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Organization: Ektara India
The following information may be cited or quoted as long as the source is accurately mentioned and the words are not taken out of context.
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Postal address of organization/institution

361 Kailash Tower 1, Mt. Kailash, New Delhi 110065

E-mail address of organization/institution

ektaraindia@email.com

Website address of organization/institution

www.ektara.org

Telephone of organization/institution

+91-9810261773 dsangari@gmail.com (Dhruv Sangari), +91-9810379016 saeed.yousuf@gmail.com(Yousuf Saeed)

PRIORITIES: All of the organization's domains of culture of peace activity

EDUCATION FOR PEACE
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
UNDERSTANDING, TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY

TOP PRIORITY: The organization's most important culture of peace activity

UNDERSTANDING, TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY

PARTNERSHIPS AND NETWORKS: What partnerships and networks does your organization participate in, thus strengthening the global movement for a culture of peace?

ANHAD (Act Now for Hamony and Democracy), STEP (Standing Together to Enable Peace)

ACTIONS: What activities have been undertaken by your organization to promote a culture of peace and nonviolence during the ten years of the Decade? If you already made a report in 2005, your information from 2005 will be included in the 2010 report.

Ektara India is a group of media and arts professionals based in Delhi, India, involved in many activities of culture, arts, research and peacemaking. In the past, we have produced well known documentary films, music albums, multimedia and books, besides managing cultural events, academic symposia, and exhibitions. Some areas where Ektara has been active are:-
To promote music, culture, cinema, theatre and the arts via audio, video, Internet, print and other media, besides live events, workshops, seminars and exhibitions.
To collaborate with artistes and performers globally, and in the Indian subcontinent.
To encourage and strengthen the cause of religious and social harmony, peace and tolerance by using cultural pluralism as a basic principle.
To preserve and document traditional arts by providing their practitioners with a platform to perform or exhibit.
To conduct and facilitate research in the arts and media, and network with academic institutions globally.  
What We Do:-
1. Production of films, multimedia, printed literature and books on peace, cultural exchange, and balanced representation of history.
2. Curate traveling exhibitions of art work, posters and multimedia presentations in India as well as abroad, promoting ideas of peace and cultural exchange.
3. Holding programmes of cultural exchange by inviting artists, musicians, theatre artists, filmmakers, and other talent across different regions of South Asia.
4. Establishing a library of books, films, multimedia and art work on peace and cultural exchange.
5. Holding academic seminars, conferences, workshops and short courses on peace education and cultural plurality in India.
6. Scrutinizing the contemporary media and entertainment industry for possible bias and prejudice it promotes against certain communities, castes, gender or environment.
7. Involving youth in different local programmes of peace dialogues and cultural activities; giving them training on peace activism.

Members of Ektara have been involved in various activities of art and cultural promotion in collaboration as well as in their individual capacity. Here are some of our past activities:
Film Production:-
Boojh Sakey to Boojh (Guess If You Can): 4 films on poet Amir Khusrau, for Doordarshan (1996)
Basant: a short film on Sufi spring (1997)
The Train to Heaven: A short musical video celebrating India’s popular Islam (2006)
Khayal Darpan: A feature length documentary film on the classical music in Pakistan (2006)
Online/Digital Arts:-
Amir Khusrau website: A web platform featuring the poetry and historical details about the 13th century poet Amir Khusrau (alif-india.com) Also mirror site.
Tasveer Ghar: A digital archive of south Asian popular visual culture (tasveerghar.net)
Events and Exhibits:-
Basant festival around the shrine of Nizamuddin at Delhi in 2002-2004
Amir Khusrau Poetry exhibition at India Social Forum,
New Delhi, Nov. 2006
Aqeedat ke Rang: exhibit of popular Muslim art at Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, 2008
Hindustani Music and Partition: An academic workshop at Jamia Millia Islamia, Aug.2008
Workshop on Appreciating Sufi Music and Qawwali, October 2009
Workshop on Appreciating Sufi Music and Qawwali, December 2009
Workshop on Understanding Bulleshah and amir Khusrau, February 2010
Books/Publications:-
What kind of India shall we give to our children? A booklet on how to reduce communal prejudice and violence in Indian society. 2002 (Urdu, English and Hindi). Read its online English version.
Audio/Music:-
Apni Masti: An audio CD of qawwalis by Delhi qawwal Hamsar Hayat (distributed by Navras, UK)
Many other audio CDs and video DVDs of traditional music and documentary films are under production at Ektara India.

PROGRESS: Has your organization seen progress toward a culture of peace and nonviolence in your domain of action and in your constituency during the second half of the Decade?

Certainly. Through our workshops, events, interactions and various collaborations, we have seen direct results towards a positive change in social attitudes regarding peace, tolerance, harmony and nonviolence.

OBSTACLES: Has your organization faced any obstacles to implementing the culture of peace and nonviolence? If so, what were they?

Cultural diversity of India which was symbolic of synchetic tradition has become more diluted as people are becoming more ignorant about their hertiage. The rise of fundamentalism in the country has made both our work difficult and more relevant. On the logistical front funding projects has become tougher and finances seem to be contraining.

PLANS: What new engagements are planned by your organization in the short, medium and long term to promote a culture of peace and nonviolence?

We plan to open an institute for the study, reasearch and preservation of Sufi music and culture.Among our other plans are linking with various educational institutions worldwide for events and programs based on issues such as harmony and peace, tolerance and cultural exchange, environmental awareness and sustainable living.

GLOBAL MOVEMENT: How do you think the culture of peace and nonviolence could be strengthened and supported at the world level??

We firmly believe that culture, art and creative media, are the glue that bind society locally and globally. When people become familiar with and appreciative of each others music, art, history and traditions, they are less likely to be exploitative and aggressive towards each other.
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Organization: Ektara India

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