Pratham UK launches 'Understanding India' discussion series
London, 2 October 2009

Friday 2nd October 2009, Christies, London saw the launch of a pioneering series of discussions, 'Understanding India', by the UK arm of Pratham, an international charity initiated by UNICEF and dedicated to helping under privileged children in India with reading, writing and basic arithmetic. Pratham’s mission is to have “every child in India in school and learning well”. Since 2008-09, Pratham enhanced literacy amongst 31 million children living in rural areas in approximately 355,000 villages in India – more than half of the UK’s population - and 350,000 children in 43 urban cities.

The Understanding India Discussion Series aims to pioneer a new philosophy and generate a new breed of philanthropists with an interest in India. The inaugural topic of the discussion was in line with Pratham's core focus of education - 'How relevant is education and entrepreneurship to India's future?’ The date of 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 line-up of international and national public figures including entrepreneur Vikrant Bhargava, Anshu Jain of Deutsche Bank, TV personality and 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 forum was preceded by a display of Indian and Islamic art to be sold at auction later by Christies.

About Pratham

Since 1994, Pratham, which began its journey in the slums of Mumbai, has had dramatic success in improving basic reading and maths in some states. The last two years have seen Pratham create a network of uncompensated village and community volunteers which has expanded nationally, with programmes now running in most states across India, making the charity the largest education NGO working to universalise primary education in India. Through its flagship Read India programme, Pratham has mobilised more than 450,000 volunteers across 22 states and trained around the same number of government school teachers in some states in learning enhancement programmes focused on basic literacy skills.

In March 2003, Pratham UK was established by a group of volunteers who have been associated with the charity’s movement for several years. The aim of the UK incorporated charity is to raise awareness and funds for Pratham’s programmes in India. Since its UK launch, the charity has raised significant sums of money through various sporting and social fundraising events. One of Pratham’s newest initiatives is the Pratham Young Professionals Network, a unique platform that encourages philanthropic endeavours amongst 3rd and 4th generations in the UK. Pratham also has international operations in the USA, Germany, Canada and UAE which provide fund raising support.

For more information please visit www.pratham.org.uk