About Us
About iJanaagraha
We all have ideas. Aspirations to change. Make an impact to the community we live in. They are however limited by inadequate avenues & platforms to translate possibilities to REAL CHANGE.
We at Janaagraha envision transforming these possibilities into a reality - through the iJanaagraha platform.
The iJanaagraha portal envisions a huge online networking community that is committed to urban issues - electoral and civic. It aims to initiate change, build networks of communities & local civic bodies, provide data on urban issues, civic awareness & training – all of this at a local neighbourhood level.
With the relevant information presented intelligently through use of simple interactive MAPS and a powerful platform to ACT, we aim to inspire everyone to get out and grab opportunities, participate in campaigns, events and community projects and become an Active Citizen in our society.
Janaagraha is a not-for-profit institution started in December 2001 by two founders - Ramesh and Swati Ramanathan. From a movement to include people's participation in public governance it has now evolved into a robust institution for Citizenship and Democracy.
For more information, visit www.janaagraha.org
Programmes
Jaagte Raho
Our Mission
Jaagte Raho! inspires values of active citizenship in urban India by bringing out the vote for local, state and union elections; and by promoting participation in neighbourhood areas. It is a non-partisan campaign by Janaagraha Centre for Citizenship & Democracy.
Our Vision and Goals
The vision of Jaagte Raho! is to redefine patterns of electoral engagement in urban India. This is essential for a gradual improvement in the quality of political leadership, and ultimately the system of urban governance in India.
We believe that there is great desire among urban citizens today, especially youth, to participate actively in various causes and play their roles in improving Indian democracy. But what is missing is a platform that can bring together and effectively channel all these energies in a manner that results in a tangible impact. Jaagte Raho! hopes to provide such a platform.
The campaign works towards influencing the following two objectives related to electoral engagement over the long term:
- Increasing voter registration to 90%
- Increasing voter turnout to 60% for local, state and union elections
Jaagte Raho! will focus on 10 cities in the next 5 years (2009-14) and attempt to create a tangible impact. The campaign starts with Bangalore in December 2009 and will be launched in Mumbai around June 2010.
What We Do
In order to achieve this vision, Jaagte Raho! engages in the following sustained interventions in each of its target cities:
- Area Voter Mitras – Establishing a network of citizen volunteers who will provide local leadership in improving electoral engagement within their polling booth areas (about 1000 voters). They are formally supported by Election Commission of India (ECI)
- Jaagte Raho clubs – Establishing permanent platforms to promote active citizenship within colleges and companies. Each institution formally partners with Janaagraha and sets up a Core Team and an Advisory Group to run club activities successfully.
- Online platform – Creating an online community of active citizens and providing them with relevant information, tools and opportunities to take ground action
- Advocacy with ECI – Working closely with ECI to advocate reforms in many of the existing urban electoral processes which cause severe procedural hurdles today
The program is run by a team of 10 full time staff members at Janaagraha, and a large number of volunteers on the ground. It is supported by an eminent Advisory Board that includes Narayana Murthy, Rakesyh Omprakash Mehra, Tariq Ansari, Prasoon Joshi and TS Krishnamurthy.
For further details contact: Jasmine Shah, National Coordinator – Jaagte Raho! campaign, jaagteraho@janaagraha.org, (080) 41277105
