The Beacon
Those directly (as associates, advisors and youth) and indirectly (as well wishers) associated with the Centre are making significant contributions, influencing society in various ways and at different levels...contributing to critical thought/
reviews, sustainability and/or spirituality. Here we share their concerns, works, views, criticisms, overviews and ideas for action.
The views shared here are not necessarily the Centre's views. They are being promoted here to encouraging reflection, "hitchhiking" on ideas, constructive criticism, discussion and dialogue. Like a beacon, we hope that they will throw light on possible ways away from unsustainability.
* Important Note:
(1) Earlier, this effort was on the Contributions Page. Please do check the page for more resources from persons assoicated with the Centre.
(2) Unless indicated, whatever that is shared here is not prepared by or for the Centre. Contact the individual authors to engage.
Or contact us and we will put you to them. Thank you.
(3) This page is being redesigned.
reviews, sustainability and/or spirituality. Here we share their concerns, works, views, criticisms, overviews and ideas for action.
The views shared here are not necessarily the Centre's views. They are being promoted here to encouraging reflection, "hitchhiking" on ideas, constructive criticism, discussion and dialogue. Like a beacon, we hope that they will throw light on possible ways away from unsustainability.
* Important Note:
(1) Earlier, this effort was on the Contributions Page. Please do check the page for more resources from persons assoicated with the Centre.
(2) Unless indicated, whatever that is shared here is not prepared by or for the Centre. Contact the individual authors to engage.
Or contact us and we will put you to them. Thank you.
(3) This page is being redesigned.
The Centre's first publication, a coffee table book by M. Nadarajah (Nat), will be released by May 2013.
It is being published by Areca Books (based in Penang, Malaysia) for GCSSFS.
Contributions by Sohail Inayatullah (On Alternative Futures)
Causal Layered Analysis
Causal layered analysis, a theory and practice of organisational, social and civilisational change, seeks to transform the present and the future, through deconstructing and reconstructing reality at four levels. The levels are: the litany or day to day unquestioned views of reality, the systemic, the worldview/stakeholder perspective and the deepest, often unconscious, myths and metaphors. Problems are considered at all four levels and multiple worldviews and stakeholders are brought into to consider alternatives. By moving up and down layers and considering alternative perspectives, transformative policy and strategic solutions are created.
Contributions by Sashi Kumar (Media and Communication)
The gruesome manner of it instantly made this rape more than a statistic. Through the 13 days that the life of the 23-year-old woman hung in the balance, along with the anger and indignation that hit the streets of Delhi and other cities and towns, and beyond the incredibly callous comments by politicians of the right, left and centre, was a sense of stark helplessness, a desperate search for meaning.
This conflation of the nation and the channel is at its bellicose acutest when, as now, something happens along the border with Pakistan. There is a recurring pattern of Track Two diplomacy between the two countries being brought to naught by the news media on either side second-guessing, blow by blow, the efforts at rapprochement so that the diplomatic corps and the political class take one step forward and, the moment the media swings into the act, two steps back, lest it be projected as a sell-out. If only the media could wage peace with as deadly effect as it mongers war!
Gramscian hegemony, more than overt imperialism, characterises contemporary mass culture and media. A paradigm shift in the way we understand, represent and experience the world subserves a new and aggressive corporate teleology. Technological convergence and digitisation, which held an initial promise of and potential for democratisation, collapse into vertical integration and monopolisation. In the process, cultural sovereignty is abstracted into a homogenised, make-believe, global marketplace, which reduces every individual to a consumer and excludes the real and abiding concerns of vast swathes of humanity. An intellectual resurgence must counter the counterfeit revolution of the information era.
This conflation of the nation and the channel is at its bellicose acutest when, as now, something happens along the border with Pakistan. There is a recurring pattern of Track Two diplomacy between the two countries being brought to naught by the news media on either side second-guessing, blow by blow, the efforts at rapprochement so that the diplomatic corps and the political class take one step forward and, the moment the media swings into the act, two steps back, lest it be projected as a sell-out. If only the media could wage peace with as deadly effect as it mongers war!
Gramscian hegemony, more than overt imperialism, characterises contemporary mass culture and media. A paradigm shift in the way we understand, represent and experience the world subserves a new and aggressive corporate teleology. Technological convergence and digitisation, which held an initial promise of and potential for democratisation, collapse into vertical integration and monopolisation. In the process, cultural sovereignty is abstracted into a homogenised, make-believe, global marketplace, which reduces every individual to a consumer and excludes the real and abiding concerns of vast swathes of humanity. An intellectual resurgence must counter the counterfeit revolution of the information era.
Contributions of Indu Prakash Singh (On Homeless People)
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Non–Negotiables for the Shelters for the Homeless Residents (CityMakers)
Rights Based Approach (RBA) Being proactive! A World of Care for the CityMakers (Homeless Residents): Devoid of Brutality, Fear and Humiliation |
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Contrubutions By Manish Jain
McEducation for All:
Whose Agenda Does Global Education Really Serve?
By Manish Jain
The reflections in this article are a result of my explorations with rethinking education and development over the past 20 years. My work in essence is about strengthening peoples’ knowledge systems and cultural imaginations, and regenerating the larger learning commons that is necessary to move from a schooling society to learning societies. My essay has two deeper objectives: 1) To raise the bar of courage, dialogue and imagination required to think beyond the global monopoly of Education for All (EFA) which I believe needs to be exposed for what it really is, that is, McEducation for All; 2) To help reclaim and revitalize what is commonly called ‘informal education’, basically all of the natural learning that happens in everyday life that does not fit neatly into institutionalized categories of formal and non-formal education.
Download full article from here.
Download full article from here.
The Zoroastrian View of Ecology by Homi Dhalla
More of Dr. Homi Dhalla's contributions can be accessed here.
Blogs and Websites
The Rpkeya Project
Bringing young people together to create artistic responses to the problems of our global society.
Love, Fresh Air and Sunshine
Prof. T.K Nair's Social Work Blog
Bringing young people together to create artistic responses to the problems of our global society.
Love, Fresh Air and Sunshine
Prof. T.K Nair's Social Work Blog
