Based on funding availability,  PAS Kolkata will support “Sport for Change: EmpoweringYouth Ambassadors to Action.”  The projectwill consist of a week-long capacity-building camp for approximately 30 youngleaders between the ages of 18-25 years from underserved or marginalizedcommunities in the Kolkata Consular District (West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Sikkimand the seven North-East states).  Thecamp will be conducted by a minimum of three trainers, preferably from the U.S.,who have experience working with marginalized communities and at-riskyouth.  The sessions will use the mediumof sport, along with “of the field” seminars and discussions, to impartAmerican ideals of leadership, equality, volunteerism, respect, tolerance, andcommunity engagement both on and off the field. During the camp, the participants will identify topics/themes that theywould like to address in their communities. Topics can include but not limited to women’s empowerment, promoting inclusionand gender equality, and countering violence.. For instance, there is an increased interest in women’s football due tothe Women’s Football World Cup. To capitalize on this enthusiasm, UnitedNations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and theInternational Federation of Association Football (FIFA) signed a “Football forSchools” partnership with an aim of teaching not just football but also lifeskills to children globally.

(Please refer to the full announcement available under related documents tab)

Based on funding availability, PAS Kolkata will support a project entitled “Strengthening Youth Voices: Promoting Diversity, Peace, and Inclusion.”  The goal of the project is to use theater to foster youth partnerships and leadership to promote peace and stability in the South Asia region, specifically in India, Bangladesh, and Nepal.  PAS Kolkata’s previous iterations of performative storytelling workshops held at the American Center and funded by the Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) have created models of community building based on the themes of gender and empowerment.  Building on this, the project will train participants to use the participatory theater model with large public audiences on the themes of diversity, inclusion, and non-violence.

The one and a half week-long workshop, to be held at the American Center in Kolkata, should focus on leadership, multiculturalism promotion, and interfaith tolerance, using performative arts, storytelling, and public performances to engage large audiences in public spaces.  At the end of the workshop, the participants will showcase multi-media mobile performances in at least three cities in eastern India.  Performances should be designed to engage large audiences, with a focus on marginalized communities.  Spectator interventions, forum, debate and discussions, playback techniques, and image-theater will be used to generate discussions on pression socio-economic issues.  Public spaces should include open grounds, stadiums, transportation hubs, shopping malls, market places, university campuses, as well as, live streaming on social media platforms.

(Please refer to the full announcement available under related document tab)

Based on funding availability, PAS Kolkata will support a three-day conclave at the American Center in Kolkata that will convene stakeholders across the Indo-Pacific region to collaborate and build solutions to identify the threats and develop solutions to reduce the human trafficking incidents through cybercrimes.  Fifty to sixty stakeholders representing countries from the South Central Asia and East Asia Pacific regions will participate in the three-day conclave, which will be structured on sharing information and case studies, workshops on successful strategies, and brainstorming sessions on collaboration across state and national governments.  Key themes will include the mapping of hidden online services directories, customer data monitoring, social site monitoring, hidden service monitoring, semantic analysis and market place profiling.  A second focus of the conclave will be strengthening cyber technology and boosting awareness of the responsible use of technology and social media.  Technology companies and developers can create innovative solutions for detecting and disrupting human trafficking on their networks and assume a proactive role in advancing research in this area, which is still at a nascent stage.

The workshop will end with a public presentation by conclave participants for civil society and private enterprises on how they can collaborate with the government and law enforcement to tackle this problem.  Building on the West Bengal Commission for the Protection of Child Rights-organized December 2018 conference on the sexual exploitation of children in a digital era, this project will generate public awareness, build on existing partnerships, and engage diverse stakeholders towards data driven solutions to human trafficking.  After the three-day workshop, the grantee will be required to host informational sessions in at least five public venues on raising awareness on online-human trafficking and the responsible use of social media.

(Please refer to the full announcement available under related documents tab)

The United States is continuously working to advance fair and reciprocal trade, promote economic and commercial engagement and mobilize private sector engagement into the Indo-Pacific.  The United States recognizes India as a key player in the Indo-Pacific region that is invested in a free and open order.  A key geographic area to advance prosperity and openness in the Indo Pacific is India’s Northeast.  The northeastern states of India share borders with Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Burma are India’s gateway to a vital energy corridor that extends into Southeast Asia.  Burma has one of the most diverse energy sectors in the ASEAN region, consisting of oil and gas and numerous renewable and solar power projects.  Nepal and Bhutan are very big on hydro power, while Bangladesh relies more on natural gas and coal; all three of these countries also have untapped renewable energy potential.  The trade and business opportunities of this region, particularly in regards to energy, are largely underdeveloped.  This project leverages the strategic geographical location of Northeast India to benefit the United States wider engagement with ASEAN with the goal of driving economic growth in the wider region.

This project will bring together key stakeholders from East India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Burma and United States in the energy and infrastructure sectors to explore commercially viable regional investment opportunities for U.S. investors.  PAS Kolkata proposes a one-day regional energy and infrastructure conference and virtual investment fair with participants from East India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma, Nepal and the United States.  The conference will also bring speakers from the United States who will share an insight on the U.S. market and collaborative strategies.  The workshop will be followed by a second day virtual investment fair with investors tuning in virtually from United States who are interested in exploring projects in the region that have a multiplier effect for the U.S. market.  The virtual conference will provide a cost effective and convenient opportunity for public and private sector parties to network and identify potential collaborations.  The larger goal of the project is to establish a firmer and sustainable presence of the United States in the areas of energy and infrastructure in South and Southeast Asia.

(Please refer to the full announcement available under related documents tab)

If you have difficulty accessing the full announcement electronically, please contact:

Grant Applications Manager, U.S. Embassy, KolkataPASG@State.Gov

Grant Applications Manager, U.S. Embassy