January 27, 2023
By Jeyanthi R. – Add. Programme Coordinator, People & Nature Collectives
A workshop on panchayat systems was held at the Keystone campus today, organised by the People & Nature Collectives team. Nandakumar, founder of Thannatchi, a civil society organisation specialising in matters of local governance in Chennai, along with his colleague Gokul were invited to conduct this session. Participants were a mix of teaching fellows who are part of our Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG) Youth Leadership programme, along with Keystone team members who frequently work closely with panchayat members on governance, community perspectives, healthcare and other sectors.
The session addressed the importance of building strong internal structures within organisations and people, in propelling crucial decisions that benefit all. The workshop instructors elaborated on case studies of success stories from villages and local bodies that made progress in community development through better decision-making within the Gram Sabha. Other topics covered include:
- Overview of local government bodies
- Responsibilities and roles of representatives in local government
- Service programmes run by the local government
- The role of the public
- The purpose and power of Gram Sabha
A group activity was organised to help participants deepen their learnings. Participants were divided into groups and given a hypothetical project to ponder over, including millet farming, traditional medicine, introducing millets in Anganwadi foods, and the process of choosing a village head. Such real world applications helped the groups exercise their skills in ideation and strategy, and get a feel of how working together might look like.
