Has spent the past eleven years as Coordinator of Shikshantar. Before co-founding Shikshantar, Manish spent two years serving as a principal architect of the UNESCO Learning Without Frontiers transnational initiative. Prior to that, he worked as a consultant in several countries in the areas of educational planning, policy analysis, research, program design, and media/technology with UNICEF, UNDP, the World Bank, USAID, the Academy for Educational Development, Education Development Center, and the Harvard Institute for International Development. Manish also spent two years as an investment banker in the belly of the beast with Morgan Stanley working in the telecom and high technology sectors. He has spent several years trying to unlearn his Master's degree in Education from Harvard University, and a B.A. in Economics, International Relations and Political Philosophy from Brown University. <send an email>

Has spent the past eleven years working as a Learning Activist with Shikshantar on the Udaipur as a Learning City process-project. She is working on the Families Learning Together initiative, as well as on community media and expressions in Udaipur as a Learning City. Before co-founding Shikshantar, Vidhi spent two years working for Lok Jumbish, a grassroots project in Rajasthan. In this capacity, she designed and ran a program in rural villages to raise awareness and design inclusive schooling services for children with special needs. Prior to that, Vidhi worked directly with children in Delhi with Spastics Society of Northern India. < send an email >

Has spent the past ten years as senior advisor to the Institute for Development Studies and Practices, in Quetta, Pakistan, and is currently working with Aga Khan Education Services, Karachi. Before co-founding Shikshantar, Wasif year in Pakistan working as a social-policy development consultant in the areas of planning, policy and organizational analysis, research, program design/development, and program evaluation with USAID, DFID, CIDA, NORAD, Asian Development Bank, the Asia Foundation, PEN TV, and Philips Academy. Prior to that, Wasif worked as Operations Manager and Chairman of the Planning Council for Aga Khan Education Services, Pakistan, where he was in-charge of conceptualizing, designing, and implementing Educational Development Programs in schools. <send an email >

Why We Call Shikshantar a "Jeevan Anandolan" (joyful agitation or movement of life)

"Towards an Organic Learning Community" (an article about Shikshantar that will be published in the new edition of Deschooling Our Lives, Matt Hern, ed.)

Check out images of our Core Team and Shikshantar @ 21 Fatehpura