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About Us
get to know us
We are here to empower and support marginalized women.
The Shanta Foundation, founded by Shanta Nepali, is an organization based in Kathmandu, Nepal, dedicated to using the arts for positive social impact and empowerment. With a strong belief in the transformative power of storytelling, the foundation aims to support young women from marginalized communities in realizing their dreams and potential in fields like media and the creative industry.
The foundation’s programs and initiatives address a range of social issues, including education, health, environmental sustainability, and social justice, with a focus on marginalized communities. By collaborating with artists, organizations, and community groups, the foundation fosters creativity and utilizes the arts as a means of social engagement and empowerment.
Through their work, the Shanta Foundation seeks to bridge gaps, unite people, and inspire action towards creating a more just and inclusive society. They invite individuals to join their journey, explore their projects, and contribute to the vision of a world where everyone, regardless of background, can fulfill their aspirations and make a positive impact on society.
Approach
We use arts for social impact and empowerment through a multifaceted approach.
The foundation is particularly dedicated to supporting young women from Dalit and marginalized communities who aspire to succeed in fields like media and the creative industry. By providing resources, mentorship, and opportunities, the Shanta Foundation aims to empower these women to realize their dreams and potential.
Shanta Nepali, the founder of the foundation, recognizes the power of storytelling in understanding society and amplifying voices. The foundation harnesses the art of storytelling across various mediums such as film, photography, and other creative practices to address social issues and inspire positive change within communities.
The Shanta Foundation collaborates with artists, organizations, and community groups to foster creativity and facilitate the use of arts for social engagement. By working together with diverse stakeholders, they create a network of support and resources to maximize their impact.
The foundation’s programs and initiatives are designed to tackle a range of social issues, including education, health, environmental sustainability, and social justice. They recognize that the arts can serve as a powerful tool to raise awareness, bridge gaps, and inspire action in these areas.
The Shanta Foundation aims to contribute to the creation of a more just and inclusive society. By focusing on marginalized communities and amplifying their voices, they strive to promote equality, empowerment, and social justice.
Our team
GET TO KNOW OUR TEAM
Shanta Nepali
Founder
Shanta Nepali is the founder and CEO of Shanta Nepali Productions. A highly accomplished and multi-talented filmmaker based in Kathmandu, Nepal, Shanta has a strong understanding of news media and over a decade of experience in television production. Her years of work and experience in journalism and television led her path to the creative industry in Nepal and internationally. Her work is characterized by a unique visual storytelling style and focuses on a wide range of subjects, including adventure, travel, lifestyle, sports, human rights, and social issues. Her work have been screened at both local and international networks, such as the Discovery Channel, Travel Channel, Animal Planet, and Nat Geo.
With Shanta Foundation, she wants to use the transformative power of the arts to create positive social impact and inspire change within communities by working with artists, organizations, and community groups to foster creativity and facilitate the use of the arts as a tool for social engagement and empowerment.
As an avid adventurer, Shanta often incorporates her experiences into her work, from climbing mountain peaks to riding motorbikes through the Himalayas. She is deeply committed to amplifying marginalized communities voices through her work. She is the founder of Nepali Female Filmmakers, an initiative that facilitates collaborations, workshops and training for female filmmakers. She has volunteered as Nepal Manager with In Your Hands working for education of underprivileged children, and served as the vice president of The Mandala Organization. She has also worked extensively with Nepal Human Rights International Film Festival and Human Rights Film Center.
Shanta is an alumni of One World Media in the UK and a graduate of the Biratnagar Film Workshop. She has been mentored by accomplished filmmakers and writers such as Deepak Rauniyar and Aasha Magrati. She holds a Masters of Arts degree in Rural Development and a Bachelors of Arts degree in Travel and Tourism and Documentary Filmmaking Course from London Film Academy.
Presca Udas
Development Director
Presca is a dedicated educator with a strong background in the non-profit sector, adept at aligning value creation with organisational goals, missions, and practices. Her expertise lies in developing ideas, programs, and implementation strategies for education-based projects and academics. In addition, she possesses a comprehensive understanding of media, including program production, public relations, and communications.
Presca’s involvement in the inclusive education and disability sector has provided her with valuable knowledge on teaching and inclusive education technicalities and enhanced her program management skills. Working in the development sector has allowed her to acquire skills in mobilising and managing resources, providing a multisectoral approach, and developing proposals for grants.
With her experience in the media field, Presca has gained insights into analysis how media reflects, represents, and influences society. Furthermore, this experience has greatly enriched their practical skills in professional communication, public relations/communication planning, and public speaking.
Presca is also a creator/initiator of the lage childvserse which deals with mental wellbeing
Puja Yadav
Cheif Strategy and Impact Officer
At Shanta Foundation, Puja is focused on leading the foundation’s overall strategy, program design, partnerships, resource development, communication, brand, innovation, MERL, and advocacy.
Puja Yadav’s work is rooted in gender equality, good health and well-being, and climate action in the context of marginalised communities. She founded Humans of Medico, a story-sharing platform for people in the health and medical field to share their ideas and stories and spark meaningful conversations on healthcare challenges systematically marginalised communities face. As a diminutive grant winner from the Women Deliver Young Leaders program for an advocacy project, she recently worked as a project lead to advocate for effectively representing marginalised community women’s voices in the local government.
As an aspiring filmmaker, she is exploring visual storytelling to better understand and communicate ideas and life experiences that shape our world. She is an avid reader, an amateur writer, and loves spending time in nature. Puja is also a Starling Collective Fellow by Giving Tuesday, Women Deliver Young Leader, alumna of Moth Personal Storytelling Workshop, in partnership with UN Women and Gograha Film Workshop 2021 Cohort. Puja recently completed her undergraduate in business and management from UWE-Bristol.
Deepak Rauniyar
Advisor
A former critic, he became the first Nepali filmmaker to compete at a major international film festival. His debut, Highway World, premiered at the Berlinale 2012 and also played at Locarno Film Festival. His second White Sun premiered at the 2016 Venice Film Festival to rave reviews and screened worldwide (Toronto, Busan, Locarno, Rotterdam), winning awards at Venice, Singapore, and Palm Springs film festivals. Nepal’s official selection for the 90th Academy Awards Best Foreign Language Film was the film. The New York Times described Rauniyar as one of “The 9 New Directors You Need to Watch.” He is an alumnus of the Toronto and Berlinale Talent Campuses and the Cannes Cinéfondation program. He has served as a jury member at Locarno and Sydney Film Festivals and Asia Pacific Screen Awards
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