By Annie Fraser:
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
– Mark Twain
The LEaders Accelerating Development Program (LEAD) of the Deshpande Foundation is proud to announce its third annual leadership journey, LEAD Prayana. From January 7th to January 21st, 2014, enthusiastic and passionate students from throughout India will embark on a 14-day leadership journey across Karnataka. Packed with site visits, role model sessions, and hands-on activities, LEAD Prayana inspires youth by exposing them to individuals and institutions that have innovated and implemented solutions to major challenges. Through this leadership journey on wheels, Prayana aims to instill in youth the need to bring about change through effective leadership. Through exposure to some of India’s most successful establishments and leaders, LEAD Prayana is catalyzing change by helping youth unleash their leadership potential.
In the span of 14 days, LEAD Prayana is giving students the opportunity to interact with 12 different role models throughout 9 destinations. Along the way, students will visit Agastya International Foundation (Kuppam), Infosys Campus (Mysore), JSS Suttur (Mysore), Manipal University (Manipal0, Dharmasthala (Sullia), Suspension Bridge (Sullia), Akshaya Patra (Hubli/Dharwad), Kalkeri Sangeeth Vidyalaya (Hubli/Dharwad), VRL (Hubli/Dharwad), Charakha/Desi (Sagar), Ninasam (Sagar), Shri Muruga Rajendra Mutt (Chitradurga), along with an educational site visit to experience organic farming in Doddaballapur and a special panel session in Bangalore.
In addition to site visits, students are given the unique opportunity to interact with role models such as Phanindra Sama (CEO and Founder, redbus.in), Raju Reddy (Founder and CEO, Sierra Atlantic), Dr .Veerendra Hegde (Dharmadhikari, Dharmasthala), Gururaj Deshpande (President and Chairman of Sparta Group, LLC and Co-founder, Deshpande Foundation), Jairam Ramesh (Economist and politician), Srikanth Bolla (Founder, Aasadeep Projects Pvt Ltd), Ramji Raghavan (Founder, Agastya Foundation), Naveen Jha (CEO, Deshpande Foundation), and more!
We are still welcoming applications for LEAD Prayana 2014. Any passionate young person between the ages of 18-25 can apply!
Subscribe to our YouTube channel to see glimpses of last year’s LEAD Prayana.