The ‘X’ Factor -’Quantum Business School’ Event on 17th May.

SAGE Foundation and Centre For Management
                  are pleased  to announce an incredible one-day event called

The ‘X’ Factor – ‘Quantum Business School’

These questions and many more will be answered:

“I am just one person. How do I do everything that is needed and still have a life?”

“I’m not good  with computers so how do I even start with social media?”

“I have competition I never had before. How do I compete and hang onto my margins?”

“How do I build effective networks that bring me customers regularly?”

“I want to be international but have no idea where to start?”

“How do I build a world class brand when I have no real capital?”

“What are some of the ways to outsource parts of my business so I can do what I love?”

Plus there will be a master class online so that the learning  does not get lost or shelved.There is a whole home  study package as well that comes with the event so it puts everything in context for later and in the future.

 A talk by Mr Andrew Cohen

SAGE Foundation and Centre for Management in partnership with the Times Foundation arranged a talk on “Self-Confidence: A Foundation for an Extraordinary Life” by renowned international philanthropic leader Mr Andrew Cohen. 

The program held at Thadomal Shahani Engineering College on February 24, 2012 will offer a unique opportunity to explore and maximize the inner strength and qualities of the participants.

SAGE Foundation is the CSR arm of Centre for Management, which focuses on building up heart centric business professionals who will be the transformational leaders of tomorrow.

Centre For Management (CFM) was given the prestigious DNA Innovative B Schools A…ward for Industry Academic Interface at a glittering ceremony today at a 5 Star hotel in Mumbai.

These awards select top business schools from all over India and recognize them for the innovative work they do in areas like academics, placements & student marketing.

CFM and SAGE Foundation Managing Director, Akhil Shahani said, “The main reason for business schools to exist is to create industry ready graduates who will go on to be successful corporate managers and entrepreneurs. This award recognizes the many initiatives unertaken by CFM to expose our students to industry and ensure they have successful careers in the corporate world.”

Some of the unique industry initiatives taken by CFM include a curriculum created by industry and taught by senior industry professionals. CFM has also partnered with global industry bodies to give students’ regular industry visits, live projects and corporate learning events. Recruiters have said they are impressed by the maturity and industry readiness of CFM students.

Maya Shahani, Chairperson of Centre for Management and SAGE Foundation, participated at the UNAOC Forum in Doha on 11th December 2011, in her capacity as Vice Chairperson of Global Dialogue Foundation. Over 2,500 political and corporate leaders, civil society activists, youth groups, faith communities, research centers, foundations, journalists, ministers, and heads of state came together to agree on joint actions to improve relations across cultures, combat prejudice and build lasting peace.

Hosted by the ruling Emir of the State of Qatar, the Forum had among its attendees the High Level Group member from Qatar H. H. Sheikha Mozah, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and High Representative for the UN Alliance of Civilizations President Jorge Sampaio.

The UNAOC’s Forum in Doha was a milestone in the UNAOC’s existence. Under the theme ‘Intercultural Dialogue to Boost Development’, high-level debates on how advancing towards the goals of the UNAOC can contribute to foster sustainable development and, in particular, achievement of the MDGs, were conducted. The Alliance works in four program areas to support its projects. These areas are: youth, media, education, and migration.

Over 400 youth and 300 civil society organization representatives participated in the Forum. Through roundtables, workshops and debates, participants put their minds together to agree on joint actions and make pledges. The program featured project-specific working sessions, interactive discussions and debates, as well as provided a convening space for civil society organizations to present their exciting initiatives. One of the major outcomes of the forum was to increase and rely on youth participation for decision making.

Ms Shahani shared the stage with Mr. Gordon Brown, Former Prime Minister of UK , Beşir Atalay, Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey,
HRH Prince El Hassan Bin Talal, Rabbi Arthur Schneier, UNAOC Ambassador, USA amongst others. In her capacity as the Vice Chairperson of Global Dialogue Foundation, Ms Shahani spoke about ‘Trust and Tolerance to Advance Development Goals’.

Centre for Management and SAGE Foundation have been identified by UNAOC as their officiating partners in India.

Press Release
23 September 2011

UN Alliance of Civilizations and BMW Group sign agreement for the Award for Intercultural Innovation

BMW Group to expand its commitment to intercultural understandingThe UN Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and the BMW Group are pooling their expertise in the area of intercultural understanding in a joint initiative, the ‘Award for Intercultural Innovation’. An agreement will be signed today at the UN’s New York Headquarters as part of the 66th UN General Assembly by President Jorge Sampaio, UN High Representative for the Alliance, and Konstanze Carreras, Senior Official for Corporate Social Responsibility of the BMW Group. The signature will take place in the presence of ministers from over 130 countries and international organizations and UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon.

Munich / New York.

The ‘BMW Group Award for Intercultural Innovation in support of the Alliance of Civilizations under the auspices of the United Nations’ is a unique award in its category, and represents a new kind of partnership between the private sector and the UN system. The partnership will select highly innovative projects that promote exchange and cross-cultural understanding, and hence make a vital contribution to safety and peace in societies around the world. The ten most outstanding projects in the area of intercultural understanding will be recognized for the first time in an award ceremony held during the fourth Annual UNAOC Forum in Doha (Qatar) on December 12th this year.

President Jorge Sampaio, High Representative for the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, recently stated, “To succeed in bridging our world’s growing divides, we need to launch cutting-edge programs that provide shared solutions to our common problems. Through the Award for Intercultural Innovation, both the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations and the BMW Group are fostering imagination and creativity to build collaboration among cultures.”

“Together with the UN Alliance of Civilizations, we are now taking our efforts in this field to a new level,” comments Harald Krüger, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG and Patron of the Award for Intercultural Innovation. “The cooperation with UNAOC allows us to pool strengths, to reach even more people and to increase the efficiency of our international commitment.”

Through its commitment to social entrepreneurship, with programs such as the BMW Group Award and numerous others, the BMW Group has promoted cooperative dialogue between different cultures for decades.

In addition to the award itself and the prize money that comes with it, the winners will be able to draw on support and consulting services from the ‘World Intercultural Facility for Innovation’ (WIFI), a program initiated by the UNAOC in cooperation with the BMW Group. The WIFI will help award-winning projects become more efficient and expand, as well as enable their transfer to other contexts or settings. The specific support that projects receive will depend on their individual demands.

Deadline for applications: 16 October 2011
Organizations can submit their proposals by 16 October 2011. Application forms are available for download at www.interculturalinnovation.org.

For additional information, please refer to www.interculturalinnovation.org.

For further queries, please contact:

BMW Group Corporate and Governmental Affairs
Konstanze Carreras, Corporate Social Responsibility
Konstanze.Carreras@bmw.de, phone: +49 89 382-52894

Jean-Christophe Bas, Senior Advisor
Strategic Developments and Partnerships, UNAOC
Phone: +1-212-457-1090, Fax: +1-212-457-4032

The BMW Group
With its brands BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce, the BMW Group is one of the world’s most successful premium manufacturers of cars and motorcycles. The international Group operates 25 production and assembly sites in 14 countries as well as a global sales network with offices in more than 140 countries.

Thinking ahead and acting responsibly have always been crucial prerequisites of the BMW Group’s economic success. The company’s strategy includes the full commitment to ecological and social sustainability along the entire value chain, comprehensive product responsibility, and the conservation of resources.

United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC)
The UN Alliance of Civilizations was established in 2005 as an initiative of the UN Secretary General, under the cosponsorship of the President of the Government of Spain and the Prime Minister of Turkey. It emerged out of a conviction that, in order to achieve sustainable peace, long-standing divisions and misperceptions between cultures need to be addressed. In April 2007, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed Jorge Sampaio, former President of Portugal, as High Representative for the Alliance. It is supported by a growing Group of Friends of 129 governments and international organizations.

The Chrysler Building 405 Lexington Ave | New York, NY 10174 US

Centre for Management has partnered with the UNAOC in order to launch the UNAOC-BMW Award for intercultural Innovation (”The Award”). This annual Award will identify highly innovative initiatives that are advancing cross-cultural understanding among different communities and cultures around the world.

For future recipients of the Award, alongside a monetary prize, winning will mean receiving direct support from the UNAOC and its powerful network composed of civil society, corporate, government, media and foundation partners in order to scale up and replicate them in various settings.

By encouraging new intercultural methods and approaches, the Award is unique in its category and offers very promising and inspiring results. The call for applications is being disseminated among our network of civil society organizations, private and public sector undertakings as well as individuals who have achieved measurable results. The 2011 Application Guidelines are attached or can be found by simply visiting the websites: www.unaoc.org/unaoc-bmwgroup-award/ and http://in.news.yahoo.com/aoc-partner-bmw-award-intercultural-innovation-033827826.html.

PRESS RELEASE

BMW Group and UN Alliance of Civilizations Launch Award to Foster Innovation in Cross-cultural Dialogue

Application forms now available online

Munich – New York, August 22, 2011. In an unprecedented partnership with the private sector, the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) is joining hands with the BMW Group to launch an Award for Intercultural Innovation. The name of the award is BMW Group Award for Intercultural Innovation in support of the Alliance of Civilizations, under the auspices of the United Nations.

The annual award will identify highly innovative initiatives that are advancing cross-cultural understanding between different communities and cultures.  For future recipients of the award, alongside a monetary prize, winning will mean receiving support from the UNAOC and its powerful network of civil society, corporate, government, media and foundation partners. The specific assistance provided will depend on the individual needs of each project.

By providing support to emerging intercultural initiatives, the UNAOC and the BMW Group aim to encourage innovation in the field while helping winners expand their projects, make them more impactful, and replicate them in other settings where they might be useful.

Both BMW Group and the UNAOC come with a track-record of having supported intercultural projects around the world for many new years.  The new award builds on such previous efforts.

The ten most innovative initiatives in the area of intercultural understanding will be distinguished for the first time at an award ceremony that will take place during the Fourth Annual UNAOC Forum in Doha, Qatar in December 2011. Application forms can be downloaded from http://www.unaoc.org/unaoc-bmwgroup-award/ and must be submitted by October 16, 2011.

Intercultural understanding has a long tradition in the BMW Group

As an international company with a multinational workforce, the BMW Group has recognized the importance of mutual cooperation between different cultural groups for decades. Through the BMW Group Award for Intercultural Learning/Commitment the

company has recognized innovative projects and personalities around the world for 14 years, for their support to sustainable and open relationships between international communities. Hundreds of projects and documents have been received in which people express their ideas for intercultural cooperation either within their own neighbourhoods or at trans-regional level. Over the long history of this award, more than 40 projects and academic papers have been awarded. Current awardees are supported for a whole year by employees of the company.

The United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) is an initiative of the UN Secretary-General which aims to improve understanding and cooperative relations among nations and peoples across cultures and religions.  It also helps to counter the forces that fuel polarization and extremism. The UNAOC was established in 2005, at the initiative of Spain and Turkey, under the auspices of the United Nations and under the leadership of Jorge Sampaio, former President of Portugal, as High Representative for the UNAOC.

For further information please visit http://www.unaoc.org/unaoc-bmwgroup-award/ or contact:

Konstanze Carreras,

BMW Group Corporate and Governmental Affairs

Corporate Social Responsibility

Phone: +49-89-382-52894, Fax: + 49-89-382-28017

Jean-Christophe Bas, Senior Advisor

Strategic Developments and Partnerships, UNAOC

Phone: +1-212-457-1090, Fax: +1-212-457-4032

Unity in Diversity Lecture : Doing Business in a Multicultural World

Posted 3 August 2011

The Inaugural Lecture of the UNAOC Series was held by our Centre for Management in Mumbai,a Management Institute which realizes that cross-cultural training for managers is vital.

To emphasise the importance of promoting multiculturalism in businesses, Centre for Management invited two awesome guests for the inaugural lecture, entitled “Doing Business in a Multicultural Environment”, under the auspices of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations and in partnership with Global Dialogue Foundation.

Paul Dunn an Australian, and Masami Sato a Japanese, by their very presence, underlined the fact that embracing multiculturalism has helped their business. By coming together they created an enormously successful company called Buy1 Give 1 which has helped hundreds of cultures across the world just by the sheer act of GIVING. Its their love and compassion that has brought people together irrespective of their color or creed.

Paul and Masami have travelled around the world, speaking, mentoring and inspiring hundreds of thousands of business people from different cultures and backgrounds. Paul’s audio and video programmes are in use by over 156,000 businesses around the world.

The first lecture series on Multiculturalism in the Business world was a huge success due to the topicality and immediate need of such an environment in today’s fast changing world.

The world is changing like never before. With businesses going global, accompanied by unprecedented levels of international travel and social networking, the rapidly changing scenario has created enormous challenges and opportunities.

The United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) recognizes this and is working very closely with Global Dialogue Foundation at grass root levels to create a Unity within this great Diversity.

One way of doing this is to have an ongoing lecture series to create an awareness of the changing dynamics in a multicultural environment. The UNAOC aims through this lecture series, to give impetus to the idea of supporting cross-cultural understanding, inspire other businesses to scale up efforts, and provide the foundation for new activities.

Business has become a critical force in support of cultural understanding - building bridges between cultures and people by offering the prospect of economic opportunity. Culturally diverse workforces can indeed be a key factor in overall business success.

Bridging divides helps keep the peace. It also gives the economy a boost by making societies more stable for investors. That is why the Alliance is working with the UN Global Compact to help corporations foster tolerance. Businesses know that in today’s globalized world, they have to be able to compete in multicultural environments.

                           Secretary General of the United Nations Mr Ban Ki-Moon

The United Nations Global Compact is the largest corporate citizenship and sustainability initiative in the world and has more than 6000 participants from over 130 countries, all aspiring to embrace universal values while respecting cultural diversity.

Developing a new generation of leaders with global perspective and understanding is identified by the Centre as one of the leading challenges of corporate learning. This increasing global interconnectedness has several implications for business.

Keeping this in perspective, Centre for Management is affiliated with 74 Universities globally and recognized in 120 countries through the Association of Business Executives. It has made intercultural understanding a core theme of its programmes and has as its in-house CSR wing, the SAGE Foundation, which is focused on helping communities at grass-root levels. 

For the rains to hold off for almost a whole day, just about unheard of.  But last week on the 28th, a group of very important visitors came to Malavali to visit the children at Shikshan Gram.  And the rain held off.

This was a day of bringing together the links that have been formed many years ago – as friends came together to join forces.  Maya and Akhil Shahani and 30 sudents and faculty from their  Centre for Management brought Paul Dunn and Masami Sato from Singapore to visit.  Paul and Masami are the creators of a wonderful concept and organisation called Buy1Give1 which supports and helps thousands of underprivileged people throughout the world.

And the Rain Gods smiled and took a break to allow them all to go up to the new site to see the construction and to have a great demonstration by the Shaolin Volunteers.

The project was explained in depth to the visitors and then Maya,  Paul,  Masami and Akhil planted a tree .. to show that under the shade of this tree, the project would grow and flourish.

As Nandini recounted when Paul and Masami visited the children at the current premises:

“The kids were in their element. The degree of excitement,love and happiness cannot be explained or written about.
It moved Paul to tears!!!!!! He had 60 of the kids vying for his attention and affection. It was hard to say good bye! I hope you will be back soon, as we await your next visit impatiently!!!!!

A very big Thank You to Paul  and Masami for making this visit possible and loads of blessings from the little ones to all of you who are trying so hard to make a difference to their lives!”

The second session of the “Unity in Diversity” Forum, an initiative of Global Dialogue Foundation, and convened under the auspices of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC), was held in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala India from 6-8 February 2011.

(L-R: Adv. K.K. Sarachandra Bose- Chairman Unity in Diversity & Global Dialogue Foundation, Mrs. Maya Shahani-Vice Chairperson Unity in Diversity & Global Dialogue Foundation, Chairperson SAGE Foundation, Mr. Jean-Christophe Bas- Senior Adviser-Strategic Development and Partnerships, United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, The Hon’ble T. Balakrishnan- IAS Additional Chief Secretary Government of Kerala, His Highness Shri Padmanabhadasa Uthradom Tirunal Marthanda Varma Maharaja, His Excellency Ambassador T.P. Sreenivasan)

The event witnessed participants of several nationalities in the Asia Pacific region, such as, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Japan, Thailand, India and Australia. The delegates represented widely varying backgrounds and professions including social entrepreneurs, policy makers, teachers, students, representatives of NGO’s and foundations, corporate, senior government officials and spiritual and religious leaders. Such a prolific diversity contributed greatly towards the aims of the Forum by giving fresh insights and perspectives to the issues raised.

A Forum of this nature was a first of its kind to be held in India. The state of Kerala was an appropriate choice to host this forum, given its status among all the states in India with respect to its religious diversity and literacy rate. Mr. Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, the Minister for Home, Vigilance and Tourism, graced the Forum with his presence. He conveyed his satisfaction at Kerala being host to this Forum, and described the importance of achieving harmony through cross cultural dialogue.

His Highness Shri Padmanabhadasa Uthradom Tirunal Marthanda Varma Maharaja, also addressed the Forum, and spoke about the urgent need for unity among nations, and the crucial role for such as this one played in bringing about a positive change. The United Nations High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations and former President of Portugal Jorge Sampaio addressed the Forum by video message and emphasized the crucial role played by civil society organizations working together with governments to promote understanding and cooperation among peoples and cultures.

The Forum celebrated the World Interfaith Harmony Week, observed by the United Nations from 1-7 February 2011, addressed by faith leaders and with multicultural dance presentations.

The two roundtable discussions held addressed the South Asian view point on multiculturalism and intercultural dialogue focusing on attainment of peace among individuals through adoption of certain values; the need for building public-private partnerships to retain cultural plurality and to attain intercultural understanding. “Our aim is to bring Unity among different cultures throughout the world and also to resolve dispute through dialogue”, stated the Forum Chairman KK Bose.

In his keynote address, Jean-Christophe Bas, senior advisor UN Alliance of Civilizations said that “building inclusive societies is indispensable to achieve peace and economic and social development; it represents one of the greatest challenges of our time and requires the participation of all”.

Another feature of this Forum was the introduction of five concurrent workshops on the following topics: the media’s role in challenging stereotypes, the maintenance of cultural identity in today’s society, education for intercultural citizenship, India’s cultural relations with its neighbors and role of religion for propagating peace. There were several practical solutions discussed in these workshops.

At the closing of the Forum, a concrete action plan was discussed. Some of the solutions suggested were engagement of the media for a positive coverage of cultural harmony, development and introduction of vocational training programmes in mainstream education, a close tie up of different individuals and organizations to achieve the effective interfaith dialogue, to create Unity in Diversity cities throughout India and the rest of the world.

For more details click on the link : http://www.unaoc.org