• Embed Doc
  • Copy Link
  • Readcast
  • Collections
  • CommentGo Back
Download
 
 
2009Summer Edition
 
Road-trips for social change.www.grassroutes.in
 
Applicant Handbook 
 
 
2
Road-trips for Social Change www.grassroutes.in
About Grassroutes
Grassroutes is a Fellowship Program which funds youth to go on road-trips for social change. Travelingacross India, meeting change-makers, working with social ventures, learning developmental issues, livingon less than $1 a day, these youth return with stories of social change; and the program enables them touse these stories to drive campaigns and become change agents themselves.An initiative of a non-profit for-impact societyYouth Factor,and run by 20-odd year olds just out of  college, Grassroutes aims to be a novel social venture driving youth to social action in India.
Mantra
The Grassroutes mantra is
to use travel as a means to enable youth to be change agents
.The team believes that immersion experiences in areas where social entrepreneurs are battling odds tocreate sustainable, significant impact, have the potential to create deep impact on the way we perceivesocial change.
Values
The focus of the Grassroutes program is to help youth realize and develop two vital values
Social entrepreneurship
: A way of thought to identify grassroots level problems, developsolutions to address them and have a significant social impact in the process
Social journalism
: An approach of observing social issues like development, rights, access toinformation etc at the grassroots, present it to a larger audience using media tools in acompelling manner and to spark conversations in communities which can solve the issues athand.
 
He, who does not travel, does not know the value of men-
 
Moorish Proverb
 
 
3
Road-trips for Social Change www.grassroutes.in
History
In the winter of 2008, Grassroutes launched its maiden (pilot) edition and chose 3 teams and a total of 14 outstanding youth as Fellows. These teams kicked off their road-trips after a 1-day orientation held inBangalore, conducted by inspiring social entrepreneurs, journalists and travelers. Their roads took themto three places:1.
 
Pochampally, AP
; to understand the problems of a weaver community and discover the dyingart of Pochampally sarees2.
 
Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu
; to understand relocation problems being facedby tribals and discover the man-vs-environment battle in real life3.
 
Bilaspur, Chattisgarh
; to understand the health problems faced by tribal communities anddiscover how a bunch of doctors are changing their lives for the better.The Fellows are currently working on creating travelogue documentaries of their road-trips, and plan touse them in the near future to run campaigns.Grassroutes is best understood andexperienced when you throw yourpreset notions away and stop trying toanalyze everything that you comeacross. It can change you in ways you
didn’t know you could be changed.
 -
 
 Anurag Dutta,Grassroutes Fellow 2008
of 00

Leave a Comment

You must be to leave a comment.
Submit
Characters: ...
You must be to leave a comment.
Submit
Characters: ...