Priyakee Gupta: Division divides/-

Division divides/-
(turncoat approach)

What else is division supposed to do anyway? The foreigners who managed to invade us and decamp away with our wealth could do so because they did not endure or encounter a joint unified force again them.  We were disharmonious and disjoint, propelled by individual interests and entities. The British the last of them all, made hay while the sun shone. Their policy was to ‘divide and rule’ and they succeeded.

After independence, we thought there would be one India but separate lists were created to segregate us into scheduled casts,  tribes and the so-called general ones.  Unwittingly, we built barriers instead of bridges. The plea of ‘one nation one voice’ still stands unaddressed because India speaks in many languages, many of which we do not understand.

TURNCOAT
Division divides! Does it?
Incidentally, the quotient of division is obtained by the process of multiplication! Eg. to divide 27 by 3, one would have to multiply 3 by 9. Why should we thus deduce that division divides?

Remember when we were not free?  Irrespective of our varied casts and communities; religion and language,  did we not rise together against the British? On the call of our great Mahatma Gandhi, did we not sweep our country with a fervour of non-violence and ultimately drive the aliens out?

Even to this day, we experience inclusiveness in our diversity. We respect those who are different and acknowledge their contribution to our lives. They have multiplied our joy and enriched our existence. The different festivals that we get to celebrate in India, is just an example. I am sure you agree!

Whether division divides or multiplies, on the metaphysical plain, thus remains a subjective perspective...just as beauty lies in the eye of the beholder. Happiness divided/shared is happiness multiplied they say.

- Priyakee Gupta <priyakee@gmail.com>

UK degree equivalence issue in India; New Bridge course solution & why it is still a half measure… one destined to fail

UK degree equivalence issue in India; New Bridge course solution & why it is still a half measure… one destined to fail.
At this time, some students desperate for a job in India with the government or to pursue PhD in India will have this new option of the bridging course but over a period of time this bridge course is bound to fail and there will be hardly any interest. A student who has studied overseas will not want to have spent money on something that will require him to come back and then do a further study…

This brings me to the thought that what India has decided as an option for UK degrees is simply because UK lobbied. It should have just made it an option for all the less than two year degrees from around the world and then it would have had more takers. The once it has no takers, the program will be dropped and momentum lost but UK degrees will then remain branded as inferior in content to the Indian degrees. Which is far from the truth, as we all know…
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RLS's Blog:

One Award Alliance

The project is evolving rapidly from theory into practice; the thrust of the strategy has become more definitive and more streamlined; the tools are on trial; all will be presented at Forum 2012 in Malta.


The ‘One Award Alliance’ is our strategy for improving and growing the International Award. It will improve the profile and perception of the charity by making it clearer and more consistent; it will improve the charity’s capacity to grow by making the way we run it fit for the foreseeable future; it will also improve the charity’s ability to manage the quality of experience for participants in International Award programmes.


The Intended Outcome is to offer present and future members of the International Award Association a significantly better sense of identity, purpose and capability which will engage with and embrace the International Award family in a more relevant and meaningful way.


The Objectives of the project are to help the IAA realise its ambition to make the International Award the leading youth achievement award, principally by adopting an appropriate business model to help apply rigour and discipline in the way we:

• own, manage, protect, develop and value our business format; build capacity to deliver and grow
• define the charity’s brand platform and position; enhance the look, feel and visual identity; achieve clarity, consistency and leadership throughout all our communications, especially digital media
• ensure our quality assurance by measuring the success of our vision through our performance, impact and outcomes

The Key Deliverables have evolved from ideas into practical tools which, with the approval of the International Council, are being further developed through a limited number of trials. The tools and their objectives are:

• Licensing and Standards Framework – revised to better promote, provide and preserve our brand; give clarity to all operators and authorities about roles and responsibilities; enable NAAs to increase the number and variety of operational licence holders and delivery partners; generate funds through appreciation of the value of the brand and managing it
• Visual Identity – redesigned to re-capture value in our brand; unify our image, create clarity and consistency; transfer greater value to Award achievers
• Online Award Management System – developed to deliver real-time performance measurement and management information; enable capacity to grow and deliver; enhance quality experience and assurance
• Research Template – created to enable consistent research across the IAA; to measure outcomes (life skills Award holders might attain by participating) against essence and vision; to measure impact (wider effect of Award on society) in nine areas; to demonstrate our effectiveness more meaningfully with supporters and partners
• Training Modules – new training materials to reflect and support the OAA objectives and tools; new methods including online tools to give volunteers more confidence to get started and to progress

The overall benefit of the ‘One Award Alliance’ is to help present and future operators and authorities to reach out to and cope with more participants, to give them a quality experience and to enable more to achieve an Award which will have international credibility and recognition.


The implications of the ‘One Award Alliance’ are that while the Award Programme stays unchanged the ways in which it is presented, managed and measured will change. This is evolution rather than revolution, with the tools and objectives outlined above being welcome and necessary to take the charity into the 21st century and fit for the foreseeable future.


For further information about the project please contact Stephen De-Wint by e-mail stephen.dewint@intaward.org or via Skype, Id: stephen.dewint or telephone +44 20 7222 4242.