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| Pratham UK launches 'Understanding India' discussions |
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Understanding India, a pioneering series of discussions with the aim to develop a new breed of philanthropists with an interest in India, was launched on 2 October 2009 at Christie's, London by charity Pratham UK. Pratham is an international charity initiated by UNICEF and dedicated to helping under privileged children in India with reading, writing and basic arithmetic. It's mission is to have "every child in India in school and learning well". The inaugural topic of the Understanding India discussion was: 'How relevant is education and entrepreneurship to India's future? The event coincided with the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, who had pledged to universalise primary school education. Chaired by Jo Johnson, Editor of Lex, Financial Times, the panellists comprised a prestigious line-up of high profile international and national public figures and personalities which included entrepreneur Vikrant Bhargava, Anshu Jain of Deutsche Bank, TV personality and eminent businessman Suhel Seth and Paddy Walker of J Leon Group. Also on the panel was Co-Founder and CEO of Pratham, Dr Madhav Chavan who was instrumental in building the concept of a "societal mission" for universal primary education in India through Pratham. The event was attended by Prathams key donors and partners, high net worth philanthropists, pre-eminent writers, corporate CEOs, captains of business and industry, marketing gurus and individuals, serious collectors of Indian art, representatives from foreign policy and research organisations based in London and Members of Parliament. The forum was preceded by a display of Indian and Islamic art to be sold at auction later this week by Christies and was followed by a Q&A session with the esteemed panellists. The event was generously sponsored by Taj Hotel Resorts & Palaces and 51 Buckingham Gate. The discussion provided a healthy exchange of ideas and opinions and explored several issues pertaining to education in India and the changes the country has seen in economic prosperity and influence as a result of entrepreneurialism and the provision of education. The panelists also engaged in conversations that challenged the status quo, questioning the political and social consensus and structure of the Indian government and how this has stifled the universalisation of education in India. Discussion was also divided with a split of opinions on the rise in NRIs and Indian born academics venturing West for new business opportunities. Anshu Jain made a poignant comment relating to the pool of talent India has, stating: "There are definitely talents from India. When Deutsche Bank started to recruit from India for the capital market franchise team, all the new recruits from India were within the top 10 in the group of 90 in the final examination. India does have talents and top end institutions; however it does not mean that there is no problem with the education system. There are talents in India and they need top end institutions to nurture the talent." Speaking about the launch of the Understanding India Discussion Series, Vilas Gadkari, Chairman, Pratham UK comments: "Prathams pioneering work has demonstrated how active support and campaigning can offer children a better and enriched future. "Pratham believes that knowledge and information can empower and motivate potential givers. An event such as this helps to quantify the impact charitable giving can make to the lives of others, and reveal the urgency and scale of need. We are nearly half way to reaching our goal of enhancing literacy amongst 100 million children in India and we call upon everyone to join our movement and support Pratham in actualising its ambition and changing the lives of children." Related Articles:
Last update: 07-10-2009 14:53
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