The Air Quality Hackathon will bring together (20) teams, (3) participants per team, to brainstorm for two days and find practical solutions for improving air quality. The solutions will be shared and implemented to the extent possible during a follow-on campaign with school communities and NGO partners. Results of the implementation phase will be shared with government and civil society partners. A survey to measure the impact of the intervention program will be conducted after the project is over. The best results pre- and post-intervention will be documented and recognized in a final event culminating event.

 PAS Kolkata has previously hosted two hackathons, one on combatting wildlife trafficking, and another on women’s safety. Both hackathons were successful in eliciting solutions, but those solutions are yet to be tested in the real world. For this project, we have included follow-on activities that would include real-world testing and sharing for broader implementation.

(Please refer to the full announcement available in related documents Tab)

PAS Kolkata’s media section seeks to build on last year’s cross-border media workshop by bringing together 50-60 key women journalists for a 2-day workshop at the Kolkata American Center to address how disinformation and misinformation is posing a threat to women journalists and the overall stability of the Indo-Pacific security across borders.

Fifty to sixty workshop participants will develop concrete strategies to counter disinformation and misinformation in the Indo-Pacific region within 6-8 months of the workshop, as evidenced by collaborative stories/articles published. Journalists will collaborate across borders on reporting issues that are important to their communities and to the U.S. government. The journalists to develop at least 5 digital stories countering disinformation and misinformation that will be shared on Consulate’s social media platforms

(Please refer to the full announcement available in related documents TAB)

This funding opportunity seeks to build the “Global Links Impact Investment Forum,” headquartered in Kolkata, starting with a committee of academics, alumni, and business entities that will be self-sustainable in the future. The forum will commence with an inaugural event followed by a week-long training session conducted by experts from the United States and India on organizational design for an independent business-networking entity. The participants will be coached to administer the forum and build capacity for women entrepreneurs. The forum will develop a calendar of events for the next one year and seek membership from women entrepreneurs, business faculty members, and business students. The forum will also invite academics to work with members to implement new trends in business research and development.

This project will create a forum for women entrepreneurs and business students that will serve as a networking tool and launch pad to showcase new business models to policy makers and influencers such as local and central government leaders, senior business executives, academics, and media. The forum will provide support, expertise, and a platform for West Bengal’s fertile startup ecosystem.

 (Please refer to the full announcement available in related documents Tab)

This funding opportunity seeks to implement a week-long convergence of regional experts/academics, artists, and authors to identify actionable strategies that facilitate partnerships on security, governance, and economy by using the unique ability of arts to open dialogues in areas where common ground is hard to find.

This project will create intercultural dialogues, art installations, and choreographic pieces that capture important conversations around security, governance, and the economy. While we often bring in academic experts and policy makers to define vision, arts can be a powerful medium to reflect regional synergies. Conversation through the arts can be an engaging way to highlight the need for a free and open Indo-Pacific that promotes security, regional connectivity, and prosperity for all. Spur policymakers, academics, civil society partners, and community leaders to generate practical ideas on how their institutions can encourage a free, open, prosperous, and inclusive Indo-Pacific region. Through the use of art installations, choreographic pieces, film screenings, and discussions in several eastern Indian cities, promote greater awareness and dialogue on how to promote Indo-Pacific peace and prosperity.

(Please refer to the full announcement available in related documents Tab)

This funding opportunity seeks to build entrepreneurial capacity in the South Asian countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and Nepal through an interconnected regional network. This program will leverage the networks and experience of the Nexus Start Up Hub to engage with and train local network leaders and entrepreneurs through a three-tiered program, cumulating in the best of the start-ups being awarded a place in the Nexus startup program in New Delhi.

The 15-month program envisions two cycles of the above training, with time between and after each Nexus cohort to strengthen the in-country networks and explore opportunities with U.S. companies and organizations such as the American Chamber of Commerce.

Promotion of American best practices in entrepreneurship and incubation; creation of regional engagement and interconnectedness through entrepreneurial activities for a stronger Indo-Pacific region; access for U.S. companies to new markets and customers that have been difficult to reach.

(Please refer to the full announcement available in related documents Tab)

This funding opportunity seeks to organize a series of cross-border workshops, trainings, and advocacy campaigns across the country leading to a final conclave in New Delhi to engage with multiple stakeholders to forge public-private partnerships and to strengthen collaborative efforts. In continuation with our past collaborative efforts, we want to maximize attention in order to facilitate government action, as we complete a decade of Anti-TIP Conclaves.

To continue to strengthen the anti-TIP ecosystem through facilitation of higher levels of government engagement, establish new economic cooperatives, and link them with the private sector; facilitate multi-partner collaboration; and conduct in-field research on recent trends, to provide actionable data to other anti-trafficking actors.

The project aims to create an informed cohort of political players, elected representatives, government stakeholders, and private sector leaders who are in key positions to influence and shape India’s anti-TIP narrative as well as share best practices in combatting TIP across the Indo-Pacific, within a span of two years.

(Please refer to the full announcement available in related documents Tab)