River University – A beginning of the movement.
The River University project has been conceived by Anveshan and since then we have developed the concept note. With the support of the Ecoversities Germinators grant, we have been able to kick start the base work required to launch the River University. We wish to launch the university in 2021.
Following activities have been conducted:
S.NO. | Activity | Description |
1. | Formation of the core time | We have formed a core team of 5 people which has started with the intense research. |
2. | Research and Documentation | Data collection regarding the mapping of rivers, organisations and partners have started. |
3. | Identification of the member partners and orientation of the new members | We had a physical meeting in Dehradun, Uttrakhand, India. The idea is t map all the rivers of Dehradun which is the source of small tributaries of Ganga and the Yamuna basin. |
4. | Networking | Corporates, Academic and government partners are being identified which will support this initiative. We had a physical meeting in Delhi with CSR wing of one big corporate house. Concept note has been submitted to a governmental organsiation also and the dialogue is on with them. |
5. | River Yatra | A river journey has been planned in different parts of the country and world as soon as the pandemic situation improves. |
Challenges: One of the biggest challenges which we have faces is the Covid-19 Pandemic. It restricted our physical movement, and we could intensify our travel work as planned. Another biggest challenge faced is the funding vacuum. With the limited funding we were not able launch our website as planned.
Way Forward: We are hopeful that the situation will improve, and travel restrictions will be uplifted, and we will be able to conduct River Yatras as planned and cross pollinate across the globe. Fundraising to launch the university is going on and hope soon we will be supported financially to make this a success.
Following amount was requested as the grant but we received only $700 which was Rs.49000 in Indian rupees. Which was only 12.8 % of the total fund requested. So we could only do very little with the available funds. Rs. 2450 was paid as a tax on Rs.49000/- . So the actual amount available was Rs. 46550/-
The highlighted points were undertaken with the available budget:
S.no. | Activities | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Amount (rupees) | Amount (Dollar @Rs.74.85/ $1) | Comments | ||||||||
1. | Formation of the core time | ▲ | Done | ||||||||||||||
2. | Launch of website and social media platform | ▲ | 35000 |
| Funds Not available | ||||||||||||
3. | 3-day event for the launch of the River University on the World River Day (27th September) | ▲ | 10000 | 133.6005 | Funds came late so could not do this activity. | ||||||||||||
4. | Identification of the member partners and orientation of the new members | ▲ | ▲ | ▲ | ▲ | 10000 | 133.6005 | Funds not available | |||||||||
5. | Research and Documentation (including Cultural & Mapping) | ▲ | ▲ | ▲ | ▲ | ▲ | 70000 |
| Research is ongoing without any fund. | ||||||||
6. | Networking | ▲ | ▲ | ▲ | ▲ | ▲ | 20000 | 267.2011 | Fund utilised to travel to Delhi & Dehradun for networking & Fundraising | ||||||||
7. | Curriculum development | ▲ | ▲ | ▲ | ▲ | ▲ | 25000 | 334.0013 | Funds not available | ||||||||
8. | Training of Facilitators | ▲ | ▲ | 30000 | 400.8016 | Funds not available | |||||||||||
9. | River Yatra (If the situation improves then organise River Journey in all continents) | ▲ | 70000 |
| Funds not available | ||||||||||||
Administrative expenses (Rs.15000/month) for 4 months | 60000 | 601.2024 | Funds not available | ||||||||||||||
Human Resource (Rs.20000/month) for 4 months | 80000 | 801.6032 | Paid Rs. 5000/month for 5 months only | ||||||||||||||
TOTAL | 410000 | 5477.622 |
Inauguration of The River University was done at the coast of Bay of Bengal on 17th March 2021.
