CITIZEN JOURNALISM

Our collaborative model enables urban citizens to not just learn but also engage and contribute their insights and learning as citizen journalists. Across cities, there are remarkable initiatives of citizens, not just activists, Resident Welfare Association (RWA) members and lay volunteers becoming "active citizens" - getting involved in various civic projects from rejuvenating lakes to initiating waste segregation to auditing footpath infrastructure. This section documents their experiences, helping these “doers” share learnings and insights and amplifying citizen voice. We are grateful to Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies for part supporting the Civic Changemaking and Citizen Journalism Programme.

5 PM at commercial street. Little drizzle. Cool wind blowing by. It was a weather that every Indian wishes for. No matter what mood you are in, this weather will just lift your moods. I was in high spirits and would have said 'yes' to climb Mt. Everest of asked to now. I was there with a couple of my friends enjoying the weather. By 6 pm, the drizzle turned into a small shower and people were running for shelter. We decided to call it a day and head back home. To my surprise I couldn't find a single Auto…

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The traffic in Bangalore and other cities are increasing alarmingly. This is due to the affordability of the people to buy a vehicle and the competitiveness of the automobile industries which are leading to high density of traffic which is a serious concern for global warming and the changing climatic conditions. There are 3 to 4 cars and 2 to 3 two wheelers for each house. I have seen most of the sedans and midsized cars are driven with a single persons and the government should stop giving licence to manufacture midsize cars and sedans and SUV's and this should…

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For many of the urban poor, education is a luxury. Even as many private schools become unaffordable in Bangalore, quality of government schools are not very impressive. Children from the lower economic background, who attend schools (mostly government schools) are unable to learn much due to poor infrastructure and teaching methodologies. Many of them are scared of subjects like English, Science and Mathematics. One initiative which hopes to tackle this problem is the ‘Evening School Centre’ run by the volunteer group, AID (Association for India's Development, Bangalore Chapter). These are centres found in slums and neighbourhoods populated by the lower…

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