June 2024: update 2.0 - events, gatherings & talks
A quick update from Veditum with some notes on recent events & releases + exciting upcoming online events!
Introduction
We’re sending this 2nd newsletter in June to share a quick update about things that have happened in the past few weeks, and to also invite you for some lovely programming that we have scheduled for the coming weeks.
Apologies if this is a lot, but we’re quite excited and had to share with you! Dive in for a bit more detail, and join us for the upcoming programs.
Moving Upstream
On 9th June, in lieu of World Environment Day, we screened our documentary ‘Moving Upstream: Ganga’ at The Red Bari in Kolkata.
A lovely conversation took place post screening. These discussions where people share how they’ve been moved by the film and what new they’ve learnt, continues to be the highlight for us.
The screening was followed by lightning presentations & showcases by different environmental groups from Kolkata (including Veditum), and the Make for Justice mission at Agami.
Each One Plant One | Save Dankuni Wetlands | SCOPE Kolkata | Make for Justice
If you’d like to learn more about these groups, please click on their names above.
Moving Upstream: Luni fellowship
As a reader of this newsletter you would already know that we conducted the Moving Upstream: Luni Fellowship earlier this year with our partners at School of Public Policy, IIT Delhi, Out of Eden Walk & A4Store.
Stories from the fellowship are going to the press in the coming weeks!
India Sand Watch
✨ West India Data Sprint
We are excited to share about our upcoming ‘West India Data Sprint’ hosted in partnership with the Alliance for Conserving Freshwater Ecosystems. This Data Sprint will focus on rivers from the states of Goa, Gujarat and Maharashtra, and facilitate collective action for evidence building on sand mining on these rivers.
The digitised and annotated data is open, and freely accessible on the India Sand Watch platform for anyone wishing to use it for on-ground action, research, media reports, or legal action.
This is an online event and not much is needed except a laptop, internet connection and enthusiasm to participate.
Details of the event and registration link:
Venue: Online (via zoom)
Date: 29th June, Saturday
Time: 12 pm to 6 pm IST (UTC +5:30)
Registration link: http://veditum.org/westsprint
Come, participate and engage in conversations on sand mining, environment and open-data, it will be fun!
📊 Delhi Data Sprint - Data Visualisations
As a part of the outcomes, we’re sharing a few slides from the larger deck of visualisations created using the data from the Delhi Data Sprint hosted in March
This shows the possibilities of the data on sand mining annotated on India Sand Watch platform, to be further used for research, reporting, legal action. Share your thoughts with us on sandwatch@veditum.org
Interested to know more? Checkout the report cards and data visualisations from the past sprints here.
📖 Sediment Stories
🌊 We're talking to researcher Avli Verma for the 4th conversation of ‘Sediment Stories’. She will be speaking on the topic "How dredging shapes our rivers and ecosystems".
📖 ‘Sediment Stories’ is a series of conversation on sediments - from creation to extraction, hosted by India Sand Watch and Veditum India Foundation
📅 Join us on Saturday, 6th July at 5pm IST
🔗 Register on this link - https://veditum.org/sedimentstories/
In the upcoming conversations will be inviting geologists, biologists, hydrologists, journalists, activists, administrators, and more. Share suggestions for possible speakers?
In the last Sediment Stories conversation, we spoke with Anuja Mital, a herpetologist & freshwater ecologist, on flooding, erosion, the role of sediments in relation to communities and turtle species on the sand islands of River Brahmaputra.
Listen to this conversation at the link above!
Support our work
If you like the work we do at Veditum, do consider making a tax deductible donation to support out work. No amount is small! Click the button below to make a donation.
You can also volunteer with Veditum, read more at this link.
Kolkata Change Makers meet up!
Ayera from the Agami team and Siddharth from Veditum put out a gentle call in our networks, inviting change makers (established as well as aspiring) in the city of Kolkata to join us for a gathering. We were amazed with the response!
Folks showed up with absolutely brilliant energy, kindness and motivation to build a community of change makers in the city. We spoke about our stuckness, the obstacles, the existentialism of wanting to make change. We left with the potential of a dozen ideas and possible collaborations.
It was such an enriching experience! It gives us so much energy and hope about the possibilities of changemakers coming together in the city of Kolkata, learning from each other and expanding the envelope of justice and change making.
We’re going to keep this going, and if you’re interested in joining future gatherings in Kolkata, drop an email at asid@veditum.org
Interesting / recommended / related reading for this edition
Report | A Strategic Status on National Inland Waterways in India
Report | Status Review of Claims, Progress and Impacts of the National Inland Waterways Program - Grand Plans, Many Questions
Video | Overview of Indian Indian Waterways, India Rivers Week 2022
Video | Discussion on Manthan's report 'Cargo and Consequences: A Report on the Social and Environmental Implications of Shipping on Amba River’
Recommended people / groups to follow
Avli Verma is a researcher at Manthan Adhyayan Kendra, where she has been examining the development of India's inland waterways programme for the past six years.
Her work focuses on understanding the socio-ecological impacts of emerging infrastructure projects on river ecosystems and enhancing accountability and environmental governance in this sector.
Follow her on Instagram - @avli_V and LinkedIn
Volunteers
We are grateful to the time and work contribution our volunteers have made for Veditum and India Sand Watch project.
If our work interests you and you would like to volunteer with us, please get in touch with us by filling a form on this link - https://veditum.org/work-with-veditum/
Support our work
If you like the work we do at Veditum, do consider making a tax deductible donation to support out work. No amount is small! Click the button below to make a donation.
You can also volunteer with Veditum, read more at this link.
Thank you for reading through!
We’ll be back in a fortnight with more updates, including stories, updates from our data sprint, and news about events & opportunities.
Until then, take care and follow us on social media if you’re active on these platforms:
VEDITUM: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Linkedin | YouTube
MOVING UPSTREAM: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
INDIA SAND WATCH: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
Warmly,
Team Veditum