Our Philosophy and Mission:

Man being the center of all evolution of the world, our efforts for changes and progress have to start, necessarily, from the individual, locally, immediately and collectively. These changes will have, automatically, a ripple effect on all institutions in the society. In the long history of transformations in governance, we have passed from the sovereignty of one man to popular sovereignty. From here, we have to arrive at a regime of personal sovereignty of the individual, where governance is possible only through individual’s consent and involvement, directly without heavy dependence upon political and bureaucratic middlemen. We aim at a knowledge-based society which constantly promotes human and social capital which permits this direct involvement of the individual. This would be the modern version of direct democracy. We envisage that such a society would be able to gradually replace political power by 'soft' power of effective communications and dialogue in the governance of all human relations. We would like to build alternative, voluntarily-chosen human affiliations and open communities of sharing and caring in the widest possible circles cutting across spatial and historical limitations. The individual permanently keeps the ultimate choice of freely defining his or her own destiny by liberating oneself from all 'chains', whether these chains are fixed before or after the birth.

Change in the quality of existence of the individual is considered to be the key to all development. In order to obtain such a qualitative change, various techniques of social engineering are to be deployed laying emphasis on ‘Self Reliance, Self Employment, Lifelong Self-Learning and Life-styles in harmony with Nature and Society’. In other words, this quest for self-perfection can be termed as ‘Integral Individualism’.

Mode of Operation:

The “International Foundation for Human Development (IFHD)” is a private, voluntary non-profit making organization working, as its title indicates for promoting a holistic approach to human development in all its dimensions.

Founded in 1993 in India, the Foundation has been laying stress upon working with voluntary efforts and free time of those who are or who have been productive members of the society.

Apart from direct action in limited areas, the ‘International Foundation for Human Development’ has as its mission to support and collaborate with individuals, institutions and organizations at local, national, regional and international levels for changes, along with the UN agencies wherever possible.

Our Partners:

Though rooted in the ground realities of Andhra Pradesh in India which has a population of nearly 80 million, the Foundation has networking and coordinating activities extended across Asia and the Pacific, particularly in South Asia, Africa and Europe. The following pages would reveal those ramifications and invite you to join us, as it would suit you.

Our Team:

Dr. Rao V.B.J. Chelikani
Chairman of the Board & Managing Trustee

Mr. P. Rajeswara Rao
Secretary

Trustees:

Mr. Vijay N. Rao
Ms. Aruna Kumari Chelikani

Advisors & Organisers:

Mr. V.V. Raghava Rao
Mr. P.S. Bhagawanulu
Mr. Syed Salman Ahmad
Mr. S. Lalith Prasad
Mr. M. Ramesh
Mr. Rajesh Kota
Mr. Rammohan Ganta
Mr. Syed Khaled Shah Chisti