raising and collective-building of rural women in Kutch. Most importantly, KMVS aims at building women's leadership at the grassroots, in order to enhance their engagement in local governance processes and institutions – therefore, collectivising Elected Women Representatives has been a priority area of work for over two decades.
Making Women Voices and Votes Count' provides an opportunity for us at KMVS to strengthen our existing intervention with elected women representatives in Kutch, by exploring the networking and pedagogical possibilities opened up by ICTs.