Welcome! (And itinerary for the trip)

Welcome to my India blog! “Namaste!”

The Taj Mahal, which I'll be visiting soon!

Chennai, India, where I'll be for 3 weeks

Photo of Chennai City

India is a fascinating, mind-blowing and often unsettling country. I’ve always wanted to go there and experience it for myself, and now I get to do just that, for 6 weeks, for free (!!!), thanks to “The Prime Minister’s Global Fellowship”. Yay!

The Fellowship is run by the British Council, and sends 100 young people to India, Brazil or China every year, to learn about the globalised nature of the world, and the significance of globalisation for businesses, governments and people. The 100 people going this year (including me) are the first Global Fellows ever, and this scheme is also unique in the world! This makes it all really exciting for us Fellows! We’ve already met lots of important people from government and business, received a personal video message from Gordon Brown, toured The Shell Centre, and, the icing on the cake, received FREE 12 mega-pixel digital cameras! Wow! It’s fair to say, we feel pretty privileged.

I’m writing this blog in the hope that I can share some of my good fortune with you, by keeping you updated on my experiences and answering any questions you have. I also look forward to talking to some of you about the whole experience when I get back to the UK in September, hopefully wizened in the ways of the world (!), probably brainwashed by multinational corporations, and without a shadow of a doubt, sun-burnt from head to foot.

That’s about it for now. Thanks for reading! If you’d like to see exactly what I’ll be getting up to, have a look below at my itinerary. Also check out www.bebo.com/globalfellowship for the group web site for all 100 fellows going to India, Brazil and China. We’ll all be putting our videos, pictures, comments etc on there throughout the visit, so it should be packed with interesting stuff by the end of the summer!

Enjoy the blog, and any comments or questions are welcome. All the best,

Sally

ITINERARY- FELLOWSHIP VISIT TO INDIA, JULY- AUGUST 2008
Summarised Itinerary

Phase 1 Immersion Course:
Week 1 New Delhi, 20 – 28
Week 2 Chennai, 28 July – 3

Phase 2 School Placement:
Chennai, 4 August – 15 August

Phase 3, Business Placement:
New Delhi, 16 August – 29 August

Farewell in New Delhi, 30 August

…………………………………………………………
In Depth Itinerary

Phase 1:

New Delhi, 20 – 28 July

Chennai, 28 July – 3 August

For the first week of the India visit, all 40 Fellows will take part in a language and culture immersion course in New Delhi. The course will include language modules in Hindi as well as study of Indian history, politics, economy, culture, religion and arts. There will be excursions within the city, visiting historical and religious monuments and exploring the Bollywood culture. There will be an opportunity to visit a local NGO (charity), and a day excursion to the Taj Mahal in Agra and Fathapursikri. You will also have free time on the Sunday for you to explore New Delhi in your own time.

On Monday 28 July, you will take an internal flight to Chennai.

The immersion course will continue in Chennai on Tuesday 29 July, including the history, language and culture of Chennai and Tamil Nadu, a visit to a community development project and a visit to an Artists Village for an overview of South Indian crafts.

Phase 2

Chennai, 4 – 15 August

During the second phase, you will be placed in pairs in a school in Chennai. Here you will work in pairs and with two Indian peers at the school to complete your research project. Your time at the school may also include a visit to the school’s outreach activities and observing and participating in extra-curricular and sports activities.

You will spend the first day being introduced to the school and participating in school activities. You will be introduced to your mentor, who will support the planning and development of your research project with your peers. At the end of the school experience, you will be asked to present your research project to the school as a group.

Your time in the school may involve time off for Independence Day celebrations.

During this phase, you will be staying with families of pupils at the school. Throughout this phase, you will be encouraged to observe, question and record features of home life and family values, and how these may differ to the UK.

Phase 3

New Delhi, 16 – 29 August 2008

You will spend phase 3 as the guest of a global business with offices in New Delhi. Placements in India will be with Tesco, Shell, HSBC, Ernst & Young, KPMG and Group 4. You will gain insight into the company’s operations and corporate social responsibility activity in India, and gain familiarity with the business skills required in a global market economy.

Farewell in Delhi

30 August

All 40 Fellows will be brought back together in New Delhi before returning home to the UK. On the evening of Saturday 30 August, all Fellows will have a final farewell evening with the British Council team.

Return Journey

Sunday 31 August

Meet the Prime Minister

Downing Street, 17th November

Tags: gap year, india, itinerary, prime minister's global fellowship, welcome