About Us – Drishti

About DRISHTI

DRISHTI founded in 1993 is an organization, which uses arts and communication tools to cultivate awareness of human rights and grassroots development in India. Our programs are all approached through the prism of human rights and equality and with a commitment to community participation and outreach. Communication, arts and culture are local, accessible, adaptable and engaging. In the last century with the advancement of communication technologies, ICT has become an important proponent in deepening democracy and improving poverty. Having realized the need to harness the potential of existing art forms and new technologies in contributing to the pursuit of a just and equal society, Drishti works on strengthening grassroot communications through training, producing films and audio for awareness and strategic communication planning. In our thirty one years of work, we have entered into over 100 short-term and long-term strategic partnerships with civil society organizations to execute projects using different strategies and mediums like community radio and video, film production, theater, public arts, campaign creation and development communication trainings for social action groups. Drishti has produced over 40 documentary films, supported setting up of over 30 community radio and video units, designed over a dozen rights based campaigns, and conducted over 300 trainings on campaign planning, theatre and audio-visual production.

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

CORE TEAM

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

CORE TEAM

ASHOKE CHATTERJEE

Trustee

Ashoke Chatterjee has a vast experience of over 54 years in the field of Communication in Industry, International Civil Service, Public Sector, Education and Development. He was Executive Director of the National Institute of Design (NID) from 1975-85. He has served for many years as honorary president of the Crafts Council of India and continues to work as a consultant in India and internationally, especially on projects concerned with water management and environmental issues.

ARVIND LODAYA

Trustee

Arvind Lodaya trained in Industrial Design, but his work spans virtually every design discipline. He consults with industry, NGOs and research groups, and has taught at various institutes of design in India. He was Creative Director of a strategic brand consultancy under Ogilvy that -amongst other things- undertook the comprehensive corporate rebranding of ICICI. He was the first HP Labs-Srishti Research Chair and was on the steering group of the Nokia-Srishti Design Research Studio. He was invited on the review panel of the UNDP- Government of India's "Endogenous Tourism" pilot initiative, and as Visiting Scholar at the University of Guthenburg in 2010. As Senior Faculty and later Dean of Research at Srishti, he helped set up its undergrad program in Product & Interface Design and postgrad program in Transcultural Design.

KEREN NAZARETH

Trustee

Keren Nazareth, has been with HSI in different capacities since 2011. She has risen to the role of Senior Director, Companion Animals & Engagement, HSI/India in 2023. Over the years, Keren has successfully led a team of over 90 people in programs related to humane and scientific dog population management and community engagement in India and supported projects across Asia and Africa. Keren has worked extensively in community mobilization, participation, youth development, livelihoods – including some pioneering work in non-traditional livelihoods for women, setting up a rural artisans marketing platform, and working with displaced communities in India. She has over 15 years of experience in both human and street dog related development work. Keren holds a master’s in social work from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, and was an Aspen Institute Fellow (2011), in their program on Emerging Leaders in Development and is an alumnus from the Leadership Academy (Janvikas) along with being an American Express Leadership Program participant..

HARMONY SIGANPORIA

Trustee

Harmony Siganporia teaches in the area of Culture and Communication at MICA. She has a Ph.D. in social history, and her first book, I am the Widow: An Intellectual Biography of Behramji Malabari (Orient Blackswan 2018) was on the langue and parole of reformist discourse around the ‘women’s question’ in late-19th century Western India. It was awarded the Prof. Sneh Mahajan award for best book on modern Indian history (2015-2018) by the Indian History Congress in 2019. A practicing musician, Harmony’s other research areas/interests include ethnomusicology, gender and performativity, culture and conflict, modern Indian history, the role of cultural artefacts in the emplacement of identities in exile, and semiotic theory.

AVNI SETHI

Trustee

Avni Sethi is an interdisciplinary practitioner and leader in the South-Asian arts scene. Throughout her work, Avni creates spaces of radical inclusion, holding a true belief in the importance of the arts for societies to be able to flourish, especially in a reality where political dynamics are making this an increasingly difficult, and sometimes dangerous, path to tread. A practicing musician, Harmony’s other research areas/interests include ethnomusicology, gender and performativity, culture and conflict, modern Indian history, the role of cultural artefacts in the emplacement of identities in exile, and semiotic theory.