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Attendees of the flagship Global Action on Poverty event in 2015
April 30, 2015 In News

GAP 2015 Event

On the 85th anniversary of the Dandi March – a movement where Mahatma Gandhi led thousands of Indians to claim their economic and political rights – the first convention of GAP (Global Action on Poverty) took off at Sabarmati Gandhi Ashram, Ahmedabad, catalyse other leaders on another journey.

 

The two-day GAP conference, on March 12 and 13, held at Sabarmati Ashram and Gujarat Vidyapeeth, brought together over 200 leaders, activists, entrepreneurs and individuals who shared the passion and ambition to remove poverty on a global scale.

 

Poverty is a complex issue, reflecting social exclusion, opportunity exclusion and income exclusion, all deeply connected with each other. GAP, recognizing the need for a systemic intervention to impact poverty, was designed along the rails of Learning, Collaboration and Action, to enable impact.

  • What Changemakers said

    I am working to eradicate poverty through technology. We are developing small technology interventions that are low cost, easily accessible, easily transferable and suitable for low skill workers. I was happy to find many NGOs interested to collaborate with me at GAP.

    - B BhattacharyaResearch Scholar, Mechanical Engineer (IIT Kharagpur) & Member - Rural Technology Action Group, Kolkata

  • What Changemakers said

    The issue of school dropouts is very close to my heart. I felt I needed some help in advocacy. In Mumbai there are not many in advocacy as there are in Delhi. I connected with a few people in advocacy, from MKSS and others, asking them to guide me. As a complete newcomer in this field, I would need their help to figure out how to draw everyone's attention to the 350 million dropouts in the country.

    - Mrinalini KherChangemaker - Yuva Parivartan, Mumbai

  • What Mentors said

    One of 2 Indians are below the age of 25. Never in history have there been so many young people in one place, and never in the future will there be. My hope lies in young people. My hope is that they include some of these ideas and reclaim an India in the world where we care about people who suffer.

    - Harsh ManderMentor

  • What Mentors said

    I think without communication, there is no life. Communication leading to dialogues, to discussions, to debate, to dissent, to disagreement, to falling into opinions to changing them if necessary. Do not think flat, two dimensional, polarised views of the universe, of humanity, of ourselves or people.

    - Aruna RoyMentor

  • What Mentors said

    We should stop looking for one magic bullet. I am very suspicious of that kind of solution as it is totalitarian and can damage the interests of the really poor in the long run.

    - Vijay MahajanMentor

  • What Mentors said

    Repeat to yourself every morning when you get up - I am not a job seeker; I am a job creator. Act like a job giver. Behave like a job giver. Think like a job giver.

    - Prof. Muhammad YunusMentor

  • What Mentors said

    One thing I care about is the principle of solidarity. I care about the growth of the principle of solidarity in everyday life. As a human value, I care about organisations that are based on the principle of solidarity, like workers collectives. I care about public institutions that reflect the principle of solidarity, like universal healthcare and food security.

    - Jean DrezeMentor

  • What Mentors said

    The working poor - people who work but still remain poor - that is no justice.

    - Ela BhattMentor

GAP 2015

What is the knowledge one needs to achieve one’s goals and does not yet have?
What are capabilities one needs and one does not have?
How will this knowledge be obtained and how will the capabilities be acquired?

Answering these questions were leading stalwarts from the development sector, who as Mentors, were present to inspire, instigate and invigorate others to pursue their goal to alleviate poverty.

The eight mentors at #GAP2015 were:

 

  • Prof Mohd Yunus(Nobel Laureate), Founder, Grameen Bank in Bangladesh
  • Ela Bhatt, Founder, SEWA
  • Aruna Roy, RTI activist and Founder, Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sanghathan
  • Jean Dreze, Development Economist
  • Madhav Chavan, Co-Founder and CEO, Pratham
  • Harish Hande, Co-Founder, SELCO India
  • Harsh Mandar, Director, Centre for Equity Studies
  • Vijay Mahajan, Founder, BASIX
Mentor sharing knowledge at a Global Action on Poverty event
Mentor sharing knowledge at a Global Action on Poverty event
Mentor sharing knowledge at a Global Action on Poverty event
Mentor sharing knowledge at a Global Action on Poverty event

Successful projects to change systemic conditions such as poverty must work with several partners, with their own competencies and specific causes they are pursuing.

 

Poor collaboration is one of the principal causes of failures of well-intentioned and even very well resourced projects aiming to change systemic conditions.

Therefore, GAP aimed at building and strengthening coalitions between people and organizations to create impact.

Changemaker learnings at a Global Action on Poverty event
Changemaker discussions at a Global Action on Poverty event
Exchanging thoughts at a Global Action on Poverty event
Changemaker discussions at a Global Action on Poverty event
Action

One manages what one measures. Insufficient progress along the rails of Collaboration and Learning will stall the progress along the rail of Action. Therefore GAP incorporated milestones and measures for managing progress along all three rails.

Changemakers and Catalysts were invited to write the key milestones along their stories to reach their destination. This helped them learn and determine what next and how, keeping their end goal in mind.

Learning, collaboration and action plan list at Global Action on Poverty event
Discussion at a Global Action on Poverty event
Attendees learnings at a Global Action on Poverty event
Changemaker discussions at a Global Action on Poverty event
The Road Ahead

In a sense, GAP has just begun. We look forward to a year of working together – inspiring, challenging, and reciprocating – with our Mentors, Catalysts and Changemakers. The success of GAP lies in its follow up – on collaborations formed, money raised, knowledge learned, volunteers enrolled, experiments made, actions taken, and so on. We are committed to taking the projects from GAP 2015 to fruition.

Our vision is to eradicate poverty. We want to democratize poverty eradication by enabling a million+ Changemakers creating a positive socio-economic impact, directly or indirectly on people living below the poverty line.

Changemaker discussions at a Global Action on Poverty event
Mentors sharing knowledge at a Global Action on Poverty event
Changemaker discussions at a Global Action on Poverty event
Changemaker discussions at a Global Action on Poverty event
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