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British Deputy High Commissioner to Kolkata, Bruce Bucknell with Monjita Barua, who assumed his role for a day on October 10.
Kolkata, October 10 (MExN): Friday must have been an ordinary day for many of her peers in the region, but for 20-year-old Monjita Baruah from Assam, it was a day which she would treasure for many days to come.
Monjita, currently pursuing a Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech) in Electronics and Communication Engineering at National Institute of Technology (NIT), Silchar, got the opportunity to head the British Deputy High Commission Kolkata office for a day.
She spent the day by overseeing the British Kolkata diplomatic mission network, departmental briefings and interacted with important stakeholders and the media, informed a press release from the Commission.
Since 2016, the British High Commission has been offering young Indian women across the country a unique opportunity – to head a diplomatic mission for a day on the occasion of the International Day of the Girl Child, it said.
Monjita was the winner of ‘The High Commissioner for a Day’ competition, now in its third year, which is open to young Indian women, aged 18-23.
As part of the selection process, the release informed, the applicants were asked to record a one-minute video on ‘Why gender equality is important and who their biggest inspiration is on this issue?’
The opportunity gave Monjita the platform to observe, learn and experience the varied aspects of the Deputy High Commissioner’s day including diplomatic engagements as well as leaning about the initiatives undertaken by the UK to promote gender equality and end human trafficking, it said.
Through the day, she learnt about the opportunities UK has to offer to trade and businesses and met the mission’s policy team, who told her about the Chevening Scholarships and Fellowships and how UK is a global hub for higher education, it added.
“She also heard about UK’s power in the sports sector and being a force for good with India for tackling global challenges like climate change.” Her other itinerary included a visit to British Council to interact with their staff and experience their creative and library services.
Monjita, who passionate about artificial intelligence and maintains arts and music as her hobbies, had represented school DPS Guwahati in the Model United Nations 2016 (intra-school) and was selected as the Best Delegate, UNGA, NITS Model United Nations 2019. She was the winner in Doodle competition, Incandescence 2019.
Reflecting on her day, she stated: “When individual man and woman come together to do their part towards the girl child in any way possible, it will aggregate into something huge. That will bring a noticeable change leading to a positive impact in making the world a better and safer place to live in.”
Meanwhile, British Deputy High Commissioner to Kolkata, Bruce Bucknell noted that the UK and India are working together as a global Force for Good and share the importance of promoting the cause of gender equality.
“I am delighted that we were able to mark the ‘International Day of the Girl Child’ by demonstrating to young women that they are the future leaders and by giving them a platform to share their views.”
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