Invitation to participate in Atma's Learner Orientation research project

Pl. participate in Atma's "Learner Orientation" research project
Tue Apr 24, 2012 2:28 am (PDT)
From: Ekaterina Ponkratova
Good day,
I hope that you will agree to participate in this research. If you do agree, I request you to provide me with the contact details of the person in your organization who can help me with completing a questionnaire for this survey.
At the end of the project, your organization will receive a free copy of the report for participating in this research project. If you have any questions or concerns about participating in this study, you may contact me at kate.ponkratova@gmail.com or 997 585 08 66. If you have any questions about Atma Foundation, you may contact Atma Foundation by email atbronwyn@atma.org.in or by phone at 022 26059810.
-I look forward to hearing from you, Ekaterina
Our mailing address is: Atma Foundation Room 5, 2nd Floor, Satguru Center, Above Sindhu Sweets, 3rd Road Mumbai, 400052

Schools seeking donation to be fined 10 times the amount they demand

Schools seeking donation to be fined 10 times the amount they demand
Tue Apr 24, 2012 2:25 am (PDT)
Schools seeking donation to be fined 10 times the amount they demand Parents harrowed by the ever-increasing donation amounts quoted by school officials or touts to ensure their wards' admission can now heave a sigh of relief. Under the Children's Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act (RTE), the state government has decided to charge errant schools a penalty which is 10 times the amount they ask for.
According to the latest government resolution dated April 21, if any school is caught asking for donation, it will have to appear before a disciplinary committee and will be penalised. A senior education official said, "For children aged between six and 14, collecting capitation fees and donation, conducting interviews and other such things are serious offences under the RTE. Now that the SC has asked the government to implement the act's provisions from this year, we are coming out with rules." Parents can lodge complaints with any of the education authorities - education inspector, deputy director of education; those in rural areas can complain to the ward officers. Action will be taken if the complaint is found to be genuine, the official added.
Currently, schools openly take donation and rarely face any action. "Most schools get away with it because there is lack of concrete evidence, such as receipts," said BD Puri, education inspector, South Zone. "Parents lodging a complaint against a school are often unable to produce any 'proof' that they were asked for donation. Schools rarely give a receipt; often such transactions are conducted verbally. This makes it difficult to determine whether the complaint is genuine." He added that it is hard to take action against schools also because parents do not want to reveal their identity. "We can't do anything if parents do not reveal their identities as we have to lodge a court case against the school concerned. We also have a supervisory mechanism in place that checks on such irregularities at the school level," Puri said. Another issue, according to experts, is that the new provisions apply only to Stds I to VIII, and not to pre-primary schools where the problem is more rampant. "Pre-primary education does not come under our purview, so we can't take action," he said.
URL: http://www.dnaindia.com/academy/report_schools-seeking-donation-to-be-fined-10-times-the-amount-they-demand_1679866

welfare development for the underprivileged, training and job opportunities

Its been said, "Communication is an integral part of human life. The human life and culture is largely dependent on communication. Without communication, life would have been impossible." Hence, I take this opportunity to introduce myself. I am Rekha Chaudhari A renowned Spa Expert in the Spa & Wellness Industry & My company, JCKRC Spa Destination PVT. LTD.We are the leading pioneer in the spa and the beauty Industry,Its one of the finest Spa Solution providing company in Asia. We have 22 Internationally renowned brands of Spa products and equipments nestling under our banner. Also we own A Luxurious Day Spa named Caressaa Day Spa in the heart of Mumbai. Not only its a business of Importing and distributing Spa products but also it is our belief that there is no end to dreams and hence no end to the very several ventures we have been doing since years. To talk about ventures we are the ONLY Company to provide an expert management, nationally as well as Internationally!
Our newest project to be undertaken is based in Moscow , Russia, It is a Ayurveda Wellness Center spread across an area of about 45 hectors. All this exposure has led to open doors to million job opportunities pan India and overseas. This was to put forward a proposal towards your organisation that we would wish to train and educate the needy (and not an orphan, we don't count anyone as one!) in the Beauty and Spa Courses that we have designed for a specific time span as per the designed course.
A proper batch wise system with a specialized course designed as per our expert trainers shall be offered to every other interested girl wanting to built her career in this Industry. In the recent years JCKRC has managed to accomplish its desired goals which has led to this thought of stretching out and giving our valuable contribution to this sector. Its our dearly wish to impart the knowledge of beauty and Spa Industry to these girls and provide them a specific direction in their life to help achieve their dreams. We plan to organize training with theory and practicals after which a as they pass the respective course, they shall be obliged with assured jobs in our sector.We have maintained a standard of our clients through out and hence we have reputed base of clients to be placed for jobs.(Our presentation shall fetch all the necessary information regarding the same.) I suggest you to kindly schedule for a meeting on a mutually convenient time so that we can discuss about our association with "AASRA"in detail. Looking forward for a positive reply.
Regards, Welfare development for the Underprivileged. JCKRC Spa Destination Pvt. Ltd. Time: 10am- 5pm Tel: 022 27757531/32
-- JCKRC Spa Destination Pvt Ltd www.jckrc.com www.caressaa.com Office No-022-27757532 Fax No- 022-27757531 Mobile No # +919167284184

In 20 yrs, dementia count to double in greying India

In 20 yrs, dementia count to double in greying India
Sun Apr 15, 2012 11:46 pm (PDT)

In 20 yrs, dementia count to double in greying India.....Kounteya Sinha
Jaipur: Nearly 3.7 million people in India are suffering from dementia - a syndrome, usually of a chronic nature, caused by a variety of brain illnesses that affect memory, thinking, behaviour and ability to perform everyday activities. What's worse, this number is set to double over the next 20 years, according to the World Health Organization. WHO warns that India, which is experiencing a greying population, will face serious problems in tackling the disease. "The government of India has begun to realize the extent of the situation and the need to establish dementia-sensitive services. The next few years will see the establishment of the National Institute of Ageing, and special provisions for people with dementia in the national policy for older people and the national mental health programme," the report says.
Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia, and contributes to about 70% of cases. Dementia mainly affects older people, mostly above 65 years. Particularly rapid increases in the numbers and proportions of older people are forecast for China, India and Latin America. By 2050, people aged 60 and above will account for 22% of the world's population, with four-fifths living in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The report adds, "It is estimated that by 2050, the world population over 60 years will be two billion." About 2-10% of all dementia cases start before 65 years. The prevalence doubles with every five-year increment after 65 years.
Dementia is one of the major causes of disability in old age. It accounts for 11.9% of the years lived with disability due to a non-communicable disease. Overall, nearly 7.5% of India's population is 60 years and above. In rural India, 7.5% people are aged 60-plus, while in urban India the corresponding figure is 7%. According to the 2006 World Population Prospects, India's 80-plus population will increase more than six times from the existing 78 lakh to about 5.14 crore by the year 2050. Now, 20% of this category in India suffers from Alzheimer's disease. The 65-plus population is expected to quadruple from 6.4 crore in 2005 to 23.9 crore, while those aged 60-plus will increase from 8.4 crore to 33.5 crore over the next 43 years. URL: http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIM/2012/04/12&PageLabel=11&EntityId=Ar01100&ViewMode=HTML

Challenges of effective Identity policies, cama hall, speaker Prof.Edgar Whitley

Thursday, 19 April 2012
17:00 until 19:00
Cama Hall, The K. R. Cama Oriental Institute,​ 136, Mumbai Samachar Marg, Fort, Mumbai - 400 023. (Landmark:​ Opposite Lion Gate) Map at: http://​g.co/maps/​dm4pu
Among the striking events that characterised the turbulent first decade of the 21st century, which saw security being stepped up to unprecedented levels in most democratic nations, was the rejection - literally, the scrapping - of the Identity Cards Project in the United Kingdom (UK), and the destruction of the data already collected from UK residents. This decision of the UK government marked the culmination of a countrywide protest movement against the ID card project. A major facilitating factor in this nationwide campaign was the release of a report from the London School of Economics and Political Science. It demonstrated the futility of nationwide biometric-based identity schemes, showing that they were slated to become endless exercises of ever-increasing expenditure, bringing in their wake perilous risks to enrollees of identity theft on the one hand, and to the managers - the government - the risk of increasing thefts and losses from its databases, carrying with them penalties of compensation to the persons whose identities were put at risk. The lead author of this scholarly study was Professor Edgar Whitley. Prof Whitley is Reader in Information Systems at the Information Systems and Innovation Group in the London School of Economics and Political Science. He will address a public meeting on the 19th of April 2012 at 5 PM at the Oriental Institute, Cama Hall, on Thursday, on "The Challenge of Effective Identity Policies: Lessons from Around the World".
All are cordially invited. Please share this news far and wide, and help the movement against Aadhaar.
-- Adv Kamayani Bali Mahabal +919820749204 skype-lawyercumactivist
Hey folks, coined this term ” Kracktivism “, check out my blog http://kractivist.wordpress.com/Kracktivism
Blog for girl child- http://fassmumbai.wordpress.com/ Blog for Kashmir -http://kashmirsolidaritymumbai.wordpress.com/ https://twitter.com/#!/Kracktivist https://www.facebook.com/kamayani *I carry a torch in one hand And a bucket of water in the other: With these things I am going to set fire to Heaven And put out the flames of Hell So that voyagers to God can rip the veils And see the real goal....... Rabia (Rabi'a Al-'Adawiyya) *

Leadership course for Social Change

Training Course for Social Change

At kanthari in Kerala, South of India, we provide a 7 month leadership program with a difference; one that is geared specially for people with big dreams and passion; people who have overcome difficult times; people who want to help others in their struggles, or develop solutions for our world problems.
We invite participants from all over the world, and with all levels of education to bring their dreams and motivation; International experts (catalysts) conduct hands-on, practical workshops to help bring those dreams to reality.
We would like to ask you at Karmayog (India) - Resources for Nonprofits to help us by passing the word to those who you believe will benefit from this important program.
What is most important is a sense of ownership, motivation, creativity, and passion to make the world a better place; the strength to be forces of good, not victims of circumstance.
Please click here to download a brochure in your preferred language
On the following link you can find an article which provides more details on the history of kanthari: article
Apply at http://www.kanthari.org/
Scholarships available for participants in need.

Paul Kronenberg Co-founder Kanthari - International Institute for Social Entrepreneurs and Innovators. Trivandrum, 695020 Kerala, India Phone: +91 471 2395677 Mail: office@iiseconnect.org http://www.kanthari.org/
CHANGEMAKER CARRIES A PLAN FOR SOCIAL CHANGE! There are still some open places for the Kanthari course starting in July 2012! Apply at http://www.kanthari.org/

How to Start / Run an NGO - Social Media workshop for NGOs

How to Start / Run an NGO - Social Media workshop for NGOs ,br/> Fri Apr 13, 2012 4:07 am (PDT)
Subject: Social Media workshop for NGOs
Main Point: Join us on Tuesday, April 24th or Thursday, April 26th at 9:30 am (Indian standard time) for a free 90-minute webinar.
Category of Topic: How to Start / Run an NGO ,br/> Message: This social media how-to webinar is ideal for nonprofit communications and fundraising staff. Sponsored by Microsoft Corporate Citizenship and presented by Heather Mansfield of Nonprofit Tech 2.0,attendees will gain practical knowledge about how to successfully integrate your nonprofit's Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 campaigns in order to maximize ROI (Return on Investment). The webinar begins with defining Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 for nonprofits and discusses how to lay a foundation for future success on the Social Web, and then quickly moves into discussing the top five social media best practices for nonprofits with a particular focus on Facebook and Twitter. To register for the April 24th webinar follow this link: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/855366330 To register for the April 26th webinar follow this link: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/463084154
Name: prashant Organisation: Nasscom Foundation Location: Mumbai Email 1: bigtech@nasscomfoundation.org