‘Avehi’ means to know.
The AVEHI Public Charitable (Educational) Trust was set up in 1981 to promote empowerment through education. It was founded by individuals from various fields, committed to using the potential of audio-visual media to facilitate rational thinking, social awareness, and social change.
The Avehi Resource Centre with a fully functioning library was launched to facilitate community access to relevant media resources, particularly from the alternative media for widening horizons and for promoting values of equality, social justice, gender sensitivity, and secularism.
In 1990, Avehi initiated the AVEHI ABACUS PROJECT with the aim of developing a supplementary curriculum for formal schools in order to strengthen the quality and content of education.
Avehi Founding Members:
The AVEHI ABACUS PROJECT has a strong tradition of organization building initiated by persons with unique achievements in their respective fields. The AVEHI founding members came together to actualize their shared vision for a society, as most of them were active during the Indian freedom struggle.
The AVEHI trust was set up by persons of eminence from different fields, having eclectic interests and skill-sets, to further the cause of social transformation through media education. The founding trustees of AVEHI are Lt. Smt Shanta Gandhi (freedom fighter, noted theater person and educationist honoured with Padma Shree for her contribution to theatre and education), Shri. Prasanta Sanyal (freedom fighter, advertising professional, publisher’s editor, journalist), Dr. Malvika Chari (medical professional engaged in school health), Dr. Mani Kamerkar (Former Head of History Department, Bombay University), Advocate Kalyanmal Singhvi (noted legal expert awarded by the President of India in 1998 for his work with orphaned Adivasi children), Smt. Anasooya Godiwala (freedom fighter and corporate professional), Ms. Chandita Mukherjee (documentary film-maker and media educator, Director of the Comet Media Foundation, Bombay.)
The Founding Managing Committee of the organization also consisted of a group of talented and eminent persons, recognized for their contributions in their respective fields - Dr. Mulk Raj Anand (writer and social commentator; honored by the Sahitya Academy for his pioneering contribution to Indian literature in English) Shri. N.V.K. Murthy (noted cameraman, freedom fighter, Dadasaheb Phalke Awardee), Dr. Saroj Jha (medical professional, who has worked with WHO), Dr. Anjali Monteiro (documentary film-maker and media educator, currently Professor and Dean of the School of Media and Cultural Studies at the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai)
For more information: www.avehi.org.in
Trustees of Avehi Public Charitable (Educational) Trust
Dr. Ms. Saroj Jha
Presently freelance Consultant, WHO Programmes on Health Issues Professor and Head, Dept. of Preventive & Social Medicine, T.N. Medical College, Mumbai. Guided and facilitated development of audio-visual material in health education, and Women's Health. For 7 years Regional Advisor, Health Education, WHO Regional Office for S.E. Asia, New Delhi.
Dr. Ms. Anjali Monteiro
Retired Professor, School of Media and Cultural Studies, TISS. Visiting Faculty Member, NID (Ahmedabad) & SNSFA (Hyderabad), Sir Dorab Tata Trust Scholar (1972-75), U.G.C National Scholar (1976-77), Winner of many awards and prizes for her films and Author of 3 Books and many research articles.
Ms. Simantini Dhuru
Director of Avehi Abacus Project. Documentary film-maker with national and international awards to credit.
Has served as member-consultants on National and State education curriculum and policy-making bodies.
She is also a visiting faculty teaching social science education at Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.
Her book on Social Science education is currently in press with Routledge Tylor and Francis.
Ms. Preeti Bhat
Executive Committee member of Centre for Education and Development since 2015, CED is involved in research,
documentation and networking on development issues and human rights.
Worked with women’s groups (Annapurna Mahila Mandal, Self Employed Women’s association) and Child rights
(CHILDLINE India Foundation) and Comet Media Foundation.
She has also been involved in
research documentation and evaluation work with a number of NGOs, government and donor agencies as a
freelancer in the above issues as well as disaster response activities.
Mr. K Subramaniam
Professor and Centre Director, Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research Researcher in mathematics education with many research articles published; Coordinator for Teacher Professional Development programmes; Member of Curriculum, Syllabus and Textbook committees in school mathematics at National and State level; Former member of National Council of Teacher Education.
Nasreen Fazalbhoy
Work background/other qualifications Dr Nasreen Fazalbhoy has a PhD in Sociology from the Dept of Sociology, Delhi School of Economics. She was a faculty member of the Unit for Women’s Studies Tata Institute of Social Sciences and later at the Department of Sociology University of Mumbai from where she retired in 2007. She taught courses on gender, on the sociology of religion, and on popular culture and mass media. She has published papers on topics connected to gender and on Muslims in India, with specific focus on rituals, law, inheritance. Since her retirement she has worked with different NGOs helping them organise workshops, teaching programmes, lectures, with the idea of promoting critical thinking and raising awareness of social issues among students and young people.
Dr. Lakshmi Lingam
Chair Professor, School of Public Health, D Y Patil University, Navi Mumbai, since 3 Jan 2024 Retired from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, India, on 28th February 2023 Dr Lakshmi Lingam is a well-known gender expert, teacher, trainer, researcher and mentor. She has carried out several research projects funded by international and national agencies. She is on the Boards of NGOs and academic institutions. Dr Lakshmi presented research papers at conferences and published extensively in Indian and international journals.