IIPM chosen as UNDP key partner institution

The Indian Institute of Planning & Management (IIPM) chosen as key partner instituion by UNDP in India for key projects

2003: United Nations Development Programme (PRWEB) October 4, 2003

India is UNDP's (www.undp.org) largest receiver of assistance. The Indian Institute of Planning & Management (www.iipm.edu) has been chosen by UNDP as the key partner institution in India to support one of the critical UNDP leadership for results programmes in India related to addressing HIV issues at three levels:

(1) Policy Advocacy

(2) Corporate Social Involvement

(3) Involvement of PLWHA (people living with HIV & AIDS) in developing transformation leadership methodologies.

The immediate initiatives include organizing specific workshops for various target groups that would involve importing best-practice transformational leadership methodologies from the American & European continents to India.

********
Indian PLWHA meet for 2nd Leadership for Results seminar


Kochi (Kerala), India, September 25, 2003: Over 120 People Living With HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) from 12 states across India gathered at the port city of Kochi, Kerala, on the west coast from 17th to 21st September to participate in a Leadership for Results" seminar.

Prof. Vistasp Malegamwalla, Asst. Dean- IIPM, said his organisation was committed to facilitate the transfer of entrepreneurial skills and knowledge and provide technical support to the PLWHA networks.

The seminar, widely covered in the local media, was jointly organised by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM), Indian Network for People Living with HIV/AIDS (INP+) and National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO).

The 4-day seminar is the second in the year-long Leadership for Results Programme aimed at strengthening the leadership capacity of PLWHA both at the individual and community levels. The Programme, rooted in the concept of 'transformational leadership and 'emotional intelligence, seeks to empower PLWHA in order to generate a sustainable response to the HIV epidemic in the country with 4.58 million PLWHA - the second highest in the world after South Africa.

The Kochi seminar was intended to build on leadership skills that participants gained at the first seminar and during the 5-month gap when they worked on projects, review the challenges and 'breakdowns they faced, as well as further develop the breakthrough actions initiated by the different PLWHA groups and networks to develop community leadership.

Ms Sonam Yangchen Rana, Senior Advisor, and Regional Programme Coordinator, UNDP HIV and Development defined the Leadership for Results programme as a process that seeks to empower each one to influence others whether it be within the family, community or at a wider level, and stressed UNDPs strong commitment to bring about a more meaningful involvement and empowerment of PLWHA in every aspect of the epidemic.

Formatted interactively, the training provided an opportunity to the participants to tap their creative energy and express their concerns and hopes through skits, songs, poems, role-plays, dances and mimes. The confidence evident in many performances marked a tangible progress from the first leadership seminar, and was perhaps the most telling indicator of the enhanced leadership capacity of PLWHA networks in the last 5 months. Another refreshing development was greater participation by women members of PLWHA networks in the interactive exercises.

Many of the sessions aimed at developing team-building skills were conducted by members of INP+. The game-format used during the sessions enabled the participants to recognise the value of working unitedly through building 'paper towers and making a web of strings to cite two examples.

The seminar at Kochi was timed with advocacy events targeting influential constituencies in the country such as the entertainment industry, the student community and religious leaders from different faiths. The occasion provided an unique opportunity - it was the first time that PLWHA from different states in India collectively presented their issues and advocated for changes before such a varied audience of opinion-makers as film personalities, student leaders and spiritual figures.