By IANS,
Mumbai : Maharana Arvind Singh Mewar of the erstwhile royal family of Udaipur has become the second Indian to be named for the eighth Women Together Award for “Contribution to Universal Culture of the United Nations”, an official spokesperson said here Wednesday.
The award, a recognition for his work through the Maharana of Mewar Charitable Foundation (MMCF), Udaipur, would be conferred on Singh June 5 at the UN General Assembly in New York.
The MMCF, founded by Maharana Bhagwat Singh Mewar, was unanimously selected for the award by the Women Together (WT) in association with the UN. The WT, a non-government organisation, is part of the Economic and Social Council of the UN (ECOSOC), enjoying a consultative status.
“It is a unique case study of governance at the highest level that mankind can aspire to, both in personal and business environment, mainly those constituting a relevant contribution to universal culture and help achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals to help make the world a better place,” the official said.
Some of the past awardees include Ela Bhatt (the first Indian), Queen Rania of Jordan, Wangari Maathai, Isabel Yanguas, Shirin Ebadi, Barbara Probst Solomon, Louise Bourgeois, Violy McCauslant, Mario Testio, Silvia Earle, Shakira, Antonio Banderas, Katie Ford, Agatha Ruiz de la Parada, and Gaetana Enders (Mary Robinson).
Besides, companies and institutions like Grameen Bank, La Caixa Foundation, Aveda, Banco Santander, Toyota, Mango and Mario Santo Domingo Foundation have also bagged the award in the past.
The MMCF, of which Maharana Singh is the chairman and managing director, is the largest of nine public charitable institutions set up in 1969 to sustain the responsibility of the House of Mewar towards humanity after the amalgamation of the state of Udaipur into the Republic of India in 1947.
It has a dedicated 260-member team which has so far invested nearly $2 million into 32 projects in sectors like academics, environment, philanthropy and heritage conservation.