Sambhaavnaa Youth Fellowship Program 2024
Fellowship Period: June 1st, 2024 to January 31st, 2025
Sambhaavnaa Institute, nestled in a small village called Kandwari, in the lap of the mighty Dhauladhar mountain ranges in Himachal Pradesh, is an alternative learning and living space for those concerned with social and political change. Founded under aegis of the Kumud Bhushan Education Society in 2004 Sambhaavnaa’s main mission has been to nurture value-based leadership by encouraging individuals, especially the youth; to discuss and develop a critical perspective on the ideals and ideas that define a just society.
We are pleased to launch the second edition of our 8 month fellowship program for youth. The program foresees following capacity building skills for the fellows.
- Understanding of the social-political issues currently facing our society
- Learn from and interact with, activists and academics facilitating the Sambhaavnaa workshops
- Learning the process of organising Sambhaavnaa workshops in their entirety
- 4-6 week internship to a grassroot organisation or some contemporary campaign
Background
Anyone with moderately open eyes would agree that there is an urgent need to question and challenge the inequities and ecological crises resulting from our current social, economic and political structures, and to radically change many of these structures and their functioning to better serve the public interest with the principles of equality, justice and ecological harmony.
In light of the above, for the last thirteen years, the Sambhaavnaa Institute has been organising short term (4 days to six-weeks) participatory, reflective, perspective and skill building programs on a range of social-political-economic issues of India and the world. Sambhaavnaa seeks to encourage civil society members, and youth inclined in such directions to develop a critical perspective on the ideas and ideals that define a ‘just’ society – and actively deploy the same in manifesting such a society.
Our workshops have panned specific yet intersectional themes like gender, environment, development, economics and finance, caste, communalism, public service delivery, agriculture and many other topical issues. We also organise a range of skill building programs around theatre, writing and journalism, research methods etc.
Some of the young people who have come for our workshops have expressed a desire to be here long-term where they can develop a better understanding of the Indian socio-political-economic reality through attending more and diverse programs. They also believe that such an opportunity would help them meet and interact with a range of people engaging in different ways towards a more just society. While the Institute aims to design longer programs for youth that could serve this purpose, we have currently decided to experiment with a fellowship format where we house a very small number (two to three) of individuals who have this interest in learning by being here over a longer time period. This learning opportunity by attending workshops is however dovetailed with the fellows assisting in the functioning of the institute while being here. The fellowship is thus a middle ground that can meet both the expectations of such youth, and help them give back meaningfully to the institute while they are here.
It is important for any applicant to realise that the opportunity to learn by attending various workshops and meet diverse people involved in working for a better world comes with a clear expectation of the Institute that the fellow would be actively assisting in the functioning of the Institute across the entire process of organising the workshops.
What would the fellows do while here?
The fellows’ time would be spent along the following four major dimensions:
- A. Opportunity to attend 50% of the Sambhaavnaa programs.
- B. Assist in organising the programs
- C. Work on atleast one project or theme that is close to their heart on social, political, economic or environmental justice during their stay here
- D. Intern at a grassroot organisation for 4-6 weeks
Elaboration of the above mentioned components
A. We organise and conduct a diverse range of workshops that help participants decode the underlying realities of our society. To know more about the workshop please visit to this website https://www.sambhaavnaa.org/
The primary benefit to the fellow is an opportunity to attend many of these workshops, and interact with not only a diverse set of participants from across the country but also close interactions with the resource persons.
Attending the workshops also offers a chance to remain connected with some of these resource persons to get advice and support through the course of their fellowship, and even later on in life.
B. Assisting in organising a workshop involves a host of activities
- Assist the office team in outreach for the workshop, including designing and updating our social media
- Research and collate materials (articles, movies, and other resources) that could be used during the workshop
- Assist the office team in managing logistics for the participants and resource persons.
After attending a workshop, the fellows would be expected to
- Make a report on the workshop that you attend
- Update captured pictures and videos of the workshop on social media
- Review the workshop to figure ways of improvement – be it regarding program design, participant selection, content and delivery
- Figure ways to strengthen best practices at Sambhaavnaa
C. During the course of fellowship the fellow must choose a particular issue that is of interest or close to their heart, and work on strengthening their understanding on the same. At the end of the fellowship they will be required to produce an output which could be a research document/presentation/ article/video story/ a workshop session plan and content etc.
D. Sambhaavnaa has good relationships with many grassroot organisations across the country, working on a diverse set of issues. We would arrange a 4-6 week internship for the fellows in some organisation / area of interest of the fellows’ choice. At the end of the internship, the fellow would be expected to share their learnings with the other fellows and the Sambhaavnaa team.
Fellowship Period: June 1st, 2024 to January 31st, 2025
Eligibility: Applicants should have an innate interest in working for a just world. They should additionally possess the following traits
- Someone who wants to work for social justice and environmental justice .
- Willingness to learn
- Is a team player
- Disciplined, dedicated and self-driven regarding their work: this is critical
Selection process
You would be required to fill this google form on our website. The selection team would look into the application form and ask for any additional information if required over phone/email.
Shortlisted candidates will be called for a discussion and interview. (The interview could also be over zoom).
The Fellowship is open to all Indian citizens who meet the following eligibility criteria:
- Between 23-30 years
- Qualification – Masters degree
- Good command over both English and Hindi; Should be able to write well in one of these languages too.
- Basic knowledge of IT, Social Media, Zoom, MS Office etc.
- Knowledge of basic video editing will be an added value
The fellowship also entails the following benefits:
- Honorarium: Rs 10000 per month
- Food in the Sambhaavnaa dining hall, and accommodation in the Sambhaavnaa hostel
