Anubhuti NGO, India

Anubhuti means to experience, and to empathise. At Anubhuti we believe in building solidarities for sustainable change, based on empathy and rights. There are many young people whose experiences and voices are deemed unimportant simply because of d voices are deemed unimportant simply because of who they are. We strive for these experiences to be built, heard and to translate into social action, so that youth can speak for themselves and create more equal societies. 18 years ago, the founder Deepa Pawar started working with young girls and women in the urban community she lived in in Mumbai, when she was herself 14. This was the beginning of her practice of collective, grassroot youth-led social change – the principle that those who face the problem should lead the fight against it. Further, values of feminism, anti-casteism, and those of the Indian Constitution informed her work as she started forming and mentoring youth groups, working with and training stakeholders, and leading advocacy campaigns across Maharashtra and beyond. These organically developed ideologies, values and principles form the base of Anubhuti. After almost 16 years of such work which grew to include community development, research, advocacy, campaigning, module-making, training, networking and movement-building – Deepa felt it was time to consolidate these strategies of work by starting her own organization. Thus began the journey of Anubhuti – officially in 2016, but the seed of which began 18 years ago and which today is one of several branches. Anubhuti is aware of and responsible towards this history. There is an even older legacy built painstakingly by the likes of Dr. B.R.Ambedkar, Bhagat Singh, Shahu Maharaj, Shivaji, Savitribai Phule, Jyotiba Phule, Fatima Sheikh, Gautam Buddha and countless other nameless but invaluable activists who gave us the base of equity, justice and democracy in India. This is the legacy that we strive hard to honour. We believe the rights to equity, justice, expression, access and dignity are essential for living a life without violence, deprivation and discrimination. Our vision is for a just, equitable, and democratic society, where every person is able to attain these rights. To achieve this, our mission is to build young people’s capacities so they can realise their leadership irrespective of their gender, caste, class, ethnicity, language or other identities, forge networks with each other and lead change for all.