Stepping stones towards success

In Year 2010

• Skill Education and Communication Centre is initiated by SEWA Academy through which vocational training and life skills training are provided to adolescent girls. Currently, Skill Education and Communication Centre are functional in 10 areas of Ahmedabad and efforts are being put to start more centres.

• 'Killol' Programme is broadcast from SEWA’s Community Radio Station for 6 to 14 years old children.

In Year 2009

• ‘SEWA Na Chand’ book was released by Indukumar Jani, Writer, Social Worker, Ela Bhatt, Founder and Jayantika Jayant, Editor, Anasooya on 18 December at SEWA’s Annual Meeting held at Manipur, SEWA Academy.

• SEWA Academy participated at the celebration of International Women’s Day with women of Liberiya, Africa. The 2 days symposium was organized under the direction of Liberiya’s First Lady President Alian Jarnson Sarfil and Finland’s President Tarja Helone.

• After a prolonged struggle SEWA’s Rudi No Radio obtained permission from the government to start its own community radio station (CRS) in Manipur village within 10 km radius. The CRS is 49^th in the country and will be operational from SEWA Academy’s rural training centre at Manipur Village, Sanand Taluka. The new radio station was inaugurated by SEWA Academy team on 26 November. The radio station will broadcast the programme in 20 villages of Sanand and Daskroi Taluka from 9 am to 1 pm and 4 to 8 pm on 90.4 frequency. The initiative is entirely managed by women who have had no formal training in mass media.

• Around 800 girls of 13 Akashganga centre and SEWA Academy’s Skill Education and Communication Centre participated in Akashganga Girls’ Exhibition on 24 December at Manipur, Sanand Taluka.

In Year 2008

• Renana Jhabvala and Namrata Bali conducted a research on ‘My Life My Work’ in the year 1993. The study of the year 1993 was updated in the year 2007. The main focus was to ascertain the impact of SEWA on representative / leader, over 35 years

In Year 2007

• Book release was organized on 8 February for ‘Mugdhavastha ni mujhvan ane mavjat’ developed by Anasooya. Also, film ‘Paras-par sahakaar ej HIV no padkar’ was released on the same day.

• A group of 21 people from Empowerment through creative integration (ECI-Limited), Islamabad, Pakistan visited SEWA from 19-24 June on Exposure Tour. They also visited SEWA Bank, SEWA Academy, Gram Haat, Unnat Bazaar, Design SEWA, Federation, Banascraft, SEWA Kalakruti, etc.

• Video SEWA’s 'My Life My Work' received Social Documentary Award at the Guidonia Film Festival in Guidonia, Italy. Of 310 entries, 13 films were chosen. Video SEWA team received the award from the Mayor.

In Year 2006

• SEWA Academy members participated in ICT conference organized by World Summit Information Society, at Tunasia.

• SEWA Academy members participated in International workshop on Workers Education and Workers Media in a Global Economy organized by International Federation for Workers’ Education Associations (IFWEA) from 4-6 April at Capetown.

• Martha Chen, Lecturer in Public Policy, Harvard University also an international coordinator of the Global Research Policy Network, Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing (WIEGO) completed ‘SEWA @ 30’ project with SEWA Academy. Under the project a book named ‘Impact’ was published in 2005. The book- ‘SEWA @ 30’ assesses the impact on its members of specific SEWA services and strategies.

• 300 women participated in Rally to celebrate World Literacy Day on 8 September organized by SEWA Academy Literacy Division.

• Audio Cassette – ‘Swasthaya Sandesh’ was released on 6 October at Dayan Sammelan. The 9 songs recorded for the cassette were developed by SEWA Academy in association with Lok Swasthya Mandali under Swasthya Sanchar Programme.

In Year 2005

• Swaminathan Research Foundation – MSSRE organized an ICT Workshop from 15-22 October. SEWA Academy member participated in the workshop which was coordinated by Global Knowledge Partnership.

• SEWA Academy member participated in a workshop on upliftment of the underprivileged through Information and Communication Technology – Challenge for Voluntary Organization, organized by Atal Bihari Bajpayee Indian Institute of Information Technology and Management, Gwalior.

• SEWA Academy member participated in the workshop on ‘Achieving multilayer Gender Equality in the field of Education till 2015’ organized at Le Meridien, New Delhi under the chairmanship of Kiran Bedi by Confederation of Indian Industry in joint collaboration with UNESCO.

• 5 members of Samata Organization including Finance Director, Deputy Director, Coordinator, Project Officer participated in 4 days Exposure Programme from 22 April organized by SEWA Academy. They had an overnight stay at Manipur which they liked a lot and found the surroundings lush with greenery. Samata organization works on the issue of equal distribution of land.

• One of the team members of SEWA Video participated in the Geneva world summit on information society (WISIS) from 15-25 March.

• In April 2005, SEWA Academy started its own radio programme Rudi No Radio with All India Radio (national radio).

In Year 2004

• International Women’s Day was celebrated by SEWA Academy on 12 March organized by SEWA Academy’s Literacy Division at Aabadnagar, Danilimda’s Shantipath Centre. SEWA Academy members; Mr. Federick, Hilton Foundation; Vidulaben, Akhil Hind Mahila Parishad, Ahmedabad, and other members were present during the celebrations.

• Ms Karoi Honda, Japan visited SEWA and conducted a research on SEWA Training to ascertain the types of training provided by SEWA Academy. She interviewed 30 women and presented her results.

• Computer training initiated by SEWA Academy in association with ACT on 20 August with demands from daughters of SEWA members to progress in the field of Technology 6-months computer training classes are initiated.

• SEWA Academy members participated in Women in Media workshop organized by National Commission for women at Vignyan Bhavan, New Delhi on 6-7 August.

• A seminar ‘Media as vehicle for change’ was jointly organized by Indira School of Communication (ISC) and The Asian Media Information and Communication Centre (AMIC) and The French Elbert Stiftung (FES) on 16-17 September at Pune wherein ‘Empowerment of women through Media' paper was presented by member of SEWA Academy and Sudhanya Dasgupta Mukherji.

In Year 2003

• A Research Study was conducted on Milk Cooperatives of Ahmedabad & Gandhinagar District by SEWA Academy.

• SEWA Academy training department conducted a Post Graduate Diploma course on ‘Universalizing the Socio-Economic Security for Poor’ jointly with the Institute of Social Studies, Netherlands and Centre for Development Studies, Trivandrum.

• SEWA Academy participated in the Third World Water Forum in Japan.

• SEWA Academy participated in workshop conducted by Robert Chambers from IDS, Sussex who is an expert on Participatory Rural Appraisal.

In Year 2002

• SEWA Academy Research Division conducted a study on women associated with more than one trade and the situation of their work. A research study was conducted on incense stick maker and ready made garment workers by Research team.

• A census study on Rag Pickers was conducted by SEWA Academy Research Division.

• Educational Exhibition was organized by SEWA Academy Literacy Division on 19 September at Behrampura, Ahmedabad. Sports day was organized on 9 October on Gandhi Jayanti at Home Guard Ground in which 250 women participated.

• SEWA Academy Research Division had undertaken a study on ‘Transforming Water into Money' carried out by SEWA in collaboration with IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre & Partners and Foundation of Public Interest (FPI) has been ranked first the world over among research studies on ‘Water and Poverty’. This study will be presented in Third Water World Forum.

• Video SEWA team learnt nonlinear computer technique and started utilizing the same in their work.

In Year 2001

• SEWA Academy members participated in TOT organized by National Institute of Rural Development (NIRD), Hyderabad on topic Training Methods and Communication Skills Course.

• Around 600 Nav Sakshar women participated in celebrations on World Literacy Day, 8 September organized by Literacy Division, SEWA Academy at Tagore Hall, Ahmedabad.

• On the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, Literacy Division, SEWA Academy organized Rally to promote Literacy in which around 475 women participated.

In Year 2000

• For development of team members 4 days training, of many trainings to be followed from January to May, was organized by SEWA Academy Research Division. Researcher Professor S P Punalekar, Dr. D S Shah, Dr. B T Kazi & Dr. B Swaroopdas, Centre for Social Studies, Surat provided training and explained in detail the importance of research different methods of Quantitative & Qualitative Research, Analysis and Writing.

• Cambodia Women’s Media Centre organized a workshop on Vendors’ issues in which SEWA Academy member, Rajiben, vegetable vendor, Savita Patni, team member, Video SEWA member participated.

• Around 400 girls and women of Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar Taluka participated in celebration organized on World Literacy Day. Around 6000 women became literate and learned to read-write and are eager to learn further. The members studying in literacy classes performed a play on ‘Education at our Doorstep’.

• Video SEWA was registered as the ‘The Gujarat women’s Video SEWA Information and Communication Cooperative Society Ltd on 1 June 2000.

In Year 1999

• Video SEWA Film Festival was organized by National Foundation for India, New Delhi at Silver Oak Indian Habitat Centre, New Delhi on 10 February 1998.

• 227 women participated in Nav Sakshar Camp on World Literacy Day, 8 September was organized at Manipur, Sanand Taluka.

• SEWA Academy hosted a special Exposure and Dialogue Program (EDP), with Germany parliamentarians, senior World Bank and Germany Development agency officials. The EDP aimed to learn in depth, about the lives of working class women, their work, their struggles and their approaches to dealing with the insecurity and vulnerability they face in their daily lives.

In Year 1998

• SEWA and Charkha jointly organized 4 days Writing Training cum Camp on 18 March at Anasooya’s office, Akhbar Bhavan, Gandhinagar.

• SEWA Academy participated in 5 days workshop on ‘Caste, Poverty and Employment’ at ILO Training Centre, Turin, Italy.

• SEWA Academy members participated in a programme on Capacity Building through Communication, Film, Video, TV at Development Study School, Kathmandu, Nepal organized by Save the Children South and Central Asia.

• Video SEWA celebrated successful completion of 14 years by organizing Video Festival at National Institute of Design (NID) Auditorium, Ahmedabad on 20 April.

• SEWA Academy member participated in Doordarshan meeting on 15 September and represented Video SEWA.

• First Workshop on Nav Saksharta was organized on 18 September at Manipur, Sanand Taluka.

• SEWA Academy participated in 10 days workshop organized by Ministry of Social Welfare, Yemen started on 19 September.

In Year 1997

• Jayantika Jayant, Editor, Anasooya receives Gujarat State 1995-96 Best Journalist Award in the field of women development on 18 May from Chief Minister Shanker Singh Vaghela. Moreover, Gujarat Branch of All India Women’s Conference awarded ‘Shri Bhanuben Patel Vishesht Chandrak’ to Jayntika Jayant in recognition of her unique social contribution. It was awarded to her by the Governor of Gujarat.

• SEWA started 3 major research efforts at the State, National and International level to bring out the economic contribution of women in the informal sector. At state level, SEWA along with other research organizations, GIDR, GLI and CSS conducted a micro level study on the contribution of the informal sector. At national level SEWA collaborated with the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) on a series of studies both macro and micro which look at the informal sector’s contribution from many different angles. At the international level, SEWA collaborated with Harvard University and UNIFEM (United Nations Fund for Women) in a new initiative, aimed at bringing informal sector into the mainstream through research, statistics and programmes which lead to changes in policies.

• Video SEWA’s ‘Tees Karore Kahan Hai?’ (Where are 30 crore informal sector workers?) was telecast on Delhi Doordarshan on International Workers' Day, 1 May.

In Year 1996

• 34 new Literacy Classes were initiated in different localities for adult women and their daughters engaged in different trades.

• SEWA Academy members participated in 18^th International Women’s Film Festival from 14-31 March. Video SEWA’s four films 'Video SEWA: Women’s Alternative', 'Kanya Ratna', 'A Journey from Rs 7 to 4 Lakhs' and 'I am Shakti' were screened thrice. They also conducted 5 days Video Training during the Festival.

• TOT was organized by SEWA Academy from 6-9 March in which 16 members participated. Dr. Norma Lange-Tagaza from GTZ, Germany conducted the TOT in which 8 methods were taught to Trainers.

• Ismail Serageldin, Vice President, World Bank visited SEWA Academy on 24 November during his visit to SEWA Bank.

• Video SEWA’s Leela Datania entered the Limca Book of Records as the first illiterate woman worker to be a video film producer.

• Anasooya was published independently by a newly-formed organization, Shri Mahila SEWA Anasooya Trust.

• On 14 November, Children’s Day; Anasooya Trust launched a new monthly publication ‘Akashganga’ for our member’s daughters aged 8-14 years.

In Year 1995

• Ms Hillary Clinton, First Lady of the US visited SEWA Ahmedabad. SEWA members represented activities of SEWA Union, SEWA Bank, Gram Vikas, Social Security, Cooperatives and SEWA Academy in an open discussion with the First Lady.

• SEWA Academy member participated in the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women held at Beijing, China from 4-15 September.

• SEWA Academy undertook and produced a Study on Social Security Needs of Rural Women, on request by Udyogini, an NGO based in Delhi; a study of ICDS program run by Sangini Co-operative commissioned by UNICEF.

• Video SEWA won international recognition when it received an award for its video titled ‘A journey from Rs 7 to Rs 4 Lakhs’ at the UN Women’s Conference, Beijing. Besides, 3 videos of SEWA’s production were broadcast at the national level.

• Anasooya acquired its own premise at Akhbar Bhavan, Gandhinagar along with other newspapers of Gujarat.

In Year 1994

• A week long conference was organized on ‘Women Empowering Communication’ at Bangkok from 12 February onwards. SEWA Academy members conducted two workshops on Video SEWA and its utility. Around 5000 women participated in the conference.

• Video SEWA organized 21 days workshop for 15 women from rural and urban areas. Barkley Stuart, Renuka Berry, Selly Stuart and Video Team provided training on ‘Communication for change’.

• SEWA Academy member presented two papers on Trade Union Movement SEWA’s Experience and Trade Union and Cooperatives at Nordk Forum of Finland from 2-8 August. Around 50000 women participated in the different topics of the forum organized at Turkey.

In Year 1993

• Cultural Division of Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya (IGRMS), an autonomous organization of the Ministry of Culture Government of India organized 2 days conference on Video Film in which two members of Video SEWA participated. Both the women though illiterate were proficient with equipments. A 5-minutes film on the meeting was made which was telecast on Doordarshan same day with Leela Datania’s interview.

• SEWA Academy participated in 3-weeks training organized by Afro Asian Institute, Tel Aviv, Israel on planting seedlings on uncultivated desert land and Cooperatives.

In Year 1992

• Research of members on their socio-economic position. Besides, research on head loader, contract-labourer workers and readymade garment workers is undertaken.

• SEWA Academy initiated Literacy Class on 5 November.

• Video SEWA’s film on women’s empowerment ‘A Women’s Alternative’ was selected for Festival International De Films De Femmes in Paris.

In Year 1991

• SEWA Academy was created in 1991 and since it has been the focal point for capacity building, communications and research efforts. The two communication media namely ‘Anasooya’ and Video SEWA involved in awareness raising and increasing information and knowledge were directly linked with SEWA Academy.

• Work of informal sector women is considered as economic activity, to highlight its importance a programme on ‘My Life My Work’ produced by Video SEWA was utilized during census survey. This programme became very famous and was telecast from Rajkot and Ahmedabad Doordarshan.

In Year 1989

• Efforts were made to bring all the training under one umbrella and thought was put into making it functional. Thus after a meeting of experts from various fields (legal, labour, education, health management and co-operative) culminated the need of forming SEWA Academy.

• Video SEWA was awarded the Feldafest German Award.

In Year 1987

• Video SEWA had a 3-week editing workshop conducted by Martha Stuart Communication. During the workshop, participants learned simple editing techniques. After an initial period of practice and gaining confidence at the editing table, productions recorded were edited. The new programmes had more interview and visuals. They were shorter in duration and addressed more aspects of a particular problem. The tapes were mainly on issues of vegetable vendors, tobacco-processing workers, home based readymade garments workers, SEWA Bank, SEWA co-operatives, oral rehyderation therapy, smokeless stove, interviews with SEWA group leaders & organizers and processions taken out by garment workers & vendors.

In Year 1984

• A 3-week video production workshop was held. The workshop was one in a series of workshop conducted by the Village Video Network, VVN. The VVN was co-sponsored by Martha Stuart Communication (New York) and United Nations University (UNU-Tokyo). Members of grassroot organizations in developing countries were taught to use video as a tool of developmental communication. These members are linked in a global network called the Village Video Network, VVN. Member countries can exchange programmes to enable horizontal communications between people beyond geographical borders.

In Year 1982

• ‘Anasooya’, SEWA’s fortnightly in Gujarati, started.