Enhancing the capacity of the common masses in terms of awareness, participation in decision making processes, raising questions to the development paradigms and searching for alternatives have become central issues of discourse among the NGOs, CBOs, collective action groups, policy makers, partner agencies etc. Training programmes, consultations, workshops and seminars have been found to be medium through which information is passed on, hard data is presented, opinions are shared, view points are expressed, success stories are highlighted and alternatives are searched. Since the common masses themselves can not engage in this exercise, it is those agents who are involved in rural reconstruction who are participants of training and capacity building programmes.

The Training-Workshop-Consultation Brochure 2008-2009 presents in nutshell some of the programmes envisaged by the Institute for this year. Based on the experiences of previous years and keeping the emerging issues in focus these programmes have been planned. The main objective of the Training-Workshop-Consultation programmes are to provide opportunity in terms of capacity building, leadership formation and creating critical consciousness among those engaged in rural reconstruction, development in favour of the excluded and the marginalised, access over resources to all, and the rights of the disprivileged.
Some of these programmes are initiated by the Institute, while many others are designed in collaboration with individuals and organisations.

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Social Security for the Unorganized Sector
Workers in the unorganized sector are often victims of increasing economic exploitation especially as consequences of globalisation. Experts have pointed out that informal sector - or the unorganised sector as it is called in India - generates about 62 percent of GDP, 50 percent of gross national savings, and 40 percent of national exports. Social Security may be understood as measures designed to ensure that all citizens meet their basic needs (such as adequate nutrition, shelter, health care and clean water supply), as well as be protected from contingencies (such as child birth, child care, illness, disability, death, unemployment, widowhood and old age) to enable them to maintain an adequate standard of living consistent with social norms. The proposed workshop will be to critically look at various Bills on unorganised sector workers, to assess and assert state responsibility to provide social security in the unorganised sector and to strengthen the NGOs’ role as facilitators and campaigners, addressing issues of the unorganised sector. The workshop programme is for social activists, students, CBOs, NGOs and CSOs.

Legal Education Series Workshop on the Rights of Women
For the past several years a series of legal education workshop had regularly been undertaken by the Human Rights and Law Unit. The purpose of this workshop is to enable women to understand their legal rights in different areas of life. The workshop will also apprise the participants of the latest legislative developments and judicial pronouncements on women’s rights. Participants for this workshop are mostly drawn from NGOs, CBOs and others who are working especially with women and their empowerment issues in India.

Legal Education Series Workshop for Social Animators
The workshop is meant for social animators and others who are working with grassroots level organizations. The purpose of this programme is to equip the participants with general knowledge regarding Constitutional rights, Indian Penal Code, Criminal Procedure Code, Civil Procedure Code, Property laws, Personal Laws, Consumer Protection Laws, Compensation Laws, Labour Laws, etc. Participants are mostly drawn from NGOs, CBOs and individuals who are especially engaged with the socially and economically disadvantaged groups in society.

Legal Education Series Workshop on the Rights of SCs/STs
This workshop will highlight the Rights of SCs and STs and is being organised as part of the Legal Education series workshop. It is organized for social activists who are working for the empowerment of those living at the margins of society. The training will focus on the legal rights of the SCs/STs under the Constitution and other social legislations.

Workshop on the Status of Dalit Muslims in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Maharashtra
According to 2001 census, Muslims constitute approximately 13.4 per cent of the Indian population. The report of Sachar Committee set up by the Government of India has revealed the acute marginalized situation of the people of this social category and the exclusion of this community from the mainstream development processes India has witnessed in the last 60 years of independence. They have been left behind in all spheres of development, be it education, health, access to civic amenities, access to employment market and so on.
If we look at the social hierarchy of the Muslim society in India, we find that it is very much ridden with caste ideologies. Muslims who claim themselves as foreign descendants assert a superior status for themselves and are called Ashraf, which means ‘noble’. Descendants of indigenous converts are, on the other hand, known by the contemptuous term Ajlaf, which means ‘base’ and ‘lowly’ and most of the OBCs fall under this and are known as medium caste. The third group is Arjal, which means ‘degraded class’ or ‘lowest of all’.
Arjals are descendants of ‘untouchables’ of Hindu religions whose ancestors were not considered part of the Hindu four-fold social order. Their ancestors converted to Islam to escape their ostracized condition which they had to face from their own religion. However, the truth is that, despite their conversion to Islam, the social and economic condition of the mass of the arjal Muslims hardly changed, and they remained largely tied down to their traditional occupations. In fact, with them no other Muslims would associate and they are also forbidden to enter the mosque or to use the public burial ground (Ansari, 2004).
The proposed workshops in four states (Bihar, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh) are meant to disseminate the findings of the study being undertaken by ISI on Socio-economic situation of Dalit Muslims in four states.  The workshops aim to share the insights on the status of Dalit Muslims followed by discussions related to empowering this community in all spheres of development and accordance of Dalit status to this group by the Constitution of India.

National Training on Capacity and Leadership Building through Media
The national training-workshop will be organised only for those communities who have always been marginalized and discriminated (SC/ST/MBCs, Minorities and women) on the basis of caste, class, creed and ethnicity. It will be helpful for the academics, emerging writers, researchers and social activists who are working for the upliftment of Marginalized Communities. It would help the marginalized communities come to a shared understanding of the complex ground situation and the cause-effect dynamics that operate within and outside their communities. Their interactions with one another would create a sense of solidarity with other communities as discrimination and marginalization have been their common experience. It would also help them build upon their common experience rather than on their differences emanating from their social, religious and ethnic identities, which are manipulated by those having divisive vested interests. Self-emancipation and empowerment would entail resistance to the anti-human and anti-people forces destabilizing the communities thereby preventing them from making progress in their lives. It would also envisage the integration of the priority communities into the larger map of the country even while asserting their own identity in terms of their cultural ethos, values and strengths. It would give them a sense of pride that their communities have to play a major role in the process of nation building and that their past and present contributions can no longer be ignored.

Legal Education Series Workshop for Social Animators
As social activists and animators involve themselves with people's movements, there is growing realization that they need to equip themselves with knowledge of the laws of the land. The proposed workshop is mainly for those NGOs, CBOs and others who are working at the grassroots level to help them with knowledge on the legal rights under the Constitution and other welfare laws. It is organised for social activists and social animators working among the marginalised sections of society.

Training Workshop on Gender and Development in Ranchi
Women’s development invariably leads one to ask questions about gender and its manifestations in society. Since gender is a dynamic concept and since each one has multiple identities, we need to look at gender realities with multiple lenses. The target group for this workshop are students for male and female. The objective of the workshop is to provide participants with perspectives, tools and skills required for understanding and mainstreaming gender. The workshop will examine personal and social construction of gender in the Indian context.
The methodology will be participatory in nature and will build on participant’s own experiences and reflections through individual/ group exercises, studies, input sessions, role-plays, analysis of case studies etc.

One Day Workshop on Social Security for the Unorganized Sector
Social Security is a human right, a labour right, the right of workers who contribute to the national income. In the broad and lay sense of the term, it means overall security for a person in the family, work place and society in general. Workers in the unorganized sector are often victims of increasing economic exploitation. Experts have pointed out that informal sector or the unorganised sector as it is called in India - generates about 62 percent of GDP, 50 percent of gross national savings, and 40 percent of national exports. As they contribute more towards the prosperity and growth of economy they have more justifiable claim for social security as citizens. The proposed workshop will critically look at various Bills on unorganised sector workers, assess and assert state responsibility to provide social security in the unorganised sector, strengthen the NGOs role as facilitators and campaigners in addressing the issues of the unorganised sector.

As ISI is associated with social security now campaign since its inception as one of the founder members. The proposed workshop will be mainly addressed to social activists, students, Community Based Organisation, NGOs and civil society organisations.

National Seminar on Strategies for Sustainable Community Development
Many parts of India are facing major problems related to water shortage, natural resource depletion, rapid urbanization, environmental degradation, and widespread poverty. Millions of people still live without access to basic needs and with limited or no human rights. The problem is the access of people to jobs, resources, knowledge, land and money to purchase food. Given current resources, it is imperative that there should be development to help people and communities in an appropriate manner. It is also critical that promotion of social, economic, and gender justice be established. This national seminar shall aim at discussing and working out solutions appropriate to small communities. This will be conducted by invited organizations and/or individuals belonging to voluntary organizations, government bodies, village representatives, entrepreneurs, professionals - groups of the country. Participants in this seminar will explore several strategies that promote sustainable community development. 

Training Workshops on Gender and Development in Patna
The objective of the workshop is to provide participants with perspectives, tools and skills required for understanding and mainstreaming gender. The workshop will examine personal and social construction of gender in the Indian context. The target group for this workshop are social activists, both male and female. By analyzing the various institutions such as the household, community, market and the state, the programme will help evolve perspectives on development and strategies to counter the inter-linked forces of caste, class and patriarchy.

The methodology will be participatory in nature and will build on participant’s own experiences and reflections through individual/ group exercises, studies, input sessions, role-plays, analysis of case studies etc.

Principles of Accountancy and Financial Management
The training programme is organized for social activists, faith based organisations, community based organizations, NGOs and civil society organizations associated with Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes at various levels. Financial management is the spinal cord of any organisation. The continued growth of finance can only take us to a better future.  It is a  tool as well as a measure for the standards of accountability of an organisation.  Transparency and professional set of financial policies should be on any top organisation.  Uniformity and consistency in financial decisions is utmost required.  The highlights of the programme are as follows:  i) Financial Policies, Procedures & Systems ii) Proper Preparation of Budget  iii) Financial Review And Monitoring  iv) Legal And Statutory Compliance

Field Level Training-Workshop on Gender, Hunger and Food Security
Food insecurity and hunger problems have always been part of human existence. However, given the world food production scenario today, food insecurity and hunger need not remain so. And yet due to various reasons the problems persist. The causes are multiple and they are not completely revealed by facts and figures. Part of the explanation for the discrepancy is maldistribution of the food at household level, e.g. gender discrimination. Poverty, ignorance, absent or weak food policies, and discriminatory distribution of food are some of the commonly cited causes of hunger. If the causes of hunger are many, the solutions suggested for its eradication can be even more varied. The proposed training-workshop is meant to review the nature and extent of hunger problems in the region (Sultanpur district, UP where the study, “Social Dynamics and Determinants of Food Security” was carried out recently by the team proposing this workshop) as well as to analyze human rights to food from historical, legal, political, economic, and gender perspectives. Drawing on national legal and food policies, we will be discussing and examining the institutions and values which promote or interfere with women acquiring sufficient food; and the ways in which local efforts fit together to promote (or limit) freedom from hunger.