Letter with the Announcement

We are pleased to inform that Deshkal is proposing to hold a workshop on:

"Exploring Cultural perspectives on sustainable rural livelihoods- situating cultural practices of marginal communities in India".

Dates 30th Nov - 1st December 2008
Venue: Conference Room III, India International Centre (Annex), Delhi.

Objectives of the Workshop

• Fostering dialogue on the importance of constitutive and creative dimensions of cultural practices of the marginal communities to widen the domain of approaches of sustainable livelihoods and poverty alleviation
• Facilitate analysis on cultural and development policies in India with special reference to the basic rights and autonomy of the marginal communities
• Explore program strategies for creation of economically fair and socially empowering sustainable livelihoods building upon cultural skills and traditions of communities

The workshop aims to contribute to a multi stakeholder process for the shaping of an agenda for the future. In this connection we seek to propose the following activities:

• Organize consultations with stakeholders and marginal communities at regional levels to better understand the local context and identify issues and strategies for facilitating an improved quality of life
• Collating field research based case studies and documentation on marginal communities

Please refer to our position paper on the theme of the consultation that seeks to foster a discussion around the importance on integrating perspectives from the margins and their cultural practices towards realizing a holistic vision of development as human well being.