Selection Committee for
FMES-IJME Ethics Awards
In Collaboration with Banyan academy of Leadership in Mental health (BALM)
Deepa Pawar, is the founder director of Anubhuti Trust, an anti-caste, intersectional feminist organisation working to build grassroot leadership towards a more just, equitable and democratic society. She started working with the youth at the age of 14. Deepa has also worked on matters of gender, mental health, sexual reproductive rights, sanitation, leadership, Indian Constitutional literacy, history reclaiming and movement-building. Belonging to the Ghisadi (Gadiya Lohar) nomadic community, she is pioneering work with NT-DNT communities in Maharashtra. Based on her lived experiences, she has coined the concept of ‘Mental Justice’, to respond to the wider social justice aspects of mental health faced by marginalised communities.
She is a Samvaad 2020 Fellow — creating the first ever book documenting Ghisadi (Gadiya Lohar) nomadic tribe’s iron weapons/tools making. She is also a SRHM fellow in the ‘Mentoring Programme on Rights and Evidence-based Knowledge Creation’, carrying out the first ever NT woman-led research on SRHR of NT-DNT women. As a fellow of the Collective Impact Partnership and a Goalkeeper Youth Action Accelerator, her initiatives for safe higher education spaces and for youth mental health are recognised internationally. She is the winner of the Last Mile Champion for Girls' Rights in the 2022 Plan India Impact Awards, winner of the Martha Farrell Most Promising Individual Award 2021, was a finalist in the CII Foundation’s Women Exemplar Award 2018, and is the Grand Prize winner from South Asia in the University of California's Tell Her Story contest 2018.
Harsh Mander, Harsh Mander (www.harshmander.in) is a human rights and peace worker, writer, columnist, researcher and teacher. He works with survivors of mass violence, hunger, homeless persons and street children.
From the autumn of 2017, he established and led the important national initiative which he called the Karwan e Mohabbat (www.karwanemohabbat.in), literally the Caravan of Love. This tries to counter rising hate and fear in the country, but not with hate; instead with love and solidarity. The Karwan visits the families of those who lost loved ones to hate violence and lynching, for atonement, solidarity, healing, conscience and justice; and to promote goodwill and trust between communities. He is Chairperson of the Centre for Equity Studies, Delhi, where he founded, convenes and edits the annual India Exclusion Reports. These attempt to document the experience of disadvantaged people of the state; and on evidence-based analysis and advocacy for more just and equitable laws and policies.
Ufra Mir, Ufra has been working at the intersection of psychology, mental health psychosocial support (MHPSS), education, arts, conflict transformation and peacebuilding for over a decade. She works multisectorally - advising, strategizing, designing, facilitating and implementing interventions globally; but with major focus on Kashmir and South Asia. Ufra’s work aims to help people and communities to cope up with the psychological ramifications of living in conflict-zones; while advocating for justice and human rights, and building space for positive-peacebuilding in the process. As a frontline practitioner, advisor and global expert in her field, she’s also now influencing policy-level changes on these intersections with UN organizations and global forums. Ufra has presented her work, created impact and received recognition and awards from international-forums including the UN Women, International Council of Psychologists, American Psychological Association, University of Oxford (UK), Nobel-Peace-Prize forums (USA), UN (Geneva), UNDP, Clinton’s Global Initiative, World Economic Forum's Global-Shaper-Hub (Shape-SouthAsia), the Swedish-Institute, Center for Peace and Nonviolence (Uni of Rhode Island, USA), Women in Security-Conflict-Management & Peace, TEDx talks, United World College International, Rotary Foundation.
