Harvard Kennedy School will celebrate the life and legacy of Indian activist Ela Bhatt at an event organised on 21 September 2023 at Ellwood Democracy Lab on campus as well as through an online broadcast.
Ela Ramesh Bhatt (1933 – 2022) founded the Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) cooperative in India in 1972, and served as its general secretary until 1996. As a lawyer, academic and international labour activist, she championed the micro-finance movement in India, especially for women workers. The Ahmedabad-born activist was the recipient of a host of awards and honours, including the Ramon Magsaysay Award, Niwano Peace Prize, and the Padma Bhushan by the Government of India.
She was also granted honorary doctorate degrees from Harvard University, Georgetown University and Université libre de Bruxelles, and a Radcliffe Medal for her efforts in uplifting women. The Harvard Kennedy School event invitation commends her “for her Gandhian values, visionary ideals, pioneering work, and quiet centered humanity.”
Bhatt was part of The Elders, a group of world leaders convened by Nelson Mandela in 2007 to contribute their wisdom and leadership to tacking some of the world’s biggest problems. The group included Desmond Tutu, Kofi Anan, Graca Machel Gro Harlem Brundtland, Hina Jilani, and Mary Robinson, among several others.
Bhatt was cofounder of Women’s World Banking in 1979 and served as its chair from 1980 to 1998. She also served as chair of the International Alliance of Street Vendors. She was one of the board directors of the policy network WIEGO (Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing) and a trustee of the Rockefeller Foundation.
The 21 September 2023 tribute at Harvard Kennedy School, titled Ela Ramesh Bhatt: A Gentle Revolutionary – A Harvard Celebration of Her Legacy, marks the UN International Day of Peace. Those who wish to join virtually can RSVP through Zoom.
Speakers include:
- Marty Chen, lecturer at Harvard Graduate School of Design, and cofounder of WIEGO
- Sachit Balsari, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
- Jacqueline Bhabha, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
- Mirai Chatterjee, SEWA
- David Ellwood, Harvard Kennedy School
- Isabel Guerrero, Harvard Kennedy School
- Renana Jhabvala, SEWA
- Michael Walton, Harvard Kennedy School
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