Ms Ananya Bhattacharya
IAS Open Programme
Banglanatak Dot Com
Ananya Bhattacharya is the Co-Founder and Director of banglanatak dot com, a social enterprise headquartered in Kolkata, India, that fosters inclusive and sustainable development through culture-based approaches. With over 35 years of global work experience, she has been instrumental in protection and promotion of gender rights and safeguarding living heritage.
An engineer from Jadavpur University, Ananya later pursued a Master’s in Sustainable Development from Staffordshire University as a Commonwealth Scholar. She specializes in gender, culture, and sustainability and has led impactful initiatives across South Asia, focusing on gender based violence prevention, social and creative entrepreneurship, and the empowerment of women, youth, and artisans.
Ananya has spearheaded the Art for Life initiative, which has benefited over 60,000 tradition bearers through cultural tourism and creative enterprise development. She is actively engaged in global advocacy for integrating culture into sustainable development, serving on multiple international boards and forums, including ICHCAP, UNESCO’s Global Network of Facilitators, International Music Council, ICOMOS International Scientific Council on Cultural Tourism etc. .
A recognized thought leader, she has published extensively on intangible cultural heritage, creative industries, and community resilience. She regularly contributes to capacity-building programs for institutions such as INTACH Heritage Academy, British Council, School of Planning and Architecture Bhopal, Calcutta University etc.
Ananya’s work has received numerous accolades, including the Bihar Innovation Forum Award (2011) and the Jeonju International Award for Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage (2019). Passionate about harnessing culture for social transformation, she continues to champion heritage-driven development for empowering marginalised communities.
During their IAS Fellowship, Ms Bhattacharya will be collaborating with Professor Michael Wilson from the School of Design and Creative Arts.