Global Citizen KVP
Ms. Mary Pawlenty
Mary Pawlenty, wife of Governor Tim Pawlenty of the State of Minnesota, is currently a mediator and arbitrator of civil disputes with Gilbert Mediation, helping parties resolve their differences outside the courtroom by mutual agreement. Previously, Mary was a partner with the law firm of Rider, Bennett, Egan and Arundel. She received her bachelor's degree from Bethel University summa cum laude in 1983 and her juris doctor cum laude from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1986. As First Lady of Minnesota, Mary was a tireless advocate for soldiers and their families. In 2003, she launched the Military Family Care Initiative, a web-based program designed to provide volunteer services for military families. She received the distinguished "Patrick Henry Award" from the National Guard Association of the United States and the Order of St. Maurice Civis Award from The National Infantry Association for her efforts in creating this initiative. She also focused on an awareness campaign to reduce the risk of heart disease in women and enjoyed spending time visiting the elderly in senior care facilities throughout the state. She founded Healing Hearts, an NGO in India, dedicated to saving the lives of children in India born with congenital heart defects. She believes that every child should be given the benefits of life-saving medical treatment. Her love for India began when she visited India during Minnesota’s first-ever trade mission led by her husband, Governor Tim Pawlenty. Mrs. Pawlenty was also the Director of Medical Diplomacy for Children's HeartLink, an organization focused on helping to heal and save the lives of children with congenital heart defects in many parts of the world.
Global Citizen KVP
Ms.Nida Shams
Nida is a young graphic designer who uses her art and skill for the downtrodden society of Pakistan. She has trained the women in Kashmir, and Karachi Jail, where inmates shared their personal stories and plight through the medium of grassroots comics. Nida has also trained communities in Sri Lanka, Nepal, Thailand and India and has also worked with various international institutions including U.N. to create awareness amongst people. Her mission is to try and reach to maximum number of women to bring some positive change in the society. She is an ambassador of women rights. She believes that when each one will get power to say something-against all odd, discrimination violations, the change will come in the society.
Global Citizen KVP
Mr. Micheal Norton OBE
Micheal Norton started his career as scientist, Merchant banker and publisher before becoming a social activist .He dedicated his life for more than 40 years supporting voluntary organisations, developing creative ideas to change the world and turning them into successful projects. He created the first language teaching Programme for immigrant children and set up the Directory of Social Change which became the UK's leading provider of Information to the non profit Sector. Michael also initiated a raft of innovative projects worldwide which includes projects like Social entrepreneurship, Social innovation, Youth Action, Literacy etc. He has been felicitated with numerous awards and grants and also has had been the author of various books published in many editions around the world. He has been instrumental in encouraging others to go out, participate and change the world for a better living.
Global Indian KVP
Ms.Carmen Miranda
After creating ripples in the communication field that expanded into 10 countries, Carmen Miranda tried her hand at TV documentary making and teaching International Communications and Development in UK and lot more. After retiring in 2009, she has devoted her life in making a difference in getting public opinion on mining amongst Goans more informed and critical. To salvage her motherland Goa, she passed a proposal pressing for a roundtable meeting of stakeholders (first of its kind ever to take place in Goa), hosted by the MoEF to change the way mining was being done there. She followed up that with a public awareness campaign, giving talks in London to the Goan Diaspora and in Goa, and set up Save Goa Campaign UK; designed several posters; made a short film and several power-point presentations and wrote periodically S.O.S. Goa letters to fellow Goans worldwide about the mining issue and mobilised Overseas Goan Associations around the world to protest about mining in Goa. Carmen is also an active member of Save Western Ghats Movement core group. She has been awarded the international green pen award in 2009, and was responsible for the design and production of a multi-media teaching pack on congenital heart diseases that won a gold medal from BISFA in 1976. Keen to promote journalism among women and discover new talent, she pioneered the first environmental journalism training programme for women in Nepal and Bangladesh. She has walked with every dream and achieved it with all esteem.
Global Citizen KVP
Mr.Vijay Mehta
Gandhi's message of non-violence struck a chord with the younger Vijay Mehta that shaped his Character all his life. Vijay Mehta is a co-founder and chair of Uniting for Peace, devoted to building and promoting a global culture of peace, nonviolence and poverty reduction. he is a Founding trustee of Fortune Forum charity.One of his and uniting for Peace's Flagship campaigns is 4D for world peace. He has authored some notable books : 'The Economics of Killing', 'The Fortune Forum Code' ,'Arms No More' etc. Vijay Mehta has addressed and attended many international conference all over the world. Today Vijay is the author of several books and is a regular fixture of the news media, as he deploys his boundless energy and optimism as an advocate of non-violence and dialogue. Mr. Mehta’s global and diverse outlook, his skills and dedication are needed today more than ever for ending vicious cycle of violence, poverty and building a peaceful world.
REAL WEALTH CREATORS FOR THE COMMUNITIES KarmaVeer Puraskaar, 2012
Global Citizen KVP
Mr. Nand Kishore Chaudhary
Nand Kishore Chaudhary is the founder of the Jaipur Rugs Company Private Limited. Its vision is to provide sustainable livelihood to the grassroots level people instead of securing commercial gains. The company has evolved 40000 underprivileged jobless people into the artisans by assigning them to the carpet production processes. JRCPL directly works with the artisans to remove the middlemen from its supply chain. Mr Chaudhary identifies key communities for sustainable livelihood from Below Poverty Line category, unskillful and unemployed people having lack of education, rural women, backward classes, unskilled carpet artisans. JRCPL net profit could be Rs 10 crore annually if it wouldn’t have created sustainable livelihood for 40000 artisans in the remotest villages of India. Whatever he earns in terms of profit he re-invests to create more livelihoods. He identifies and engages to mostly train BPL category people, underprivileged rural women, SC/ST, unskilled artisans and work in those villages where unemployment and poverty are big issues, thousands of unskilled artisans are poverty-stricken, people are landless or don’t have fertile land are trained to upgrade their weaving skills, so that they could earn livelihoods. Mr. N K Chaudhary believes in the “Extended Family Concept” in which artisans are not looked upon as mere laborers but rather as family members. Mr. Chaudhary commenced a not-for-profit organization in 2004, Jaipur Rugs Foundation (JRF). JRF team targeted men and women in most remote areas. Tools such as community mobilization, carpet weaving training, skill training, financial support, medical and infrastructural support, helped upgradation of thousands of families. He got a firm registered in USA, with the name Jaipur Rugs Incorporated (JRI), a sister concern, for recognition and global distribution of rugs and carpets. As a fruit of all the efforts, he has been named as ‘Gandhi of carpet industry’ and many artisans are now capable of designing their own designs, weaving flawless pieces of art.
