Akanksha Awasthi
Akanksha Awasthi is a development practitioner and participatory facilitator currently working with Gram Vikas, a leading grassroots rural development organization in Odisha, India, working towards improving the quality of life of marginalized communities through community-led and participatory development approaches. Her work focuses on strengthening community-led systems across sanitation & health, education, and youth engagement through reflective and participatory approaches.
With experience working closely alongside implementation teams and rural communities, Akanksha is interested in understanding how programmes move beyond delivery to create meaningful and lasting change. She is particularly drawn to facilitation as a space for dialogue, reflection, and collective learning. Her practice also explores theatre, storytelling, art, and writing as tools for bringing unheard voices into conversations around development, participation, and inclusion. Through her sessions, Akanksha brings grounded field perspectives, systems thinking, and a deep curiosity about how people experience change within communities and institutions.
SPEAKING TOPICS INCLUDE:
Education Beyond Literacy
What Tribal Youth Teach Us About Education
When Schooling Doesn’t Mean Learning
Education, Identity & Aspiration in Rural India
Sanitation Beyond Infrastructure
Why Toilets Alone Don’t Change Health Outcomes
Behaviour Change Beyond Awareness Campaigns
Young Women in Social Sector
From participation in the field to leadership in the system- examining how young women experience and navigate structures, power, and opportunities in the social sector.
Akanksha combines good thinking with deep care for the people around her. She doesn’t just accept things at face value — she questions assumptions, looks at problems from multiple angles, and consistently brings clarity where there is confusion. In the three years I have seen her at Gram Vikas, what has impressed me most has been her ability to connect with people. This is a capability very critical for the kind of work she has chosen. She goes beyond surface-level fixes, working at the root of issues, striving for a combination of depth and precision.
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