Image courtesy of Scottish Enterprise
David Cameron yesterday took the time to praise the Common Purpose programme, Dishaa, which strengthens relations between leaders in India and the UK.
The British Prime Minister was speaking at the Commonwealth Business Conference on 23 July, which ran prior to the opening ceremony of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, and focussed on the role of the Commonwealth in promoting social empowerment and economic growth.
Asked by Adirupa Sengupta, Chief Executive of Common Purpose Asia-Pacific, about the importance of the UK's relationship with India, Mr Cameron spoke about Dishaa, a Common Purpose programme which expands, enriches and energises relations between India and the UK.
'As Dishaa shows, this is not just a business to business, commerce to commerce relationship - it's a political relationship, it's a diplomatic relationship, it's a cultural relationship and contains a lot of people to people contacts.'
Dishaa was launched in Bangalore, India, July 2010 by the Prime Minister himself. The programme took 40 emerging leaders from India and the UK and got them to address a set Challenge:
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Common Purpose has continued to run the programme, tackling a new Challenge each year. The programme emphasises innovation and collaboration between cultures. The next Dishaa will take place in January 2015, in the city of Ahmedabad, where the UK Government has made a commitment to expand its presence.
Common Purpose has been committed to developing relationships and improving collaboration within the Commonwealth. Since 2013, in partnership with HRH Duke of Edinburgh Commonwealth Study Conferences, our CSCLeaders programme, has brought together 100 senior leaders from across the Commonwealth to tackle challenges that businesses, governments and society face today, and to build the global relationships needed by the leaders of tomorrow. In 2015, the programme will address the Challenge: 'What makes a city smart?'
And recently, in partnership with the Royal Commonwealth Society, 33Fifty, our leadership development programme for young people in the Commonwealth was hosted in Glasgow and Edinburgh, and tackled the issue of how to progress low-carbon economies. 33Fifty was part of the official educational legacy programme of the Commonwealth Games.
