Name & address: :

A.Maria James, Deepam, Thumpaly, Irenipuram-629197, Tamil Nadu, India
Email :majames22@yahoo.com Mobile :9443177824.

Date of Birth : 06-04-1959.

Formal educational qualification:

1. Post Graduate in sociology
2. Graduate in Law.

Present positions:

1. Founder and Director of Rural Uplift Centre, since 1981.
2. State Executive Committee member of Inter Agency Group-Tamil Nadu & Pondicherry
3. Kanyakumari District Chief Convenor of Social Action Movement Tamil Nadu & Pondicherry.
4. Founder & promoter of ‘Kanyakumari District Organic Farmers Association”
5. Legal Advisor for. Tirunelveli & Tuticorin Districts Beedi Workers Union
6. Managing Director, Micro credit Institute for Community Development.

Positions held in earlier period:

1. Trainers team (constituted by Ministry of Environment & Forest, Govt of India through CEE, Ahmadabad) member for Promotion of Environment Education in Schools in Tirunelveli, Tuticorin & Kanyakumari District.
2. Secretary of Kanyakumari District Relief & Rehabilitation Committee-(KRRC)
3. District Convenor for Flood relief Committee-2010, constituted by the Collector of Kanyakumari District.
4. State Convenor for Tsunami Housing Policy Committee, constituted by the Tamil Nadu NGOs network.
5. Member of the State Livelihood Committee constituted by Tamil Nadu Tsunami Relief Coordination Committee(TNTRC)
6. Trainer on Disaster Management & preparation of Disaster Management plan to nine Panchayat Union level “Disaster Management Committee members” and “District Disaster Management Committee members” of Kanyakumari District during the year 2009-2010.
7. Member of Women Victim Counsel at “All women Police station”, Valliyoor.
8. Member of Mobile Advisory Counsel, Kanyakumari District.
9. District Convener of Social Action Movement TN & Pondy, Kanyakumari Chapter
10. District Convener of Social Action Movement TN & Pondy, Tirunelveli Chapter
11. State executive committee member of Social Action Movement TN & Pondicherry.
12. Prefunding project appraisal (transport & communication) consultant for MIVA, The Netherlands.
13. District Chairman for Human Rights (three times), 324-B Lions District, Lions club International Cabinet Committee for two consecutive terms.

Areas of expertise:

      • Community Managed Disaster Risk Reduction,
      • Climate change adaptation,
      • Human Rights protection
     • NGO management
      • Conducting Capacity building training for NGOs .

Trainings:

1. Mainstreaming Sendai framework, Paris declaration (UNFCCC) and SDG New York declaration-Sphere India.
2. Middle Manager’s training on Rural Development by International Institute for Rural Reconstruction, Manila, Philippines.
3. Rehabilitation for the project affected –organised by World Bank.
4. Promoting Environment Education in Schools-Centre for Environment Education. New Delhi,
5. Societal Analysis & Community Development, Indian Social Institute, Bangalore, India
6. Financial Management of Non-profit making organizations, Cordaid, The Netherlands.

Participation in international events:

1. Crisis manager’s Trainers’ manual (for peace keeping force of UN) preparation meeting jointly organised by United Nations & European Union held at Rome 2002
2. World March 2000 for ensuring the rights of women
3. International Conference on Organic farming held at Lednice, Czech Republic (organised by European Union)
4. People’s Conference on South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, held at Colombo, Srilanka.
5. Participated and conducted seminars in the World Social Forum event Bombay, Asian Social Forum event-Hyderabad and Indian Social Forum at New Delhi.
6. Third session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction Cum World Reconstruction conference held at Geneva from 8th to 13th of May 2011 jointly organised by World Bank and United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction
7. Participated in the 11th conference of Parties jointly organised by Government of India & United Nations Convention on Bio-safety. Presented the recommendations on “Protecting bio-diversity, inclusion of dalits in relief & response during crisis” held from 8 - 19 October 2012 at Hyderabad.
8. Participated in the Human chain protest held at Birmingham, UK for withdrawal of world bank debt of third world countries.
9. Fourth session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction conference held at Geneva from 18th to 21st of May 2013 jointly organised by World Bank and United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction.
10. Organic Farming principles by “Agriculture, Man & Ecology”, The Netherlands
11. Community Managed Disaster Risk Reduction strategy- Cordaid, The Netherlands.
12. “Rights of the victims of Natural disasters” jointly organised by National Disaster Management Authority of India and All India Disaster Mitigation Institute, Ahmadabad at New Delhi in 2010
13. “Livelihood resilience of the victims of floods” held in Malaysia organised by Wetlands international 2011
14. Protecting the rights of the Flood victims jointly organized by Cordaid, The Netherlands, National Disaster Management Institute of India, and All India Disaster Mitigation Institute

Trainings conducted:

State and National level trainings conducted for NGOs on

1. National Disaster Management Act, its implication and challenges
2. Compliance of various legislations/rules (FCRA, IT act, Employees provident fund & Miscellaneous Act, Societies registration Act etc) by NGOs.
3. Community Managed Disaster Risk Reduction, Disaster response and compliance of Core Humanitarian Standards.