Annual Review 2018

Partners’ Forum, 2018
The Partners’ Forums are a unique and essential part of AVI activities, bringing AVI
supporters and staff together with all our Indian partners for collaboration,
understanding and learning. AVI’s partners host the forums in rotation and organise
field visits and discussions.
The 2018 Partners‘ Forum took place from 5th – 9th March and was hosted by Nav
Bharat Jagriti Kendra (NBJK) near Hazaribag, Jharkhand, with organisational
assistance for AVI supporters kindly provided by Fresh Eyes – People to People Travel.
Thirty people attended – one third AVI supporters and staff. Everyone attending
stayed at the same hotel and ate together in the delicious NBJK canteen, enhancing
the sense of camaraderie.
Mornings were taken up with field visits to the agriculture, waste management, girls’
education and vocational training projects. Everyone also took time to visit families
and groups involved with the NBJK disability project: AVI’s largest funded project. At
each place there was time to chat with all those involved, providing an opportunity to
understand the impact of projects on the beneficiaries - we never ran out of questions
or suggestions to each other as to how our work could be improved. One example of
a lively discussion between partners, AVI supporters and beneficiaries was about the
use of organic fertiliser rather than the chemical fertiliser, currently being used in an
agricultural extension project.
The afternoons and evenings were given over to discussions concerning policy
issues, workshops, as well as to a gender panel discussion on International Womens’
Day.
On the last evening we celebrated the work of Ivan Nutbrown who retires this year.
The occasion also provided an opportunity to recognise the role of Jayaprakash
Narayan, the Gandhian leader, who inspired the founders of NBJK.
Alan Leather, Chair of Trustees, 2016-2018