Anvaya

Many ask me that you have been generally pointing out what’s missing or what’s wrong with the “system”. While some of your observations may be valid, don’t you think that this is rather depressing! Sometimes it sounds a bit rhetoric.

Indeed, there are many positive stories to tell and good initiatives to talk about. And this is true.

I am writing this post today to tell you about Anvaya.

Films play an important role for raising awareness and spreading the solutions among citizens. Films tell the stories you want to tell.

Anvaya (meaning positive action in Sanskrit) is a short film contest on the various themes under the broad topic of Environment. The contest helps in collating the “good” happening around and connects the leaders/innovators to the world as a source of inspiration.

Anvaya was conceived by my not-for-profit company “Ekonnect Knowledge Foundation”

Objectives of Anvaya are as follows

         Awareness raising & encouraging citizen involvement in issues of Environment

         Sensitizing citizens and promoting action through a creative medium such as short videos/films

         Dissemination of films created by citizen groups, professionals and municipal corporations to showcase innovative solutions on various environmental issues in their locality

         Creating a platform for like-minded citizens to network and action for a better environment

The first event under Anvaya was conducted over last 3 months. The theme was Waste to Resources. The contest called for positive ideas and solutions to be showcased instead of focusing on the problem. The event was conducted in partnership with Xavier Institute of Communications (XIC), a well-established and reputed institution in the field of Mass Media and Communications in Mumbai.

The contest required citizens to shoot a short film on this theme within a stipulated time. In order to provide technical support as the participants are not expected to know film making, a one day training on ‘film making’ was included in the contest. This made a difference

As part of the contest, a one of its kind training programme focusing on the theme i.e. Waste to Resource management and fundamentals of film-making was conducted for all the registered applicants. More than 40 individuals and organizations registered for the contest.

The first part of the Training session had presentations and short films screened by Ekonnect sensitizing the applicants on the subject of waste management and sharing some of best practices. Following this session, a practical session was conducted by the XIC faculty on fundamentals of film-making through screening of films and with group exercises.

We received 14 entries. Eleven entries were shortlisted and screened. The Jury evaluated the entrees and selected top three for awards. All the entries gave examples and messages on innovative ideas on waste to resource management. I hope to see their replication across the communities.

Visit Anvaya Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/anvaya2015

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Ekonnect Website: www.ekonnect.net

For Films and other videos:

Ekonnect’s YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/ekonnectEKF

You can download all the 11 shortlisted films and use in the awareness programs you conduct

View the award winning film Scavengers of Mumbai at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uk59blNBIt0

This film will be screened at the World Cinema Forum in Davos.

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Anvaya is a journey that has just begun; much more is yet to come. The contest witnessed fruitful outcomes in the form of short films addressing the issue of waste to resource management.

We at Ekonnect look forward to highlighting more such creative ideas and innovative solutions for various other environmental issues concerning our society and our world.

We wish to grow this network of citizens to a much larger scale in order to the meet long term objectives of Anvaya. Our aim is to spread the message across different parts of the country focusing on the ‘positive’ interventions to varied environmental themes. This will ensure a platform for sharing ideas that worked and spreading the same to other parts of the country and the world in the hope that they will be replicated and scaled to achieve a larger impact.

To achieve these goals, collaboration with likeminded organizations is the key. We welcome all collaborations and support that will help us in meeting our objectives.

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Coming up – Anvaya 2.0: Water Management

In light of the water crises in many regions of the country today, it is of utmost importance to identify solutions that effectively and innovatively address this issue. Due to uneven rainfall patterns in the last few years and extreme events, our agro-economy and livelihoods have been affected. Cities are facing severe water cuts.

We need to work hard and collaborate to invent solutions to conserve, manage, reuse and equitably distribute water – a life giving resource.

Anvaya 2.0 will focus on the theme of Water and provide an opportunity for innovators, community based organizations, entrepreneurs and passionate individuals to showcase their efforts on managing and saving water inspiring other citizens to follow suit.

We are looking for sponsors and supporters to promote Anvaya 2.0. Write to me on prasad.modak@emcentre to join