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10 May 2003
Dear Sir/Madam,
It gives us great pleasure to invite you to a cocktail reception
to formally launch Pratham UK, the UK chapter of Pratham (“Pratham”),
a coalition of community workers, corporate leaders, academics
and concerned global citizens dedicated to eradicating illiteracy
in India.
Jointly organised by Pratham and the Asian Business Association
(“ABA”) of the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry
(“LCC”), this event will be sponsored by Mr. Lakshmi
N. Mittal, Chairman, ISPAT International, and member, Pratham
India Education Initiative (“PIEI”) Board, and will
be held at the LCC in London on 27 May 2003 from 5.30 p.m.
to 7.30 p.m
.
Primary education is one of the biggest challenges facing
India today. Estimates indicate that over 50% of Indian children
in the primary school age group, i.e. over 70 million children,
are either not enrolled in school or are in school but not
learning and will eventually drop out. Established as a charitable
trust in Mumbai in 1994 with the initial support of UNICEF,
Pratham (meaning first in Sanskrit) has an ambitious goal:
to have every child in India in school…and learning well
by 2010.
Pratham has a simple and replicable model to achieve this
goal. Programmes are targeted at underprivileged children
and instructors are high school educated young women from
the local community. Classes are held either in a municipal
school, community space or at a teacher’s home. Since
inception Pratham has served over a million children and presently
has 10,000 volunteers reaching out to over 200,000 children
across 9 states in India.
Pratham’s potential to transform India’s future
is being widely recognised. The World Bank co-sponsored Global
Development Network Award rated Pratham as one of the three
"most innovative
development projects" in the world in 2001. Last year,
several leading industrialists from India, the US and the
UK came together to form PIEI, a corporate initiative to support
Pratham’s efforts.With the establishment of PrathamUK,
a charitable organisation incorporated in the UK, Pratham
is seeking to promote local awareness of its activities in
the UK. Mr. N. Vaghul, Chairman of
ICICI Bank, and Chairman of the PIEI Board, will be our keynote
speaker on this occasion.
Pratham is collaborating with the ABA to make this initiative
successful. The ABA aims to provide a forum for Asian businesses
in London to meet and develop skills needed to flourish in
today’s marketplace and is an important voice for the
Asian business community in London.
Event details are listed in the enclosed note. To confirm
your attendance, please call Sangeeta Chawla Joshi at 0207-722-9699.
You can also e-mail her at schawlajoshi@yahoo.com.
We would be honoured if you would participate in the formal
launch of PrathamUK. Your attendance at the event will inspire
us all and help Pratham to accomplish its ambitious goals.
Sincerely,
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Ujwal Thakar
CEO
Pratham India Education Initiative
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Subhash Thakrar
Chairman
Asian Business Association |
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Dr. Viral V. Acharya
Director
PrathamUK |
Lakshmi N. Mittal has pleasure
in inviting you to a reception
to mark the
Launch of PrathamUK
Tuesday 27 May 2003
5.30 p.m. to 7.30 p.m.
at the
Vintry Suite
The London Chamber of Commerce and Industry
33 Queen Street, London EC4R 1AP
Keynote Address
N. Vaghul
Chairman, ICICI Bank
Organisers
Asian Business Association
PrathamUK
Event Host
Lakshmi N. Mittal, Chairman, ISPAT International
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