Deadline: 21-Jul-20
The U.S. Mission to India has announced a call for proposals for Combating Discrimination and Social Injustice through Capacity Building and Policy Reform.
The U.S. Consulate General Chennai prioritizes programs focused on pluralism, civil rights, democratic values, and inclusion. In 2019, hundreds of students from across South India joined a Consulate-sponsored US.-India Comparative Constitutional Debate competition to contribute to informed public discussion about the rights and responsibilities of citizens in a democratic society. In 2017, African American musician and race relations expert Daryl Davis shared with community leaders and youth audiences in South India his unique experience promoting inter-racial tolerance by developing personal friendships with members of the Ku Klux Klan and helping them transition out of that white supremacist organiziation. Davis’s presentations, including anecdotes of his extraordinary efforts to improve race relations and combat racism in the United States, made participants aware of how civil discourse between communities can promote democratic values and strengthening democratic institutions.
This funding opportunity seeks to provide capacity building and present democratic options for policy reform through virtual and in-person engagements led by U.S. and Indian experts. The prospective grantee should have expertise in areas such as democracy, pluralism, and inclusion, with a proven track record of working with youth networks and organizations, and have experience conducting capacity building and leadership training sessions for young leaders. In coordination with the Public Affairs Section (PAS) of the U.S. Consulate General in Chennai, the prospective awardee will:
- Prepare a concept / discussion paper on the relevance of combating discrimination in the present-day United States and India.
- Prepare customized workshops and/or training and capacity building modules prepared in consultation with subject experts, leadership trainers, and community leaders.
- Identify and invite a U.S. expert to lead the anti-discrimination capacity building training.
- Identify and invite five Indian experts to serve as resource persons to support this project.
- Identify and invite 40 young community leaders and social media influencers to participate in the capacity building training, and,
- Manage all logistical arrangements, including the travel and participation of the U.S. and Indian experts and participants, required to organize this project for audiences across South India.
After intensive capacity building training hosted in-person or if necessary virtually in Chennai, the grantee will organize a speaking tour wherein the U.S. expert will visit one city each in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, or Kerala (to be approved by PAS Chennai) and organize a series of interactive events and media engagements focused on ideas and policies that show the U.S. experience combating discrimination in order to promote democratic values and processes. In the event that in-person visits are not possible, the speaking tour will be conducted virtually.
Project Goal: Promote awareness among young community leaders and social media influencers about the importance of pluralism, tolerance, and inclusion in sustaining a vibrant democracy. Expand understanding about how to identify and counter discriminatory ideas and policies. Young influencers will be better prepared to seek novel and practical ways to understand, analyze, and solve problems of inequity and injustice.
Objectives
- Equip at least 25 young community leaders in South India with tools to develop realistic strategies to counter discrimination and foster a more inclusive and democratic society. This will be evidenced by pre-and post-event surveys of the participants to gauge the impact of the training.
- Inspire projects among at least 15 social media influencers and encourage them to use their online influence as a platform to oppose discrimination and intolerance. Progress will be evaluated using pre- and post-event surveys, and how workshop participants use techniques and lessons within their social media platforms.
- Induct at least 40 project participants into a network of alumni of U.S. Government projects in South India, including the recent Volunteer for India project.
- Establish and lead efficient and effective social media interventions by participants on different platforms as a result of the interactions with the U.S. speaker, as measured by Engagement parameters that include comments, shares, change in followers, and views on multimedia content published on social media platforms. This would be done through analytical reports submitted periodically.
Project Deliverables
- A working list of young community leaders and social media influencers committed to the goal of combating discrimination and a successful training session to build their knowledge, capacity, influence, and effectiveness.
- A publicly available concept paper on combating discrimination and its relevance to contemporary society in the United States and India.
- Introduction of a U.S. expert on the U.S. experience of combating discrimination to promote a stronger democracy to online and in-person audiences in South India to expand people-to-people ties and promote enduring democratic values.
- Creation and delivery of customized appropriate capacity building pedagogical modules prepared in consultation with subject experts leadership trainers and community leaders. Translation of these modules into the three non-English regional languages of South India: Tamil, Kannada, and Malayalam.
- Expansion of the network of U.S. Government project alumni with the introduction of young leaders who continue to spread the message of the importance to democracies of combating discrimination in their respective communities.
- A robust social media campaign evidenced by posts, discussions, and onward discussions following conclusion of the training and speakers tour.
- Pre- and post-event surveys completed by trainees and other participants.
Funding Information
Maximum Award Amount: $30,000
Project Audience
The audience comprises:
- Young community leaders and influencers aged 18 to 30 from Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Puducherry, and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands
- Young social media influencers from Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Puducherry, and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands who play an important role in shaping public opinion and behavior in their communities
- Established policy makers and civil society leaders from Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Puducherry, and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands
Eligibility Criteria
The following organizations are eligible to apply:
- Not-for-profit organizations
- Civil society/non-governmental organizations
- Think tanks
- Public and private educational institutions
- Individuals
- Public International Organizations and Governmental institutions
For more information, visit https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=328018