In Nepal, the number of organizations advocating for free-market solutions are few and far between. The country is plagued with issues of poverty, populism, and government coercion that limit the opportunity for everyday Nepali citizens to thrive. There is a massive need for an effective tool to educate Nepalis about the values of liberty; that’s where Bikalpa, an Alternative (Bikalpa) comes in.
Bikalpa has won Atlas Network’s 2019 Asia Liberty Award for its success in promoting the ideas of freedom throughout Nepal with its series of compelling and popular video series, which reveals the destructive results of big government while highlighting the positive impacts of free enterprise through an extremely popular and effective medium. The Regional Liberty Award is made possible through the continued generous support of the John Templeton Foundation.
“Video has become an integral part of every communication strategy across all sectors,” explained Basanta Adhikari, founding director of Bikalpa. “Quality visual contents have become imperative for proper communication and effective promotion of ideas. Therefore, Bikalpa aims to sensitize and empower individuals through producing effective visual content on different policy issues and advance change through it. In recent years, our video-making project has been one of the core activities of Bikalpa and it has helped to build the reputation and the visibility of our organization.”
Bikalpa has been involved in high-quality video production for some time; coming in as a finalist in Atlas Network’s Lights Camera Liberty 2017.
Bikalpa's video, Why is Nepal poor?
The persuasive power of these videos is evidenced by the more than 6.7 million views they’ve received through more than 116,000 shares on various social media platforms. And not one of these views came through a paid promotion, each one represents someone making the choice to educate themselves about real solutions to the real problems Nepal faces today.
The videos from Bikalpa’s YouTube channel cover a wide variety of issues relevant to freedom in Nepal; issues like violation of private property by the government in the name of public works, the lack of accountability for many Nepali lawmakers, and tightening restrictions on private schools. Other videos on the channel include brief discussions by Bikalpa staff which deal with questions like “Why is Nepal poor?” These explain the importance of a responsible citizenry and private property rights.