Updates
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India Civic Summit 2025: Citizen action for climate
The India Civic Summit 2025, held on 8th February 2025, brought together over 150 civic leaders, urban practitioners, grassroots changemakers, and engaged citizens to explore solutions for climate-resilient cities. Unlike a conventional conference, this was a convening of practitioners, where…
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A new logo for Oorvani
Many of you may be familiar with Citizen Matters, which we launched as a local newsmagazine 15 years ago. The reason we founded it remains just as relevant today—our commitment to civic engagement, active citizenship, and community-driven change. The vision…
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Open City team presents findings to CMDA
On 25th January, the team from Oorvani and the Open City data community presented their findings related to Chennai’s urban heat issues to the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA). Dr. Jayapal who heads the Urban Heat study for Third Master…
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From dreams to real-life stories
We recently partnered with Dream a Dream, an NGO empowering young people from marginalised backgrounds, to host a session on storytelling for 25 participants on December 29th in Bommanahalli, Bengaluru. In the session, we explored the role of media in…
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Action Workshop on Urban Street Design
Last week, we experimented with a new format learning session called the “action workshop”. The goal was to help participants learn and gain a clear understanding of next steps. On Saturday, 5th October 2024, an action-oriented workshop titled “Urban Street…
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Multimedia storytelling workshop in Vyasarpadi
There was enough food for thought as the Oorvani Foundation conducted a multi-media journalism workshop for the Vyasai Thozhargal community group on July 13th and 14th in Chennai. Vyasai Thozhargal is a team of first-generation graduates, who have used education…
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Helping communities make informed choices during the 2024 elections
During the recent 2024 Lok Sabha Elections, we published details of candidates, MP profiles, interviews, voter guides, analysis and data on Citizen Matters. We also tracked what active citizens were doing to encourage informed choices in their communities and documented…
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Inspiring Change: Highlights from the India Civic Summit 2024
The recent India Civic Summit brought together 150+ active citizens, changemakers, and community leaders for a day-long event aimed at fostering dialogue, sharing inspiring stories, and strategising solutions for urban challenges. Held at the Institution of Agricultural Technologists, the summit…
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India Civic Summit: Calling all active citizens!
We are thrilled to extend an invitation to the India Civic Summit on 23rd March 2024! In the 15th year of Citizen Matters and the 10th year of Oorvani Foundation, we are excited to host a convening of people committed…
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Masterclass on Urban Mobility: Why is there traffic?
Why is there traffic in our cities? Is it because of narrow roads, clogged junctions, too many vehicles, or poor public transport? What kind of infrastructure can solve our traffic problem – wider roads, flyovers, elevated roads, better footpaths, cycle…
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Meet our new Urban Environment Fellows
In November 2023, Oorvani Foundation launched the Citizen Matters – Urban Environmental Reporting Fellowship. This project has been supported by Wipro Foundation. Six early career journalists were selected from among a large cohort of applicants. They are Sejal Patel, Akansha Deshmukh,…
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My working headline: Dear Gopal
TR Gopalakrishnan, our Editorial Advisor, passed away on 15th November. He was the former Editor-In-Charge of The Week. He had previously worked at the Motherland, India Today and Hindustan Times. TRG, as we knew him, dropped in at our office,…
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A deep dive into understanding lake assets
As part of the Citizen Journalism for Changemakers – CJC Programme, Oorvani Foundation organised a masterclass on Urban lakes on 29th September. The session was aimed at engaging citizens in a discourse on lake rejuvenation/management. About thirty-five participants attended the 2-hour masterclass…
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Citizen Matters – Urban Environment Reporting Fellowship, 2023 (Deadline 8/Nov)
Oorvani Foundation invites applications from early career reporters based in Delhi-NCR region for the “Citizen Matters – Urban Environmental Reporting Fellowship 2023” Five young media professionals will have the opportunity to enhance their skills in environmental reporting and draw attention…
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Citizen Matters Mumbai Reporter attends EJN workshop
Sherine Raj, our Reporter based in Mumbai attended a workshop on energy and the environment in Aurangabad. Sherine is an experienced journalist, whose reporting spans diverse beats, including civic issues, transportation, healthcare, education, and the environment. She is particularly passionate…