Equal Community Foundation (ECF)

Equal Community Foundation (ECF), started with a mission to raise every boy in India to be gender equitable, addresses gender-based violence by involving boys as part of the solution. ECF's present mission is to empower individuals across India to create a gender-inclusive and equitable society. Since its inception, ECF has been implementing a comprehensive Gender-Transformative Programme in Pune's low-income communities, directly engaging over 9,000 adolescents and reaching more than 10,000 through collaborations with organizations such as UNESCO, ICRW, and DIET, Pune. Currently, ECF works with adolescents of all genders in these communities, focusing on Human Rights, Gender Equality, Gender based violence, Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights and Healthy Relationships as key themes. Over the past seven years, ECF has built the capacity of more than 90 NGOs and trained over 915 field facilitators on the approach of working with boys. Additionally, it has provided training to over 950 students from 22 social work colleges across India. In the corporate sector, ECF has conducted intensive workshops for employees at Bridgestone India and the Canadian Consulate and led awareness sessions for HSBC employees. It has also partnered with UNESCO to engage over 200 educators, policymakers, and young civil society leaders from Sri Lanka and the Maldives, focusing on peacebuilding and promoting equality in their communities.