A quick look at the CV
I find LinkedIn a bit cumbersome to update, so I’m putting up all the information here for prospective collaborators who want a quick look at the CV. Last update: 14th January, 2019
Chintan Girish Modi is an educator, writer and peacebuilder who draws deep inspiration from the syncretic traditions of India and beyond, and has a special interest in healing the misgivings between Indians and Pakistanis. He has written widely on art, culture and education for over a decade, and his work has been published in leading newspapers, magazines and journals including The Times of India, The Hindu, The Indian Express, The Friday Times, Free Press Journal, The Asian Age, The Express Tribune, Teacher Plus, and Pragati, among others.
He has a BA in English Literature with Minors in Sociology, Anthropology and Mass Communication from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai. He later completed his MA in English and M.Phil. in English Language Education at the English and Foreign Languages University in Hyderabad. His dissertation was based on a creative writing and peer learning project with students from Dongri, a predominantly Muslim neighbourhood in Mumbai. He has also completed a course in strategic nonviolent resistance offered by the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict in Washington DC in collaboration with Rutgers University.
His journey into education for peace began in 2010 with working for the Kabir Project at the Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology in Bengaluru, and exploring how the poetry of the 15th century saint-poet Kabir speaks to contemporary discussions about structural violence, communal harmony, and seeing beyond superficial differences. A year later, he joined Shishuvan School in Mumbai to work on their Democracy Curriculum and Mental Health Curriculum, experimenting with fresh approaches to inculcate an appreciation for cultural diversity and critical thinking. This journey grew further in 2012 with his visit to Pakistan as part of the Exchange for Change project led by the Citizens Archive of Pakistan and Routes to Roots India, and his close association with Women In Security, Conflict Management and Peace (WISCOMP).
Chintan later curated Tana Bana, an online resource on India’s diverse cultural traditions, for Open Space India, an initiative of the Centre for Communication and Development Studies in Pune. He was a South Asian Scholar on the Peace and Conflict Studies programme offered by Kulturstudier in association with the Oslo and Akershus University College of Applied Sciences, Peacebuilding Fellow at the Conflict Transformation Across Cultures (CONTACT) SAARC programme run by School for International Training, Caux Scholar at Asia Plateau, a participant of the Gurukul Programme run by the Foundation for Universal Responsibility of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and India’s Delegation Leader to the Seeds of Peace International Camp in USA.
In 2014, Chintan founded Friendships Across Borders: Aao Dosti Karein, an initiative promoting education for peace through storytelling, student workshops and teacher training sessions with schools, colleges and universities in various parts of India. In the same year, he was awarded the Media Projects Fellowship by ComMutiny in collaboration with the Youth and Civil Society Initiative of Sir Ratan Tata Trust and DKA-Austria. He was also invited by Snow Leopard Adventures and Ananta Aspen Centre to co-facilitate Planet Harmony, a residential camp in Rishikesh with high school students from Delhi, Manipur, Meghalaya, Kashmir, and Chhattisgarh. Last year, he was part of the International Training of Trainers on Youth and Peacebuilding at the Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development.
Alongside, he has been working on editorial projects with Orient Blackswan, Cambridge University Press India, Gauhati University, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, and the Regional Resource Centre for Elementary Education. His most recent project is a guidebook for textbook writers around the world, commissioned by the UNESCO Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development, which was established with the generous support of the Government of India. It has been created with the objective of helping textbook writers to reorient their approach towards subjects such as Mathematics, Science, Geography and Language in keeping with the principles of education for peace, sustainable development, global citizenship and social justice. He was also a youth delegate at the UNESCO International Conference on Preventing Violent Extremism Through Education in Delhi, the UNESCO NGO Forum in Riyadh, and the South Asian Youth Conference in Kabul. He has also consulted with Clap Global, a social enterprise that connects international travellers to local classrooms for a rich cross-cultural exchange, celebrating diversity and oneness.
Chintan has worked with Centre for Civil Society to develop a semester-long course in media and public policy, and also consulted with them on alumni engagement. He has been an honorary ambassador with Postcards for Peace (UK) for over two years, and recently completed his stint as Action Corps Leader with Global Zero — a global movement for nuclear disarmament. He was also part of the UN Inter-Agency Network on Youth Development’s Working Group on Youth and Gender Equality, which included a Task Force on Partnerships with Young Men in Gender Equality.
He runs an initiative called Mardon Waali Baat to facilitate conversations and workshops with men’s groups around topics such as gender, patriarchy, misogyny, masculinity, consent, boundaries and mental health. He also consults with The Gender Lab in Mumbai on their programme for boys in Mumbai, Delhi and Indore. Apart from this, he offers workshops for educational institutions and corporates interested in creating safe and supportive spaces for people with diverse sexual orientations. He also consults with the Prajnya Trust on their Education for Peace Initiative.
Chintan is available for speaking engagements, workshops, teaching assignments, panel discussions and curatorial projects. Tweet to him @chintan_connect, or email him at chintan.prajnya@gmail.com or chintangirishmodi@gmail.com
