UK offers young women the chance to be 'High Commissioner for the day'
The UK is celebrating the International Day of the Girl Child on 11 October, by opening its doors and offering young women the chance to be High Commissioner for the day.
British High Commissioner to India, Sir Dominic Asquith, today launched the competition by calling on young women aged 18 to 23 to submit a short video on social media answering the question ‘What does Gender Equality mean to you?’ and tagging @UKinIndia.
The winner will be given an opportunity to take over as High Commissioner for a day in the month of October 2018. She will accompany Sir Dominic throughout a normal day’s work, attending meetings with senior High Commission staff, partners and the media, and getting involved in a wide range of High Commission work.
Sir Dominic Asquith said:
We want to celebrate this important day by demonstrating to young women that anything is possible, and giving them a platform to talk about the important issue of girls’ rights.
I learnt a huge amount from last year’s winner, Rudrali Patil, and I know that the experience made her even more motivated to help bring about a change in the lives of many others. I am delighted that we are running this competition again and look forward meeting this year’s winner.
Last year’s competition winner, Rudrali Patil of Amity university said:
On the International Day of the Girl Child, the British High Commission recognised my work and helped me to bring about a change in the lives of many girls. Being born as a girl is a privilege and being recognised as the High Commissioner for a day has been a honour.
Gender equality is a key priority for the UK government globally. The UK in India regularly partners with civil society, academia, government and most importantly girls themselves across India to raise awareness about their rights.
Terms and Conditions to participate:
The competition is open to young Indian women aged 18 to 23 years.
Submit a short video answering the question ‘What does Gender Equality mean to you?’. Share your video and tag us on: Facebook: @BHCIndia, Twitter: @UKinIndia, Instagram: @UKinIndia. Use the hashtag #DayoftheGirl in your post.
Only one entry per participant will be accepted. Multiple entries from the same person will be disqualified.
By participating in the contest, you transfer the copyright ownership of videos to the British High Commission (BHC). BHC can use it to produce content in future for its channels.
Please don’t share your personal details either via video or post/tweet. BHC is not responsible for the data that you make public on these platforms.
Competition is open from 28 August to 23 September. A jury at the British High Commission will select the winner. Winner will be announced on our social media channels.
British High Commission’s decision as to the participants and selection of winners is final. No correspondence relating to the above will be entertained.
[British High Commissioner to India Sir Dominic Asquith on International Day of the Girl Child (https://youtu.be/oLtrXrdfKKU)
Further information
Last year’s winner Rudrali Patil aims to pursue higher studies in Law and then return to her home town - Latur in Maharashtra to become a social entrepreneur. In the past 2 years, she has taken up the cause of Rights of Adolescent Girls in Rural India and organised several Save the Girl Child programmes through gender sensitisation camps. As the High Commissioner, she held meeting with directors across the network, visited different departments of the High Commission and participated in a discussion on women and girls in India. The High Commissioner, Sir Dominic Asquith was also present in these meetings. She also attended an external meeting on foreign and security policy in India.
She accompanied the then Deputy High Commissioner, Dr Alexander Evans to the Delhi University for a ‘Chat with a Diplomat’ programme, where she expressed her views on girls’ rights and their importance. She also interacted with a group of journalists to share her experiences being the High Commissioner for a day.
The International Day of the Girl Child has been observed since 2012. It is marked around the world as an opportunity to highlight the need to promote girls’ rights and highlight gender inequalities that remain between girls and boys. It is a United Nations observance that is annually held on October 11.
In 2016 and 2017, British High Commission sent an Indian delegation of women leaders and activists to the UK to share ideas on gender equality and access to justice. The BHC also funded and facilitated the training of 660 Dalit female community paralegals on their legal rights and helped rehabilitate women survivors of burn violence. It has also worked with UK brands to raise female worker’s awareness of their rights; this has benefited 14000 workers across 13 garment factories.
UK’s Department for International Development worked with three state governments to improve the health and nutritional practices of over 2 million women. The ‘Work in Freedom’ regional programme promotes safe recruitment for domestic and garment workers and has benefitted 100,000 women across 6 states. DFID’s wider programmes in India continues to support a range of activities that have a positive impact on the lives of women and girls across India. This includes support for Indian government’s education and health programmes that help to deliver India’s Right to Education Act, the Domestic Violence Act and promote non-discriminatory access of poor women to flagship schemes and Acts such as Employment Guarantee and Forest Rights.
Media
For media queries, please contact:
Sally Hedley, Head of Communications
Press and Communications, British High Commission,
Chanakyapuri, New Delhi 110021
Tel: 24192100; Fax: 24192400
Mail to: Upendra Singh
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Last updated 19 September 2018 + show all updates
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Extended deadline
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First published.