IIT Bombay’s Techfest gets Unesco patronage

Techfest, the annual science and technology festival of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay, has now been granted the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) patronage. The festival will be held from January 7-9.

Considered the highest form of support, the Unesco patronage implies that Techfest can use the logo in all its commercial communication. “The patronage is recognition of the outreach that Techfest has and the impact it has had at the global level. It means that Techfest can use the UNESCO logo, this will help us promote our brand with UN backing,” said Neeraj Kookada, media manager, Techfest, IIT Bombay.

According to the Unesco website, a patronage is ‘granted to demonstrate the organisation’s moral endorsement of an exceptional activity’. It can be granted to several activities like national and international events, organising congresses, meetings and conferences, awarding prizes and publishing books among others.

The two main criteria in assessing a patronage request, according to Unesco, are that the proposed activity is relevant to its ‘own strategic objectives’ and that the ‘organisation is compliant to the values, principles and constitutional aims of Unesco’.  The reasons for this patronage, said Kookada, are the initiatives that Techfest takes up each year.

“From ‘VeriZon’ which is a social entrepreneurship competition to ‘Prayaas’ that encourages young minds to innovate solutions in renewable resources, biomedical research and agricultural technologies, Techfest has always tried something new,” said Kookada.