Navnirmiti Papers

The collection entails material related to Navnirmiti, a not-for-profit social enterprise, located in Pune, Maharashtra, which commits itself to popularising science in India through its science communication, publication, and education initiatives. Focusing on ‘a hands-on understanding of science’, the organization develops methods and learning aids related to math and science, accessible to any age group. Amongst their initiatives is the Universal Active Math program which aims to ‘universalize school math at a mass scale’. The pedagogical resources developed for the same can be implemented systematically to the extent of a single classroom or even countrywide. The Day Time Astronomy project aims to provide accessible resource guides for constructing low-cost tools for non-trivial astronomical experiments to understand cosmic processes that characterize the sun and the solar system. As a commemorative endeavor, the organization also published the book series- Ask - Why?: A series of experiments for learning about the method of science, in four languages, after the first National Scientific Temper Day. The organization is affiliated with the All India Peoples’ Science Network (AIPSN), a national platform for science organizations in India working to popularise science, propagate scientific temper, and examine the interfaces of science and society. The AIPSN formed the Bharat Gyan Vigyan Samiti, which spearheaded Total Literacy Campaigns in districts across the country in collaboration with the Ministry of Human Resource and Development in the 1990s. AIPSN also engaged in two major mobilisation exercises - Hamara Desh (Our Country), and Desh Ko Jano Desh Ko Badlo (Know your country, change your country) over the same decade. Towards this end, the AIPSN engages with diverse media for mass communication such as video-film screenings, public meetings, street theater, etc while empowering several studies and publications through initiatives of its member organizations.