see also General introduction: the scope of this manual and toolkit
"Vrinda" (वृन्दा) in Sanskrit signifies the "harmony resulting from the choice of working together for the same objective" (from the root वृ = choice). The Vrinda Project is a cooperative environment where the development actors share their views and their knowledge, because they believe that justice and peace results from mutual trust and reciprocal empowerment. This wikibook is one of the project outputs, along with the web channel and other communication products that are being developed in cooperation with the wikibooks community. Kautilya Society is the Non Governmental Organization taking a facilitator role in continuing the project (⇒Kautilya Society for Intercultural Dialogue). But contribution from all sources are most welcomed, in line with the Wikimedia founding principles.
[edit]The scope of the project
Even we development cooperation workers have to survive in a world where we often end up fighting with colleagues and partners because we perceive each other as competitors. But in order to enjoy our jobs and be motivated towards our missions, we also need to go beyond conflicts and relate to each other in a healthy communication climate. Our humanity is our main resource: for nourishing it we need to foster a sense of solidarity with others who, like us, put their soul in their work. So the scope for opening meeting grounds where we can relate to each other with sense of "us"; spaces where we can exchange views outside the politically corrected "should-s" and where we facilitate each other by sharing real experiences and tested resources. Such spaces are precious for those of us who work in the Development sector and require updated competence. But it will also give us an added opportunity for better communicating to others what we are doing. In fact so often we, development cooperators, complain that "the others do not understand us" and that mainstream media are not paying enough attention to the challenges we are facing. But we are also responsible for this misunderstanding because, in external communications, we tent to highlight suffering to justify our professional niche and for that we use bombastic images and counterproductive rhetoric. When instead we nurture a healthy communication climate among us, where we openly discuss the internal and external challenges we are facing as development actors, then we will also give access to others to what we really think and experience. And by not trying to convince anyone, we will become “trustworthy”.
A community is reinforced through celebrations. We need a communicative space where “the tribe of those who have overcome tribalism” celebrate what the mainstream media will not recognize as news: the successes of dialogue, the sharing of tools for peace building, the stories of those who contribute to more just and fairer relationship among peoples, cultures and nations.
[edit]The context of the project
The real news now is how difficult and important it is to narrate “good news”.
And the most challenging communication adventure is to narrate the reasons whyMDGs,
the most important commitment taken by the International Community to reverse
grinding poverty, hunger and disease that affects billions of people is so
little known.
More in ⇒Media
and the international communication climate
