Age: 29
Home Town: Guwahati, Assam
Education: MA Gender Studies, Ambedkar University Delhi
Specific Field Interests: Gender Equity, Development Communication, Research Advocacy and Social Inclusion
Placement: AIF Livelihoods (Disability Inclusion), Bengaluru, Karnataka
Area of Focus: DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion), Livelihoods, Communications for Social Impact
Fellowship Project: Creating a more inclusive workplace environment for persons with disabilities in India by developing a Disability Inclusive Place to Work certification program. This program will include criteria for organizations in disability inclusion, implementing assistive technologies, ensuring accessible physical infrastructure, reviewing existing policies, and increasing employment opportunities for persons with disabilities.
Highlights: Europa is a social impact professional with two years of experience in the development sector. She holds a Master’s degree in Gender Studies, reflecting her passion for exploring the intersections of gender, ethnicity, and labour, particularly within marginalized communities. She began her career with Goonj, a nonprofit organization, first as a Fellow and later as a Communication Specialist. As a Fellow, she managed urban operations in Mumbai and Hyderabad, organizing events, leading material collection drives to channel urban surplus toward rural development, and conducting menstrual health awareness sessions in both urban and rural settings. In rural spaces, she worked to challenge stigma around menstrual health while supporting communities in adopting essential hygiene practices and addressing broader development issues. She also contributed to the Missed Out Communities vertical, collaborating with partner organizations to address the needs of leprosy-affected individuals, gender and sexual minorities, sex workers, people living with HIV/AIDS, and tribal communities. In this role, she helped build awareness within Goonj through workshops and sessions on the challenges faced by these groups. As a Communication Specialist, Europa created blogs, human-interest stories, case studies, and social media campaigns to inform, engage, and mobilize audiences. Through this work, she developed a strong interest in communication as a tool for advocacy and social change. She hopes to delve further into the space of development communication through the Banyan Impact Fellowship. She is looking forward to working on promoting inclusive workplaces for people with disabilities by addressing barriers in workplace culture and policy, thereby enabling sustainable livelihood opportunities.
