Sankalp
IIAM believes that no amount of prosperity is either possible or worthwhile, if it is not accompanied by social infrastructure, which provide the citizenry the assurance that they live in self-sufficiency, harmony and under the protection of an efficient legal regime. Economic progress alone does not make the nation great. What is most important is national character, born out of the value systems.
“Sankalp” is a unique visionary project of IIAM, founded on the philosophy of humanity. It is said that Humanity is built on two great pillars – grace and truth. If you remove one of them it doesn’t work. Truth alone, makes a person legalistic and self-righteous – talking about do’s and don’ts and violations bringing in disgust and contempt. Similarly grace alone, becomes deception and more compromised – as you make your own truth and anyone who disagrees with you is being judgmental. Neither of it is sustainable on its own. One without the other changes the whole concept of humanity.
“Sankalp” is inspired by one of the most passionate missions proclaimed by Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam (Former President of India), called “PURA” (Providing Urban Amenities in Rural Areas). The concept is to evolve a Societal Grid, which comprises of knowledge, health and e-governance that feed into the PURA Grid. If these Grids complement each other and infuse quality, the villages will be empowered and we will have inclusive growth. Based on the concept of PURA, with the objective of providing an integrated solution for sustainable development and harmonious co-existence, “Sankalp” relies on Community Power, mutual assistance and technology, identifying human clusters with growth potential and creating connectives for them. The project involves different activities and technological innovations, making people self-reliant and financially independent, ensuring respectable livelihood.
By this project IIAM partners with other like-minded institutions and organisations to implant the virtues of self-sufficiency and empowerment among the people, so as to restore the seriously depleted social capital and bring in a broad-based social movement to restore civic virtue and civic participation. Today, virtually people are more disconnected from one another. Researches show how social capital, or its absence, affects the well-being of individuals, organizations, and nations. Economic studies demonstrate that social capital makes nations more prosperous, psychological research indicates that abundant social capital makes individuals less prone to depression and more inclined to help others, sociology experiments suggest that social capital reduces crime. Thus, it is becoming increasingly clear that social capital has an enormous array of practical benefits to individuals and to communities.
The goal is to promote peace into major areas of human life, from community activities to peaceful families and create a harmonious society. The mission is to promote peaceful and inclusive society for sustainable development and provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institution at all levels. Only a nation that is Just can hope to be known as a great nation. IIAM hope that “Sankalp” could lay the foundation to a long-term process of positive social transition by making the society just, equal and fair.
The Concept
Sankalp will be primarily based on five pillars:
1. Empowerment and Participation of community people with emphasis on women, children and senior citizens;
2. Self-sufficiency through mutual co-operation;
3. Enhancing quality of life through technology and unique collaboration;
4. Prevention and management of conflicts;
5. Creating a harmonious society. The main objective of this project is to make a self-sufficient, content and dispute free community, where people of different religion, caste, colour and creed can live peacefully and which can portray the model village of developed India, where everyone coexist with qualitative life. The idea derives its force from Mahatma Gandhi's vision of Adarsh Gram (model village) and Gram Swaraj (Village self-rule/independence). As Mahatma Gandhi has said, "The world will live in peace, only when the individuals composing it make up their minds to do so". Vision The vision of “Sankalp” is a community that is able to unite in order to have quality life and help overcoming challenges. We envision the future in which people will “LIVE AND HELP LIVE”, i.e., ♦ Live in peace and harmony based on trust and respect towards each other;
♦ Help to overcome obstacles and divisions by building relationships by cooperating and collaborating rather than fighting and competing. How does it work? “Sankalp” will work in communities by integrating various concepts through leaders and volunteers selected from implementing partners and from the community. Some of the projects integrated with Sankalp are: WOMEN EMPOWERMENT: This will be a special upliftment program for women and children, designed to foster and empower women and bring gender equality. Opportunities for entrepreneurial development through Resource entrepreneurship, which will create a conducive environment for women’s leadership and participation in peace processes by giving leadership in the community by giving them options for economic independence and training to resolve disputes by dialogue and mediation, enabling them to take leadership in maintaining harmony in the society. PEACEGATE TIME BANKING: The Peacegate Time Banking is a reciprocity-based service system in which hours are credited in the Time Account of the holder. With Peacegate Time Banking, the age-old pattern of give and take and mutual help in various activities could be done without monetary hurdles, rekindling and reweaving healthy families and communities, that everything else depends on. IIAM COMMUNITY MEDIATION SERVICE: This is meant to provide an opportunity for people to participate in the prevention and early intervention of conflicts as an alternative to institutional mechanisms. This will promote peace and harmony in the society and empower the people to deal with conflicts. See more details. PRISON MEDIATION: This provides an opportunity for the prisoner and family members or other support people to meet, in the presence of the mediator, before release, to have an open and honest dialogue to prepare for the transition back into the community. This has proved to be very successful to reduce Recidivism – the tendency of a convicted criminal to reoffend. It also helps both the families of the prisoner and the victim to meet along with the prisoner and the mediator to resolve the anger, hatred, resentment etc. and create an atmosphere of mutual acceptance and forgiveness. Project “Sankalp” not only allow us to empower ourselves and take charge of our capacity to resolve our disputes, it also rekindles the age-old pattern of give and take to reweave the healthy families and communities that everything else depends on. Thus, it becomes a genuine people movement, changing the future, changing the culture of conflict! The joy of creating strong families and healthy communities can come from joining hearts, souls and hands. We invite you to be partner with us in this cultural revolution, because we want to do this together. Even though individually small, it will be collectively big! Let us make this world a better and more honest place!
2. Self-sufficiency through mutual co-operation;
3. Enhancing quality of life through technology and unique collaboration;
4. Prevention and management of conflicts;
5. Creating a harmonious society. The main objective of this project is to make a self-sufficient, content and dispute free community, where people of different religion, caste, colour and creed can live peacefully and which can portray the model village of developed India, where everyone coexist with qualitative life. The idea derives its force from Mahatma Gandhi's vision of Adarsh Gram (model village) and Gram Swaraj (Village self-rule/independence). As Mahatma Gandhi has said, "The world will live in peace, only when the individuals composing it make up their minds to do so". Vision The vision of “Sankalp” is a community that is able to unite in order to have quality life and help overcoming challenges. We envision the future in which people will “LIVE AND HELP LIVE”, i.e., ♦ Live in peace and harmony based on trust and respect towards each other;
♦ Help to overcome obstacles and divisions by building relationships by cooperating and collaborating rather than fighting and competing. How does it work? “Sankalp” will work in communities by integrating various concepts through leaders and volunteers selected from implementing partners and from the community. Some of the projects integrated with Sankalp are: WOMEN EMPOWERMENT: This will be a special upliftment program for women and children, designed to foster and empower women and bring gender equality. Opportunities for entrepreneurial development through Resource entrepreneurship, which will create a conducive environment for women’s leadership and participation in peace processes by giving leadership in the community by giving them options for economic independence and training to resolve disputes by dialogue and mediation, enabling them to take leadership in maintaining harmony in the society. PEACEGATE TIME BANKING: The Peacegate Time Banking is a reciprocity-based service system in which hours are credited in the Time Account of the holder. With Peacegate Time Banking, the age-old pattern of give and take and mutual help in various activities could be done without monetary hurdles, rekindling and reweaving healthy families and communities, that everything else depends on. IIAM COMMUNITY MEDIATION SERVICE: This is meant to provide an opportunity for people to participate in the prevention and early intervention of conflicts as an alternative to institutional mechanisms. This will promote peace and harmony in the society and empower the people to deal with conflicts. See more details. PRISON MEDIATION: This provides an opportunity for the prisoner and family members or other support people to meet, in the presence of the mediator, before release, to have an open and honest dialogue to prepare for the transition back into the community. This has proved to be very successful to reduce Recidivism – the tendency of a convicted criminal to reoffend. It also helps both the families of the prisoner and the victim to meet along with the prisoner and the mediator to resolve the anger, hatred, resentment etc. and create an atmosphere of mutual acceptance and forgiveness. Project “Sankalp” not only allow us to empower ourselves and take charge of our capacity to resolve our disputes, it also rekindles the age-old pattern of give and take to reweave the healthy families and communities that everything else depends on. Thus, it becomes a genuine people movement, changing the future, changing the culture of conflict! The joy of creating strong families and healthy communities can come from joining hearts, souls and hands. We invite you to be partner with us in this cultural revolution, because we want to do this together. Even though individually small, it will be collectively big! Let us make this world a better and more honest place!