History

“Harshness cannot succeed against gentleness. The arrow speeds its way through the wild elephant but it cannot pierce through yielding cotton. The rock that breaks not for the blows of the long crowbar splits under the gentle stress of the green tree root.” 

—Avvaiyar

Centre for Informal Education and Development Studies (CIEDS) is the informal collective space initiated by SIEDS within which multiple ideas, dreams and initiatives have taken root and grown.

Many of these initiatives have taken specific organisational forms, some of which over the years have either dissolved or become independent and autonomous institutionally from SIEDS and disconnected from the Collective while some continue to be embedded in SIEDS and the Collective.

1976 – 2016: Some Milestones

People’s Rights Committee
Parisara
Janandolana
Janamadhyam
Shramik
Vimochana
AWHRC
Streelekha
BFS
Free Tree
Conversations-Goa
Kuteera- Kolar
Deep Focus
Kutty Japanin Kuzhadaigal
Voices from the Waters
Revisuality
CVA
Adivasis

People’s Rights Committee

A forum for civil liberties and human rights

Parisara

An environment forum

Janandolana

People for Peace 

Janamadhyam

A documentary filmmakers initiative

Shramik

A workers cooperative

Vimochana

Forum for women’s rights

AWHRC

Asian Women’s Human Rights Council

Streelekha

A feminist book shop

BFS

Bangalore Film Society

Free Tree

A space for critical thinking and reflection outside academia 

Conversations-Goa

An artist’s village in the making

Kuteera- Kolar

A shelter for women in distress

Deep Focus

A film quarterly

Kutty Japanin Kuzhadaigal

A film on child labour in Sivakasi

Voices from the Waters

International Film Festival on Water

Revisuality

A phototypesetting unit

CVA

Centre for Vernacular Architecture

Adivasis

The Hakki Pikki and Iruliga Tribal Society