British High Commission announces date for ‘High Commissioner for a Day’ competition

Alex Ellis, High Commissioner to India, said, “The International Day of the Girl Child is an important moment to recognise that educating all girls everywhere is not just the right thing to do, it is one of the smartest investments we can make to build a better, more equitable world. Through the ‘High Commissioner for a Day’ competition, I want to shine a light on brilliant young women and for them to show their even younger peers in school that anything is possible.”

This year nearly 60 per cent of the UK's Chevening fellowships and 52 per cent of the scholarships for India were awarded to women, according to the High Commissioner.

The competition ‘High Commissioner for a Day’ is open to Indian women aged 18-23 years.

To apply, applicants must record and upload a one-minute video on ‘how can young people best support tackling the global challenge of climate change?’

The video must be shared on either Twitter, Facebook or Instagram by tagging @UKinIndia and using the hashtags #DayoftheGirl.

The application deadline is September 22, 2021.

Applicants have to acquaint themselves with the terms and conditions of the competition before applying.

According to an official release, a jury at the British High Commission (BHC) will select the winner, who will be announced on @UKinIndia social media channels by September 28.

Only one entry per participant will be accepted; multiple entries from the same person will be disqualified.

The High Commission’s decision is final and no correspondence relating to the above will be possible, the release said.

The release also highlighted that by applying to the competition, participants transfer the copyright ownership of their videos to the BHC New Delhi.

BHC may use these videos to produce content for future communication on its social media channels.

The office has also urged that participants must not share personal details in their video, post or tweet; the BHC is not responsible for the data that participants make public on these platforms.

According to the release, the High Commissioner for a Day programme will take place in-person in Delhi (unless Covid-19 advice changes).

However, they will not fund travel or accommodation to Delhi as part of the competition.

In case the winner is not from Delhi/NCR, it is the winner’s sole responsibility to ensure all Covid-19 protocols required for travelling to Delhi are properly followed, the release said.

The release also said that while the diplomatic mission endeavours to host in-person meetings, this is dependent on the Covid-19 situation.
In case Covid cases increase or the India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare advises against in-person meetings in October, the programme may be run virtually.

The British High Commission ( www.gov.uk/world/india) has run the ‘High Commissioner for a Day’ competition annually since 2017.

Last year’s competition was won by 18-year-old Chaitanya Venkateswaran, whose day as the High Commissioner included learning about gender representation in the media, interacting with senior police officers from Madhya Pradesh and Telangana, and launching the British Council STEM Tracer Study documenting the stories of Indian women scholars.