The Red Elephant Foundation

Last updated

The Red Elephant Foundation is a youth-led civilian peacebuilding initiative that works for gender equality and peace through storytelling, art advocacy, tech-for-good and digital media engagement. The initiative was founded by Kirthi Jayakumar in Chennai, India, on June 5, 2013. [1] On June 4, 2017, The Red Elephant Foundation was recommended by Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations, for Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council. [2]

Contents

Activities

The Red Elephant Foundation's activities are chunked down into five key blocks:

Storytelling

In the long term, the initiative aims at shifting mindsets and pivot people naturally towards equality, peace and non-violence. [3] The storytelling wing curates stories of survivors, change-makers and peace-workers around the world so that these stories inspire action, empathy and awareness of the world. [4] The foundation has told stories of several activists, changemakers and survivors, including Maya Azucena, [5] Zak Ebrahim, [6] Kamla Bhasin, [7] Tabish Khair [8] and Vaishnavi Sundar [9] among others.

ChalkPeace

The foundation makes its stories actionable by building curriculums to address issues of gender inequality, violence in communication and action, and to address the need for sensitization around gender based violence. These curriculums are tailor-made to suit each demographic's needs, and are then used to conduct training sessions at schools, colleges, community groups and work places. The foundation's education programs are curated on their platform, called ChalkPeace. [1] [10] [11] The ChalkPeace Program has re-created versions of board games to teach values of Gender Equality and Peace, such as: Snakes and Ladders, Guess Who, Pictionary, Taboo and Memory. [12]

Tech For Good

While the goals of storytelling and education/sensitization are couched in the long-term, [3] the initiative focuses on the imminent need for assistance, sensitized help and qualitative support for survivors of violence. This encouraged the birth of an online tech-based tool that maps organizations providing legal, medical, resource, education/employment help and police, ambulance and consular services across 196 countries in the world, called the GBV Help Map. [13] They also curate stories of online abuse through the Troll Register and school and college level bullying through Report a Bully. The Youth Solutions Report by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network features The Red Elephant Foundation's #GBVHelpMap as one of the top 50 solutions / ideas in the world to achieve #SDG5 on #GenderEquality, and has also specifically been curated as a Case Study on "The Era of Digital Accountability." [14] The organization created Saahas, a mobile app version of the GBV Help Map. [15] [16] The app was coded by Kirthi Jayakumar. [17] [18] [19]

The Building Peace Project

The Building Peace Project is an, intensive online program spread over eight weeks. [20] Participants from all over the world will be engaged in sessions facilitated by trained facilitators using a curriculum grounded in values of peace education, dialogue, writing and some dynamic thinking. Although based on a curriculum, the sessions give participants room, autonomy and encouragement to explore their spontaneity creatively. [20]

Digital Advocacy

The initiative runs digital media campaigns that serve a two-pronged strategy: online stakeholding and awareness, and offline dialogue building and exchange. Some campaigns include: More than my Body and Break a Gender Stereotype. We also participate in the 16 Days of Activism against VAW and He For She. The Break a Gender Stereotype Campaign was awarded by Femvertising in 2016 with the People's Choice Award. [21] The initiative has also collaborated with and supported other organizations on their campaigns, including one to fight the normalization of stalking in Indian cinema. [22] [23] They also supported the United Nations in its MyWorld Campaign through the collection of votes using online advocacy. [24] [25] The initiative partnered with the US Consulate at Chennai for its Pride Month event in 2016. [26] They also supported the Her Story Wikipedia Editathon campaign in August 2016. [27] [ better source needed ] The team also represented as part of the Civil Society Committee Members in choosing questions from the civil society to ask candidates standing for the office of the UN Secretary General. [28]

In addition, the initiative has also successfully undertaken research to inform its work. Offline, the foundation has supported disaster response through aid dispensation and support for different communities during the Nepal earthquake, [29] the Manipur earthquake, [30] and the floods in Chennai. [31] [32]

Awards

The Red Elephant Foundation won the Femvertising in 2016 with the People's Choice Award for its campaign called Breaking Gender Stereotypes. [21] They were also finalists in the Social Media for Empowerment Awards 2017, in the Women's Empowerment category. [33] They were finalists in the Early Stage Innovation Category for the mBillionth Awards 2017 for their mobile app, Saahas. [34] The Red Elephant Foundation was awarded the Outstanding NGO Award by FICCI FLO at Chennai in February 2018. [35] They also won the UN Online Volunteering Award, 2017. [36]

The list of awards are as follows:

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry</span> Non-governmental trade association and advocacy group based in India

The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) is a non-governmental trade association and advocacy group based in India. Dr. Anish Shah, Group CEO and Managing Director of Mahindra & Mahindra, is the current President of FICCI.

Sonal Ambani is an Indian sculptor and author. She is known for her 2004 book Mothers and Daughters, a photographic journal celebrating the mother-daughter relationship, which she wrote after losing her mother to cancer as a way of honoring her. Ambani mentored her children as they completed a sequel to Mothers and Daughters called Fathers and Sons, which was released in 2009. Her sculptures have featured in many prominent exhibitions, most notable and recent of which is her sculpture Riderless World which is being shown at the Venice 2022 Art Biennale, organized by the European Cultural Centre. She has a patent for Systems and Method for providing Financial Services to Children and Teenagers. She grew up in New York City. Her father's art gallery in New York had a significant influence on her. She played the double bass in an orchestra and a jazz ensemble. Her father taught her how to sculpt. She was a skilled equestrian show jumper.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poonam Mahajan</span> Indian politician

Poonam Mahajan is an Indian politician who serves as the Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha from Mumbai North Central, Constituency, Maharashtra. She is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). She has served as the National President of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), the youth wing of the BJP, from December 2016 to September 2020. Mahajan was the President of the Basketball Federation of India, the first female to hold this position. In addition, she currently serves as Chair of the Maharashtra State Animal Welfare Board.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eliezah Foundation Initiative Uganda</span>

The Eliezah Foundation Initiative is a nonprofit organisation based in Wakiso District, Uganda. The Organisation supports and invests in Women safety and social entrepreneurship through its Women First Approach, and through partnerships with and support of organizations and agencies important to Women’s Growth And Development. It provides opportunities for women to meet with each other through support of events including the Periodic Community Dialogues on Gender And Safety at Community Level, convenings, and Training Workshops. It also conducts local media campaigns to publicize women interventions to end violence through projects such as Emergency GBV Services and HIV partnerships with other local and international Partners, including ViiV Healthcare, Cultural Leaders from Buganda, Bunyoro, and Busoga Kingdoms, Local Media, local government in Uganda, and Government Departments. Its founder is Eliezah Titus Busonga who is now working as the Chief Executive Of Real Health Uganda.

The Secretary's Office of Global Women's Issues is located within the United States Department of State. In 2009, Melanne Verveer was appointed to be the first Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues. From September 2013 to May, 2017, Catherine M. Russell was appointed to this position. From May 2017 through December 2019, there was no ambassador for this office. Kelley Currie, a political appointee, joined the Global Women's Issues Office as U.S. Ambassador-at-Large in January 2020. Geeta Rao Gupta is the current Ambassador-at-Large for the office as of May 18th, 2023.

The Foundation for Universal Responsibility of His Holiness the Dalai Lama is a nonprofit organization established with the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to the 14th Dalai Lama in 1989. According to its website, "the Foundation brings together men and women of different faiths, professions and nationalities, through a range of initiatives and mutually sustaining collaborations."

Manju Bharat Ram was an Indian educationist, who was the founder, chairperson of the managing committee and member of the board of trustees of The Shri Ram Schools, New Delhi; ranked as India's No. 1 day school by Education World’s Schools survey in 2008, 2009 and 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saundarya Rajesh</span> Indian businesswoman

Saundarya Rajesh is an Entrepreneur who is the founder and president of Avtar Group. She is known for Second Career opportunities for women in corporate India. She runs Project Puthri to empower underprivileged girls with employment. She was awarded the ‘100 Women Achievers of India’ in 2016 by the Minister of Women and Child Development for her work. She received the Women Transforming India Award from the NITI Aayog and the United Nations in 2016. Her debut book, The 99 Day Diversity Challenge: Creating an Inclusive Workplace (2018), was published by SAGE Publishing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">V. M. Muralidharan</span> Former Chairman of Ethiraj College for Women

Vellore Madhavan Muralidharan, popularly known as Mike Muralidharan, is an Indian educationist and IT industry veteran. He is the Chairman of Ethiraj College for Women, the Chief Operating Officer of Bahwan CyberTek Group and the Chairman of ALERT NGO. He is a distinguished alumnus of the College of Engineering, Guindy.

An edit-a-thon is an event where some editors of online communities such as Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, and LocalWiki edit and improve a specific topic or type of content. The events typically include basic editing training for new editors and may be combined with a more general social meetup. The word is a portmanteau of "edit" and "marathon". An edit-a-thon can either be "in-person" or online or a blended version of both. If it is not in-person, it is usually called a "virtual edit-a-thon" or "online edit-a-thon".

SHE Media is an American digital media company. It operates the website properties BlogHer, SheKnows, STYLECASTER, and HelloFlo. It has been a brand of Penske Media Corporation since 2018.

Sangita Jindal Indian businesswoman

Sangita Jindal is an Indian businesswoman and the chairperson of the JSW Foundation, which drives social development projects within the JSW Group. She also leads Jindal Arts Centre and she is the President of Art India magazine, a leading art magazine focusing on contemporary art practices and critical theory which promotes interdisciplinary arts activity, in India. JSW Foundation has also won the Golden Peacock Award for CSR in 2009 and 2019.

S M Sehgal Foundation is an Indian NGO focused on rural development with its head office in Gurugram, Haryana. It was founded as an Indian public, charitable trust in 1999 by plant geneticist Suri Sehgal and his wife Mrs. Edda Sehgal, who together had accumulated wealth through the 1998 sale of their hybrid seed businesses, Proagro Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kirthi Jayakumar</span> Indian peacebuilder and feminist researcher

Kirthi Jayakumar is a peace educator, a women, peace, and security and feminist foreign policy practitioner, lawyer and writer. She is a Commonwealth Scholar, a Vital Voices (VV) Lead Fellow, a VV Engage Fellow, a Local Pathways Fellow, and a World Pulse Impact Leader. Kirthi is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. She served as an advisor to the G7 through the Women7 under the German Presidency of the G7 in 2022, and currently under the Japanese Presidency of the G7 in 2023, and was named as one of UN Women Asia Pacific's 30 for 2030.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Safecity</span> Harassment reporting website serving India, Kenya, Cameroon, Nepal, Malaysia


Safecity, also known as Safecity.in, is a free website that allows anonymous reporting of incidents of gender-based harassment, abuse, and violence, and creates a map that can be viewed and downloaded by anyone. It is available in India, Kenya, Cameroon, Nepal, and Malaysia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malvika Iyer</span> Indian motivational speaker, social activist and disability rights activist

Malvika Iyer is an Indian national, a bilateral amputee from an accidental blast while picking up a diffused grenade, a social worker, and a National Awardee. She is an international motivational speaker and a disability rights activist, advocating for building an inclusive society. She is also a model for accessible fashion. Iyer obtained her Doctorate in Social Work from Madras School of Social Work in 2017. Her doctoral thesis is on the stigmatization of people with disabilities.

Purplewashing is a compound word modeled on the term whitewash. The prefix "purple" is associated with feminism while the verb "wash" refers to the co-opting strategies that use minority rights to maintain or enhance structural forms of discrimination.

Swayam Shikshan Prayog (SSP) is a non-governmental organization based in Pune, India. It was co-founded by Prema Gopalan and Sheela Patel in 1998 and aims to support female entrepreneurs in areas such as agriculture, health and sanitation. Its work has been recognised by the United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Shobha Gosa is a Women's activist and leadership developer, espousing the movement among youth towards women empowerment through sustained education. She is also a person with interfaith understanding, who has also contributed papers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Archana Garodia Gupta</span> Author and entrpreneur

Archana Garodia Gupta is an author, entrepreneur, business leader, and quizzer. She was the president of the FICCI Ladies Association in 2015.

References

  1. 1 2 "The Red Elephant Foundation: A Small Initiative with a Big Impact - Young Feminist Wire". Young Feminist Wire. 2014-06-06. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
  2. ↑ "Non-Governmental Organizations Committee Recommends 46 Groups for Special Status, Defers Action on 48 in Third Day of Session | Meetings Coverage and Press Releases". www.un.org. Retrieved 2017-06-05.
  3. 1 2 Jayakumar, Kirthi. "Why Telling Difficult Stories Is So Important". time.com. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
  4. ↑ Lazarus, Susanna Myrtle (2016-06-15). "Bringing change from Chennai to DC". The Hindu. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 2016-10-13.
  5. ↑ "Cry Love, Build Peace". www.redelephantfoundation.org. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
  6. ↑ "Making a Choice". www.redelephantfoundation.org. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
  7. ↑ "Feminist Musings". www.redelephantfoundation.org. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
  8. ↑ "Addressing Xenophobia through writing". www.redelephantfoundation.org. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
  9. ↑ "The Woman behind WMF". www.redelephantfoundation.org. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
  10. ↑ "Beyond Violence". www.beyondviolence.org. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
  11. ↑ "#MEET ChalkPeace and GBV Help Map - Youth Citizen Entrepreneurship Competition". Youth Citizen Entrepreneurship Competition. 2017-08-10. Retrieved 2018-05-24.
  12. ↑ "An Editathon for social change". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 2016-11-28.
  13. ↑ "How we use technology to bridge the gap in access to services for GBV survivors | World Pulse". World Pulse. 2016-08-12. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
  14. ↑ "Read the Report". Youth Solutions Report. Retrieved 2017-01-31.
  15. ↑ "A voice for the vulnerable". deccanchronicle.com/. 2017-08-14. Retrieved 2017-08-14.
  16. ↑ "Apps that make women brave". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on January 14, 2018. Retrieved 2018-01-14.
  17. ↑ "Why I Created The Saahas App For Survivors Of Gender Based Violence To Find Help". Women's Web: For Women Who Do. 2017-08-21. Retrieved 2018-01-14.
  18. ↑ "A voice for the vulnerable". deccanchronicle.com/. 2017-08-14. Retrieved 2018-01-14.
  19. ↑ "Pocket aids keep you safe in dark alleys, at late hours - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2018-01-14.
  20. 1 2 "Changing minds, one home at a time - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2018-05-24.
  21. 1 2 "The #Femvertising Awards celebrate brands that challenge gender stereotypes, but men need to get on board". SheKnows. 2016-09-27. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
  22. ↑ "A movement to keep stalking out of films - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
  23. ↑ "Online Petition Urges Tamil Filmmakers To Stop Portraying Stalking As A 'Cool' Way To Woo Women". Huffington Post India. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
  24. ↑ "#REF4Women: Advocating for Women in Development through MY World 2015". UN SDG Action Campaign. 2014-08-18. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
  25. ↑ ""Rallying People's Support for Gender Equality in the Post-2015 Development Agenda" - Young Feminist Wire". Young Feminist Wire. 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
  26. ↑ "'Infighting among gay community should now end' - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
  27. ↑ "Writing women into Wikipedia with the United Nations: the #HERstory editathons – Wikimedia Blog" . Retrieved 2016-10-13.
  28. ↑ "Inner City Press: Investigative Reporting from the United Nations". www.innercitypress.com. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
  29. ↑ Rajagopalan, Priyanka (2015-05-01). "Off to the rescue". The Hindu. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 2016-10-13.
  30. ↑ Lakshmi, K. (2016-01-23). "When flood relief lessons proved useful to Manipur". The Hindu. ISSN   0971-751X . Retrieved 2016-10-13.
  31. ↑ "Agam Sei - Jan 2016". Issuu. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
  32. ↑ "After the rains". www.theweekendleader.com. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
  33. ↑ "SM4E 2017". social media for empowerment. Retrieved 2017-04-17.
  34. ↑ "mBillionth Award South Asia |". mbillionth.in. Retrieved 2017-08-14.
  35. ↑ "FICCI FLO Women Achievers Awards 2018". View7media. 2018-03-01. Retrieved 2018-03-02.
  36. ↑ "Blog | UNV Online Volunteering service". www.onlinevolunteering.org. Retrieved 2018-03-24.
  37. ↑ "Shortlisted 2018". social media for empowerment. Retrieved 2018-05-24.
  38. ↑ "FICCI FLO Chennai presents 'FLO Women Achievers Awards 2018' at Taj Club House, Chennai". Ritz Magazine. 2018-03-01. Retrieved 2019-05-14.
  39. ↑ "Winner 2018". social media for empowerment. Retrieved 2019-05-14.
  40. ↑ "mBillionth Award South Asia" . Retrieved 2019-05-14.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.