ABOUT THE ACCESS PROGRAM

The aaco initiative invites young professionals to participate in a three-month unique ACCESS program. The fellows will actively contribute to the public discourse on WASH and healthy space challenges faced by disadvantaged urban communities in India.

The ACCESS program aims to share local communities’ urban challenges such as flooding, drought, lack of access to drinking water and sanitation, solid waste management etc. It will also focus on interventions such as nature-based solutions or infrastructural solutions through various storytelling mediums.

The program aims to equip a young talent pool to engage with local communities, community organizations and other stakeholders to narrate compelling stories that spark change.

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ELIGIBILITY

• Age group of 18 to 30 – Indian nationality
• Young professionals with a Bachelor’s degree in disciplines like media, architecture, civil engineering, sociology, art, urban planning, music and others.
• Applicants with 10th/12th degree and/or non-degree certificates like vocational course certificates with experience of working in disadvantaged communities on aaco thematic priorities*
• Part-timers/freelancers/not involved in a full-time job
• Applicants must have basic English proficiency
• Applicants from diverse economic and social backgrounds are encouraged to apply

We encourage applications from all backgrounds. Women, people with disabilities, under-represented social groups and underprivileged backgrounds are encouraged to apply. Read more about WRI India’s values on diversity, equity, and inclusion.

SELECTION CRITERIA

The applicant must:

• Be able to work in a team
• Have collaborative and multi-disciplinary thinking
• Deliver quality and unique outcome
• Be part-timers/freelancers/not involved in a full-time job
• Have basic knowledge on topics of WASH and healthy space challenges in urban disadvantaged communities

THE TYPE OF STORIES WE SEEK

The ACCESS program aims to be an accelerator platform for out-of-the-box storytelling focused on urban impoverished or disadvantaged communities. The project outcome should be engaging, creative and powerful with the intent of creating a dialogue and informing urban development decisions.

The creative approach can be as follows:

• Games as a tool to engage with communities in sharing their stories
• Podcasts that captures people’s voices
• Reporting on-ground infrastructural interventions in a creative format
• Interactive photo-essays, graphic novels, websites for community stories, documentaries, digital apps, etc.

Some references as below:

The Case of Dying Borewells by BIOME

Urban Sanitation Assembly Board Game by NIUA

Who Gets to Breathe Clean Air in New Delhi? By NY Times

Handbook for Enhancing Water Security in Communities: A Case of Ranchi City by MHT and INDE

Note: The stories should be produced in English and can be co-published in local languages.

THEMATIC PRIORITIES*

The fellows are expected to develop stories that must cover one or more of the following themes –

• Water and Sanitation Accessibility
• Gender Equality, Disability and Social Inclusion
• Circular WASH solutions (greywater recycle and reuse)
• Climate-resilient infrastructure
• Water Sensitive Urban Design/ Nature-Based Solutions (such as rain gardens, recharge wells, retention ponds, etc.)
• Solid Waste Management and Healthy Spaces
• Other projects that focus on WASH and Healthy spaces

DELIVERABLES

• One main creative outcome as decided by the team (see the above points for reference) (mandatory)
• One photo-essay blog of 800 words (mandatory)
• One report (mandatory)
• A journal (highly recommended – this will help capture the team’s thought process to reflect upon)