DLF Foundation organized Annual Scholar’s Conclave in the capital today

GURGAON, India - March 24, 2015 - PRLog -- Taking a step forward in its contribution for the upliftment of the underprivileged children, DLF Foundation organized itsAnnual Scholars Conclave 2015 today at Air Force Auditorium, Subroto Park. The conclave was held under the aegis of its flagship initiative Talent Nurturing Program. Annual Scholar’s Conclave 2015 celebrated the scholarly endeavors and achievements of its students and included scholars/faculty/mentors narrating their educational progress and varied experiences. The conclave awarded and recognized the high achievers, partner schools, best teachers and mentors and resource person of their initiative.  Over 14 high achievers were awarded and recognized during the conclave with Plaque, Cash Awards and Certificate of Commendation.

The annual conclave is an opportunity for students, their faculty and mentors to share their scholarly journey. The Talent Nurturing Program works towards the education of children from disadvantaged and marginalized communities who often have to give up their education for lack of funds and family support. So far it has supported over 733 bright underprivileged rural and urban scholars, over 559 rural and urban school scholars hailing from very marginalized and low income families. Out of these over 334 rural school scholars have been helped to shift to reputed private schools with good infrastructure and academic performance from their local government schools. The rest are 174 professional scholars supported in the category of MBBS, Engg., IT, fine arts and sports. 45% of the scholars are girl children. 49 villages and 27 government schools in Gurgaon are covered in the school programme. In addition, five states including Haryana, UP, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Delhi are covered by the professional scholarship programme. DLF as a part of its corporate social responsibility spends 3 crores yearly in this initiative and is expected to increase in the coming year.

The conclave began with the ceremonial lighting of the lamp by Chief Guest Dr Leena Srivastava, Acting Director General, TERI and former Vice-Chancellor, Teri University, and Guest of Honor Air Marshal Kellor Denzil, CEO, Special Olympics, India and Mr. Baxala senior Vice President Human Resources, DLF Ltd.

While exhorting the remarkable efforts of the scholars, Dr Srivastava said, “India is one of the youngest country of the world and 20-30 years down the lane, India is going to lead the world. Right now we are facing lot of challenges, not having access to quality education is the biggest challenge that the children of rural areas face today. I appreciate DLF foundation’s efforts towards uplifting and educating these children who otherwise would not have found their way in to good public schools or professional colleges. It’s fascinating to see so much of talent accumulate from diverse backgrounds at one place today. My heartiest congratulations to all the students for the wonderful display of creativity and talent. I wish that you all will show your skill set to the world, find solutions to the challenges that our country is facing and prove to be the best leaders”.

While delivering the opening remarks, Mr. PK Joseph, Director Programmes said; “Bright talented underprivileged children studying in schools in the villages and urban slums face many challenges. First challenge is at School level.They cannot find here even the basic necessities of education like trained, regular and committed teachers. The school infrastructure lacks functional IT Labs & Science Labs, Teaching Aids and facilities for sports or games.  The Second Challenge is at the family level, there are Problems arising out of poverty and illiterate parents who neither can afford good private school education nor able to guide these brilliant kids. So these bright children lack access to guidance, coaching, mentoring, soft skill training, and career guidance which are essential to come out of their plight. Hence, DLF Foundation launched the Nurturing Talent Programme that works towards tackling all the above issues.

In his inaugural address, Lt. Gen (Retd.) Rajender Singh, CEO, DLF Foundation, stated, “Today we are celebrating the day which will recognize and acknowledge the talent of our future leaders. India has always been acknowledged for its talent, our country has given world class scientists, engineer, and doctors to the world. I hope our scholars will lead the country from the front and make us proud”.

Young achievers recounted their experiences as they were felicitated for academic excellence. Sonu Yadav, one of theScholar achiever who is awarded with the DLF's Raghvendra Scholarship, which helped him excel in school and sports.The scholarship covers the cost of Sonu’s school education including textbooks, study materials and transport from home. Sonu also receives Rs 3000 every year as stipend. Sharing his experience he said, “Because of the scholarship programme, I have gained more confidence. My academic and interpersonal skills improved tremendously through various programmes introduced by the Foundation in my school. Some of the programmes that I participate in are PTA meetings, annual scholar meets, one to one counseling sessions and talks by inspirational leaders.”

While expressing his gratitude towards DLF Foundation Sonu’s father Raghunandan Yadav,  said,  “Like other low income parents I, too, was overwhelmed by diminished self-esteem, depression, and a sense of powerlessness and inability to cope but the scholarship has touched and changed Sonu’s life who otherwise would have found it extremely difficult to pursue his dreams,”.

The following awards were conferred during the conclave

·         Scholar of the Year - Ms. Pooja Rani & Ms. Heena Rai

·         Best Partner School - Jhankar Sr. Secondary School, Gurgaon

·         Best Teacher -  Ms. Barnali Mukherjee , Drona Public School

         Ms. Helen , St. Paul’s School

         Ms. Chadni  , Jhankar Sr. Sec. School

·         Best DLF Sahyog Volunteer – Mrs. Parvinder Kaur & Mrs. Nidhi Passi

The evening took a dramatic turn with the dazzling cultural performances presented by young scholars brimming with enthusiasm. The highlight of the cultural performance was Chandalika, a riveting dance drama weaving in a story of an untouchable girl by scholars of Jhankar School.

The conclave saw the congregation of a record number of 800 DLF scholars, their parents, school principals, college faculties, DLF employee volunteers, institutional partners, youth workers and the media. The grand evening concluded with the proposed vote of thanks by Meenakshi Singh, Head Special Projects, DLF Foundation, and a rendition of the National Anthem.