Dear Friends,
15 August 2011 was the anniversary of CCS’ founding day. 14 years on course—spreading the message of liberty and freedom, winning supporters towards the cause and step-by-step using our hammer mortar approach for building a new India.
In keeping with this history, fortiter in re has been the slogan for July and August. The team has unrelentingly stayed on course towards achieving wins on the campaign trail and creating the next generation of trailblazers. From holding fiery discussions in the Student First! Dialogue series to hosting another very successful film festival, there has not been a moment of rest.
Twenty interns and five externs successfully completed their summer engagements with CCS. Research topics this year included a study on how dispersed knowledge translates into an effective pricing mechanism in the second hand book market in Delhi, calculation of per child expenditure in schools for the visually impaired, economics of justice delivery in India, and measuring the impact of Value Added Tax. This year’s research papers will be available online soon.
In July, the CCS Academy team organized a wonderful 3-day colloquium on property rights and a successful ìpolicy for young leaders. With both these programs, the Academy is fast on its way to becoming the premier source for distinct supplemental education courses in active citizenship.
In late August, the 9th Annual Jeevika Asia Livelihood Documentary Festival was held at the India Habitat Centre in Delhi. The festival opened with thoughtful remarks by reknowned filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan and eminent jurist Ram Jethmalani. In addition to screenings of 14 shortlisted films, there was a panel discussion on Challenges in the Informal Sector and an exhibition of award winning photographs from the Photo of the Day competition held in the days prior to the festival.
Our busy season continues over the next couple of months, with ìpolicy programs, dialogues, state level advocacy for school choice and Jeevika, and a new event, Freedom on the Road. Do stay connected with us on facebook, twitter and our websites to hear when Freedom is coming to a city near you!
In liberty,
Parth J Shah
President, Centre for Civil Society |
| Property Rights Colloquium organized in Mumbai
 CCS, in partnership with the Friedrich Naumann-Stiftung fur die Freiheit, hosted a three-day Colloquium on Property Rights: Law, Liberty & Livelihoods in Mumbai between 15-17 July 2011. Seventeen professionals from India, France and Nepal who are actively engaged with these issues from civil society, law, academics and government came together to share their experiences and seek alternative perspectives. Read More >>
ìpolicy for Young Leaders
46 students and young professionals attended the ìpolicy for Young Leaders on 22-24 July in Delhi. The seminar brought top finalists of the C Rajagopalachari Essay Competition on ‘How Free Are You?’ supported by International Policy Network, London. 9 winners of the essay competition were announced at the program. See Photographs >>
Two Student First! Dialogues (SFD) held in July and August
 The year’s first SFD on Public Private Partnerships for Quality in School Education was held on 13 July 2011. Gajendra Haldea, Adviser to Deputy Chairman and Principal Adviser at Planning Commission; Anit Mukherjee, Co-author, PAISA Report and Associate Professor, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy; and Parth Shah, President, Centre for Civil Society were panelists for the evening. The discussion was chaired by Sujatha Muthayya, Associate Director of School Choice Campaign.
The following month, on 10 August, we held an SFD on Teacher Accountability, a fundamental concern in all proposed plans for improving the quality of education delivered in India. The discussion analysed whether RTE has provided mechanisms to achieve such teacher accountability. Chaired by Jan S Rao, former Associate Director, School Choice Campaign with Surendra Nath Dubey, President of All India Awardee Teachers Association and Shashank Shukla, Teach for India Fellow, Chairman at Gurukul Education Society and member of the National Advisory Council Working Group as panelists, the discussions explored the means through which the RTE Act addresses the issue of teacher accountability and looked at possible solutions to the current problems. Read More >>
Policy Roundtable organised for MLAs in Rajasthan
 On 21 July 2011, CCS organized a Policy Roundtable with Members of Legislative Assembly on Enhancing Livelihood and Education in Rajasthan. The roundtable discussed the National Policy on Urban Street Vendors and Right to Education Act through open interaction between policy makers and policy analysts. 25 selected MLAs from Jaipur, Ajmer, Kota and other parts of Rajasthan who had demonstrated strong interest in social policy solutions in past and had encouraged frank and open discussions on the problems facing our country participated in the Policy Roundtable. The MLAs went back with a clearer understanding of the issues and suggestions for reforms in these areas from the program. Read More >>
Rajasthan assembly passed the Urban Street Vendor Bill
Rajasthan government drafted a bill drawing up guidelines and regulations for for street vendors and tabled it in the state assembly on 29 August 2011. Per our expectations, the bill was passed on 30 August 2011, giving a big boost to our campaign for recognition of street vendors. Read More >>
8th Annual Jeevika Festival A Smashing Success
 The 8th Annual Jeevika Documentary Film Festival was held with much fanfare on 26-28 August 2011 at the India Habitat Centre, with over 500 people attending the 3-day event. 14 documentaries (10 professional and 4 amateur) showcasing various aspects of livelihood were short listed for screening from a total of 73 films that were submitted for the Festival this year. Leaving behind 13 other short listed entries, ‘Jharu Katha’, a poignant story on the livelihood struggles of broom makers in rural Rajasthan won the top honours at the festival. The documentaries touched upon sensitive subjects such as forced/child labour, surrogate mothers, tribal land issues and migrant musicians. National Award winning filmmaker and Padma Vibhushan, Adoor Gopalakrishnan inaugurated the festival, and acclaimed lawyer and MP Ram Jethmalani delivered the keynote address. Media Coverage and Photographs >>
New faces at CCS
 Julie Gilstrap, Senior Research Associate
Julie is a public policy practitioner with a Master's in Politics from the University of Edinburgh and Bachelor's in International Political Economy from the Whitworth University. At CCS, Julie will be responsible for preparing policy briefings, talking points, speeches, presentations and proposals. She will also develop literature and write and publish regular articles, research papers, commentaries, and legislative analyses.
 Andrew Humphries, Programs Associate
Andrew has a Bachelor’s in Liberal Arts from St. John's College, and a Master's in Education from Endicott College in the US. He brings 5 years of professional experience organizing youth programs and public policy training courses with Reason, Individualism and Freedom Institute, and Institute of Economic Affairs. At CCS, Andrew will be responsible for managing courses of CCS Academy, including ipolicy.
 Sadaf Hussain, Programs Associate
Sadaf has a Bachelor's in Sales and Marketing from St. Xavier’s College, Ranchi. Sadaf is also a CCS alum and has volunteered on a few of our programs while in college. He has previously worked with media agencies like Sanmarg newspaper and DA Media. At CCS, Sadaf will help with event execution and program implementation, providing support to the campaign teams in organising conferences, seminars and dialogues.
 Sana Kazi, Research Associate
Sana comes to CCS after having recently graduated from LSE with a Master's in Public Administration. She previously worked at Goldman Sachs for three years in asset management. At CCS Sana, will help analyse national and state education budgets and contribute to on-going research projects in the School Choice Campaign.
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