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Welcome to heinrich böll Foundation (HBF) India

Research Report

This policy discussion paper seeks to present a critical overview of Digital India, evaluating the extent to which the outcome areas of the program address gender-transformative change. It also offers suggestions for building an enabling environment to expand opportunities and strategic life choices for women, and contributing to gender equality, as economic, social and political arenas are fundamentally redefined by digital technologies. This paper draws upon a detailed policy study titled ‘Digital India through a Gender Lens’, undertaken by the authors in 2017-18, with support from the Heinrich Böll Stiftung.

Pictures from the Bangalore Queer Pride Parade — Creator: Vikas Yadav. CC-BY 2.0

The Heinrich Böll Foundation joins the people of India in celebrating diversity and rights of the LGBTQIA+ community.

It’s a historic day as the Supreme Court of India gave a landmark verdict decriminalizing a portion of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, a colonial era provision that criminalizes private consensual sexual acts between same sex adults. The LGBTIQA+ community, supporters and people from across the spectrum are rejoicing and there is a re-instatement of faith in the legal and judicial system, especially the Supreme Court of India.

We congratulate our partners, communities groups, individuals and organizations for this victory and thank them for their long struggles against Section 377.

Section 377 is scrapped! Sexual Minorities become full citizens of India

Article

Shubha Chacko is a prominent LGBTQ activist from India. On the occasion of the landmark Supreme Court judgment decriminalizing a portion of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, she writes on the long fight against section 377, the challenges ahead and what it means for the society at large.

By Shubha Chacko

Democracy & Dialogue

"It became my mission to locate women's voices"

Interview

Urvashi Butalia is one of India’s foremost feminists. On the occasion of her receiving Germany’s Goethe Medal on August 28, 2017 in Weimar, we have talked to her about her work as a publisher, feminism, writing and politics in India.

By Dr. Axel Harneit-Sievers

Climate & Resources

7th General Assembly of World Forum of Fisher People (WFFP)

The 7th General Assembly of the World Forum of Fisher Peoples takes place in Delhi on 15-21 November 2017. Its main focus is climate justice in the context of global warming, fossil fuel exploitation, fish depletion and livelihood threats to fishing communities throughout the world.

International & Globalization

Myanmar’s Democratic Advance and the Peace Process

The on-going meeting of the 21st Century Panglong Conference of Myanmar is expected to bring together all ethnic nationalities and government negotiators to build a democratic federal union. A keynote addressed by former Indian Ambassador to Myanmar, Gautam Mukhopadhya at a conference on "Federalism and India-Myanmar Relations" in Mizoram.

By Gautam Mukhopadhya

New Publications

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Fishers have lost their place in the seas, their traditional livelihoods and a secure existence. The state offers them solutions that consider questions of climate change and mitigation yet are increasingly technocratic in nature. Based on field work across the coast of Gujarat, this study assesses the impact of industrial development on the fishing community.

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The European Energy Atlas 2018 is published at a time when the EU Member States are discussing their energy and climate strategy until 2013. It thereby not only provides a compass on the differing energy discussions in Europe but also reveals how a Europeanization of the energy transition will be the more efficient and cost-effective option for all Europeans.

Welcome

The Heinrich Böll Stiftung/ Heinrich Boell Foundation is a German foundation and part of the Green political movement that has developed worldwide as a response to the traditional politics of socialism, liberalism, and conservatism.

We are a green think-tank and an international policy network, our main tenets are ecology and sustainability, democracy and human rights, self-determination and justice. We place particular emphasis on gender democracy, meaning social emancipation and equal rights for women and men. We are also committed to equal rights for cultural and ethnic minorities. Finally, we promote non-violence and proactive peace policies. To achieve our goals, we seek strategic partnerships with others who share our values.

Our namesake, Heinrich Böll, personifies the values we stand for: protection of freedom, civic courage, tolerance, open debate, and the valuation of art and culture as independent spheres of thought and action.

Our India Liaison Office was established in 2002 in New Delhi. Working with governmental and non-governmental local project partners we support India’s democratic governance through informed national and international dialogue processes with a view to enhance the diversity of green thinking.