Indrawattie Natram and Pandit Deodat Persaud, two young professional alumnus of the Know India Programme (KIP), were selected by India’s High Commission to represent Guyana virtually on the KIP dialogue forum scheduled for today.
The dialogue will be held at 19:00 hours India time.
Natram of Region Two, a journalist and radio broadcaster, and Pandit Persaud, a former Ethnic Relations Commissioner and Youth Leader from Region six, both said that they are excited to represent Guyana and deemed their KIP experiences to be life-changing. “It’s great to share my experience. Visiting India and tracing back my Indian ancestry was the greatest thing I did, it was a dream came through,” Natram said. As part of the programme, both Natram and Persaud visited India; Persaud on the 40th KIP in 2016, while Natram visited on the 44th KIP, November, 2017. Both will narrate their KIP programme’s experiences, including expanding on the personal, professional and cultural take aways from the programme.
Saturday’s dialogue is organized by the Diaspora Research and Resource Centre (DRRC) Antar Rashtriya Sahayog Parishad (ARSP) or the Indian Council for International Co-operation, New Delhi and lasts for 90 minutes. Participants are expected to give suggestions, where necessary, for further programme improvements especially on the session hosted by DRRC-ARSP.
The Know India Programme (KIP) was established by the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India and is a programme that allows members of the young India Diaspora to experience and indulge in the rich cultural heritage of India. The Ministry’s main objective is familiarizing the Indian Diaspora Youth, between the ages of 18-30 years, with developments and achievements happening in India and reconnecting the Indian diaspora closer to their ancestral homeland by providing a unique forum for students and young professionals of Indian descent to visit India, share their views, expectations, experiences, and bond closely with India. ARSP was established in 1978 as a non-profit, non-governmental and non-political organization to promote universal brotherhood and harmony, embodied in its motto, “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” or ‘the world is one family. Other participating countries which are homes to a large India diaspora include Mauritius, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, South Africa, and Reunion Island and their representatives will be on the said forum sharing their own experiences.
