Realising the Idea
To give shape to this idea, it was agreed that the group would organise theme-based retreats to provide a space for individuals, communities, scientists, practitioners, officials, institutes to share experiences, studies, knowledge, and findings.
This idea thus sparked a conversation with Prof. Satyajit Mayor (then Director National Centre for Biological Sciences), where they discussed the possibility of how NCBS as a research institution could get involved with work on the ground happening in the city. More conversations on this followed between PS Narayan (Head of Sustainability at Wipro Ltd., and the Managing Trustee & Head of Wipro Foundation), Anurag Behar and Prof. Mayor. BIOME Environmental Solutions was already working with Wipro Foundation and Vishwanath Srikantaiah, Founder BIOME Environmental Solutions also joined these discussions. Jahnavi Phalkey, (Founding Director of Science Gallery Bengaluru) and Harini Nagendra, (Director of Research Centre, and Director, School of Climate Change and Sustainability, at Azim Premji University) were also invited to the group.
It was a coming together of organisations and individuals known to have not only valuable experience and expertise in their domains but also a more progressive vision for the city of Bangalore.
BSF Retreats
The Retreats have played a key role in defining BSF’s journey over the years. They have also helped to bring together people from different walks of life working on a particular theme; to share, learn, discuss and ideate.
The initial discussions within the forum focussed on how to build conversations at these retreats around the specific themes. The idea was that, with the right stakeholders and perspectives, what would emerge organically would be a set of directive principles of where and how the forum needs to ac It was agreed that Wipro Foundation would offer funding as a recurring grant to sustain and support the work, while NCBS would offer the physical location. The constraining factor of a budget made the group identify leverage points to maximise outcomes. The SDGs offered a guiding framework for a discourse on Sustainability and Development and the Retreats offered the space for a deep dive into it. The School of Ancient Wisdom has been the venue for the BSF Retreats so far – offering a welcoming and safe space for conversations and collaborations.
Since 2018 BSF has hosted four Retreats:
2018 April 16-17: Water
2018 September 10-11: Biodiversity
2019 March 26-27: Climate Change
2023 Jan 27-28: Climate Resilience
An added objective of the very first BSF Retreat in 2018 was to discover the direction and aim that the forum wanted to pursue, based on discussions that emerged here. Some of the key participants at this Retreat included Dr (late) Isher Judge Ahluwalia, SharachChandra Lele, Rohini Nilekani, – all of whom listened and shared a wide range of inputs; helping BSF craft its subsequent approach.
Based on the learnings from the early Retreats where the participants were mostly from a known circle and primarily researchers, thinktank members, in the more recent Retreats, we have tried to move the needle and have consciously involved more community members and representatives of a wider section.
Looking back, the BSF Retreats have contributed to both – directed strategic conversations as well as the evolution of the Small Grant Programme.
Lingaraj Dinni
Deliberative spaces are not there in the city - for sustainability in its entirety…There are other pockets doing this now.