BRAND AMBASSADOR PROGRAMME - ART AND CULTURE
News: ICCR
plans to build its brand ambassador programme amongst foreign students in India
What's in the news?
● The
Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) is aiming at expanding the
country’s artistic and creative footprint globally, by tapping into the
experiences of foreign students studying here.
Key takeaways:
● According
to the latest All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) brought out by the
Ministry of Education, the number of foreign students enrolled in Indian higher
education institutions was 48,035 in
2020-21, a marginal dip from 49,348 in 2019-20.
● People
from more than 160 countries visit India to study.
● Nepal, Afghanistan,
Bangladesh, the U.S., the UAE, Bhutan, Sudan,
Nigeria, Tanzania, and Yemen were the countries from which majority of the
students came to India for studies.
Brand Ambassador Programme:
● Beginning
this year, the ICCR will start E-3, or
Exit Engagement Evenings with foreign students, beginning three or four
months before they finish their courses in various Central and State
universities, institutes like the National Institutes of Technology, and
agricultural colleges of the country.
● The
engagements would also include visits to
places of national importance.
Aim:
● It
hopes that the more than 48,000 foreign students here will be brand ambassadors
of India’s heritage, tourist
destinations, textiles, yoga, ayurveda, and craft.
Organizations involved:
● At
present, the ICCR has zeroed in on the Khadi
Commission, the Indian Tourism Development Corporation and the Department of
AYUSH to hold these evenings with the students.
● There
are plans to rope in Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation (TRIFED), which markets the produce and
products of tribal people.
● The
cultural body has already held discussions with the Ministries of Tourism,
Textiles, and AYUSH as well as various educational institutions on the schedule,
which will begin from the academic year 2023-24.
Significance:
● This
“soft diplomacy” is meant to spread
the India story when students go back to their home countries.
● After
the engagement evenings which would make them aware of the unique heritage and
the products available, these students are sure to go back and promote Indian
heritage and aspects of its unique culture.
Go back to basics:
India Alumni Portal:
● In
April 2022, ICCR launched a website called the India Alumni Portal as a
platform to connect with foreign
students around the world who have studied in India.
● The
portal is envisaged to be a single platform for all past and present foreign
scholars to register, interact, and maintain their Indian links.
● The
portal is aimed at helping past students reconnect with each other.
● ICCR
itself offers scholarships to over 6,000 students every year, and there are now
30,000+ ICCR alumni.
● Indian
missions abroad are now mandated to form alumni associations in the countries
they are present in, and organise activities inviting members to meet visiting
Indian dignitaries.
Indian Council for Cultural Relations:
● It
was founded in 1950 by Maulana Abul
Kalam Azad who was India's 1st Education Minister.
Ministry:
● It
is an autonomous body under the administrative control of the Ministry of External Affairs.
Objectives:
● To
actively participate in formulation and implementation of programmes and
policies relating to India’s external cultural relations.
● To
foster and strengthen mutual understanding and cultural relations between India
and other countries.
● To
promote cultural exchanges and develop relations with other countries and
people, national and international organizations in the field of Culture.