HCL Foundation holds meeting with representatives from NGOs

Visakhapatnam HCL Foundation (HCLF), the CSR (corporate social responsibility) wing of HCL Technologies, hosted the second edition of the pan India symposium for HCL Grant Edition VIII at Vijayawada for NGOs of Andhra Pradesh and the neighboring States on Friday.

The company said HCL Foundation firmly believes in the power of grassroots empowerment. The HCL Grant Symposium Series���'CSR for Nation Building' is one such opportunity that enables HCL to engage, co-learn, and co-create ideas for sustained nation building from the ground up.

The HCL Grant Pan-India Symposiums is an initiative by the HCL Foundation to bring together NGOs, government, corporates and policymakers from across India on one platform to interact and develop regional as well as a sectoral understanding of CSR and deliberate upon how to contribute toward nation-building. It will also have CSR & sector experts, academicians, HCL grant recipient NGOs and other development sector practitioners on the panel to meet and share their experiences.

The daylong event at Vijayawada comprised a panel discussion with local NGO representatives and civil society experts on 'scripting India's rural development. A total of 150-160 NGOs were present at the event, with over 250 people representing many parts of the region.

There was an insightful panel discussion and a fireside chat with eminent speakers, which included Chakrapani, retired IAS officer, presently Director General, AP HRD Institute and ex-officio Secretary to Government (GAD), Sachindra Sahu, consultant, Revenue Mobilization & Fiscal Policy, AP and Dr. Chethana T, Lead Health, HCL Foundation. The session was moderated by Nikhil Pant, CEO, REACHA.

Shiva Prasad, Global Operations Director, HCL Technologies, spoke about creating meaningful partnerships, journeys, and experiences of HCLF, deep-rooted impacts and shed light on the future activities planned by the HCLF team.

The symposium comprised several sessions such as a masterclass/workshop on CSR law and new amendment by Bhomik Shah, CEO and founder, CSRBox and NGOBox and Nikhil Pant, CEO, REACHA. The symposium also had a workshop/masterclass by Bhavita Bhogaraju, independent social impact consultant. A motivational talk conducted by Gaurav Shah, founder & Director, Indian School of Development Management (ISDM).

This was the second time the HCL Foundation conducted a symposium at Vijayawada. The first symposium in 2018 received an overwhelming response from NGOs in the State, and the participation has been more encouraging this year, the company stated in a release. Through the symposium, HCL Foundation reached out to the NGOs on CSR mandate, challenges, and opportunities in the local area development, proposal writing and project management.

The programme encouraged them to apply for the HCL Grant 2022. The State has many good NGOs working in education, health and environment, which could benefit from the symposium, the release added.