Proposal for inviting Dr' Devy as key speaker for AID Boston GBM

1
Proposal for inviting Dr. Devy as key speaker for
AID Boston GBM

• -Rajeev Soneja Shailja Pathania-

2
Who is Dr. Devy?

• Leading activist for adivasi issues in India
• Started Bhasha in 1996
• Bio
• Got involved with adivasi issues when touring
  Gujarat during the 1986 drought
• Sahitya Akademi award winner in 1993 (English
  literature)
• Won the Prince Klaus award from the Dutch
  government
• Involved in creating the Draft National Tribal
  Policy with GoI
• Dr. Devy visited Boston chapter in 00-01

3
What is Bhasha?

• Bhasha has the following basic objectives
• Documentation - Linguistic, literary and artistic
  heritage of tribal communities
• Collaboration research - with national
  academies of art literature
• Establish a campus - To create an institute for
  the promotion of tribal languages, literature,
  arts and culture
• The following units exist within Bhasha
• Bhasha Publications to bring about awakening
  among the tribal communities
• Adivasi Academy, as a laboratory to bring about
  social change through research and training
• Development Services Centres or Gram Vikas
  Kendras for capacity building at the grassroots
• Loka Adhikar Parishad, a movement for legal and
  social justice for tribals and denotified
  communities

4
AIDs involvement with Bhasha

• Introduced to AID by Dilip DSouza
• AID Boston
• 3000 approved in 2001
• 6000 approved in years 2002 2003
• 4000 approved in 2004
• Total 2004 funding for Bhasha AID wide
• 15000
• Various AID volunteers have visited the Academy
• Project visit reports available for 02, 03
  04

5
Dr. Devys words on AID

• For me AID is not a group of persons who raise
  charity donations so that, at the end of the day,
  they feel nice about being good. I think, the
  groups such as AID chapters form, are the most
  valuable source for a new thinking about India
  and the world (adivasis included)."