Annelise Ebbe and Ila Pathak, Whither Women’s Rights? A Report from Kandhamal, WISCOMP (2009)Navanita Sinha, Democracies in Transition: Opportunities and Challenges for Nepal- A Report, WISCOMP (2010)
WISCOMP’s engagement with Gujarat began in May 2002 when a Discussion
on Civil Society Initiatives in Gujarat was hosted in New Delhi. The
findings of a number of citizen’s reports were discussed, with
an eye towards making this information more widely available to civil
society. After this event, WISCOMP began to work with the International
Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) to carefully
study the wide range of contributions that the international community
has brought to the field of justice and reconciliation, from both theoreticians
and practitioners. This study resulted in a joint Symposium on Reconciliation
in South Asia: Exploring the Terrain. The goal was to explore the possibilities
for a regional understanding of reconciliation, drawing on South Asia’s
vibrant diversity of religions, languages and cultures.
In keeping with
its commitment to the development of both theory and praxis in Conflict
Transformation and Peacebuilding, after the Symposium of 2005, WISCOMP
began to explore the possibility of conceptualizing a peacebuilding
project in Gujarat, based on the model of the WISCOMP Athwaas initiative
in Jammu and Kashmir. Harsh Mander’s research on justice and reconciliation
in Gujarat was a next step for WISCOMP to support action research, and
gave a clear and fuller picture of the challenges and opportunities
for reconciliation in Gujarat.
Wiscomp
was established as part of the efforts of the Foundation for Universal Responsibility
to build a culture of coexistence and nonviolence that is gender-sensitive
and inclusive. A not-for-profit, non-sectarian, non-denominational organization,
the Foundation promotes universal responsibility in a manner that celebrates
a diversity of beleifs and practices, and that contributes to a global ethic
of nonviolence, coexistence and gender equity. The work of the Foundation
is global in its reach and transcends nationalist political agendas.
