February 18 2016, 15.38 PM IST || Pocket News Alert
The program aims to empower women who desire to break socio-economic barriers and head towards self-reliance The panel of judges conducting the interviews included noted dignitaries like Simone Singh, Riddhi Dogra, Barun Sobti, Akshay Dogra, V Shantakumar Women from across Goa, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra travelled to Mumbai for the interview
Mumbai, 18th February 2016: The first round of interviews for the 12th edition of the Fair & Lovely Foundation program was held in Mumbai today and saw an overwhelming response from deserving candidates travelling from across Goa, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra travelled attend the same. Fair & Lovely Foundation, an initiative by Fair & Lovely, a brand from Hindustan Unilever Limited; over the years has awarded scholarships of up to rupees one lakh to thousands of women. The Foundation strives to provide opportunity to women across to pursue higher education, vocational training as well enable them to build their own small enterprises. The scholarship program has single-handedly transformed the lives of over 1200 girls in the past decade.
The panel of judges comprised of noted dignitaries Simone Singh (Television personality), Riddhi Dogra (Television personality), Barun Sobti (Television personality), Akshay Dogra (Television personality), V Shantakumar (Ex CEO, Saatchi & Saatchi) and many more who helped the Foundation in interviewing, mentoring and shortlisting the candidates. The foundation will now proceed to hold the last round of candidate shortlisting interview in Kolkata.
Fair & Lovely Foundation has been constantly working towards making women self-reliant and supporting their dreams of establishing an independent identity. The program assists women who exhibit a strong drive to succeed and break social economic barriers to achieve independence and economic empowerment. The program is specially designed to tackle the hardships women face while taking on the challenges that come their way on the path to becoming self-sufficient including proving mentorship and emotional support throughout their journey.
Speaking about the Fair & Lovely Foundation Scholarship program Mr.Srinandan Sundaram, Vice President Skincare & Makeup, Hindustan Unilever Ltd. said, “Fair & lovely Foundation was launched by the organisation with an aim to economically empower women and support their drive to become self-reliant. The program has received an overwhelming response each year and has acted as a catalyst in the transformation of many lives. It gives me immense pleasure to be associated with this cause, and see it growing big with each passing year.” About the interview rounds, he added, “I would like to thank all the dignitaries who have given us their valuable time to help in our quest to shortlist the candidates and praise the courage of all the applicants who have travelled from across towns to pursue their dreams.”
Commenting on the initiative one of the panellists, Mr. V Shantakumar, ex- Chairman, Saatchi & Saatchi said, "Strong, empowered women represent the true beauty of society. Perhaps the greatest challenge we face is that, despite our progress, our women are getting left behind. A society in which 50% of the population is poorly empowered faces serious imbalances. Fair & Lovely foundation's efforts are a step in the right direction."
