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Centre for Socio-Cultural Interaction (CESCI)

The acronym CESCI stands for Center for Socio-Cultural lnteraction. The centre is situated near Madurai, in the state of Tamil Nadu in southern India. CESCI was founded in 1996 by a Swiss woman, Maja Koene, together with Rajagopal PV, the initiator of the social reform movement Ekta Parishad.

CESCI, as the name suggests, is a forum for facilitating socio-cultural exchange between the north and the south. Not only this, it also hosts training for the activists from Ekta Parishad and provides an ideal environment in which they can take time to reflect and to recover from the mental and physical demands of their work at the grassroots.

Responsibility for CESCI is now in the hands of an Indian foundation, which is assisted by the CESCI Support Association in Switzerland as needed. The CESCI centre is largely self-funding, which means that the Swiss Support Association - currently numbering around 350 members - can concentrate on providing resources for both individual local projects and also for Ekta Parishad's pan-Indian work towards comprehensive land reform.

Please make a donation today in aid of the valuable work of the CESCI Support Association: Donation.

News

Ekta Parishad and SEWA nominated for Nobel Peace Prize 2014

Two groups working with and on behalf of marginalized women workers and poor landowners in India have been nominated for the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize. One of these is Ekta Parishad.

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MILLIONS CAN WALK

MILLIONS CAN WALK, a movie by Christoph Schaub and Kamal Masale about the people behind the great march JAN SATYAGRAHA will soon be shown in the movies. Release date for Swiss theaters: 2014/01/24. Additionally, several previews are going to take place. Don’t miss the wold premiere in Solothurn!

-> To the movie website
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Urgent Call for Action: Letter to Jairam Ramesh

Just over a year ago, Jan Satyagraha (the March for Justice) took place in India. It ended with a historic 10-point agreement between the Minister for Rural Development, Jairam Ramesh, and Ekta Parishad on behalf of the marchers. However, two crucial points of the agreement are still pending: the announcement of the final version of the National land reform policy and the passing of the National Homestead Rights Bill. We’re supporting the implementation by a letter action to Jairam Ramesh.

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The village Bhimkotti

We support together with Ekta Parishad a village project in the indian state Madhya Pradesh. This project involves the most basic points such as farming, chicken farms, etc. so you can create a decent living and sustainable basis for the village.

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Book - The Legacy of Gandhi (only in German)

«The Legacy of Gandhi» is the impressive portrait of PV Rajagopal, founder of the social base movement Ekta Parishad and also a report of personal experience of the author.

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