Qualifications: 

MA in Public Policy and Governance, Azim Premji University, 2023

BA in Humanities with minor in Development and Sustainability, Azim Premji University, 2019

Email : ria.philip@dakshin.org

Profile:

Ria’s undergraduate years at APU changed her in two ways – 1) sharing a campus and learning together with students from diverse socio-economic backgrounds for the first time, she became aware of the inequalities along caste, class and gender in the world she had grown up in, and 2) with running, swimming and playing having been an integral part of her school life, she was quickly pulled to the sport of Ultimate Frisbee popular on the campus. She saw how the game became a space for students across backgrounds to connect, and realized that ‘play’ could be one way in which she could use her strengths to help bridge social inequalities.

In her Masters, she studied the coastal ecosystem for the first time, which reminded her of the happiness and peace she had experienced visiting the beach during her childhood in Kerala. As part of a group research project she explored the effects of climate variability on the livelihoods of women working in the fish-drying industry in coastal Karnataka.

As part of the Sport and Community Wellbeing Program at Dakshin, she hopes to help create supportive spaces for youth from coastal communities, especially young women, to navigate environmental and social issues around them.