Giving Back - NGO India 2013 Closes on a High Note

MUMBAI, June 25, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

UBM India's CSR initiative, Giving Back - NGO India 2013, the most influential platform for dialogue and action between NGOs, corporate and policy makers closed on a high note. This event lived upto its expectations of being the most dynamic and collaborative platform for NGOs, corporate and Government in order to create sustainable business through a combination of thought conferences, engaging workshops, exhibition and intense networking.

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The event was inaugurated by Shri Sunil Waman Prabhu, Mayor of Mumbai on 14th June, 2013 who was the Chief Guest for the event, in the presence of Ms. Kajal Aggarwal, Actor and Brand Ambassador for Giving Back - NGO India 2013; Shreyas Talpade, Actor and Social Welfare Enthusiast; Dr. Kiran Bedi, Chairperson, India Vision Foundation and other eminent personalities from varied fields including the UBM India Managing Director, Mr. Joji George.

More than 160 NGOs like Wockhardt Foundation, Oxfam India, CRY, Guidestar India, PETA, Lend-A-Hand, GOONJ, HelpAgeand Samhita showcased their work at the event.

"The need of the hour is to focus on inclusive development. We are witnessing a situation where rich are getting richer and poor are getting poorer. Almost 42% of our population is living below the poverty line and the rate of conversion is mere 1% per day. In such a scenario the country will take almost 42 years to eradicate poverty. This makes it important for the Corporates, NGOs and the Government to work towards this objective of Giving Back. These three parties need to recognize each other's potential and work together instead of running parallel services," said Nisha Agarwal, CEO, Oxfam India.

As part of its commitment to sustainable business, UBM globally, has developed the Community Engagement Series that aims to provide a platform for sharing knowledge, skills, experiences and good governance across the voluntary sector.

The theme of "Giving Back-NGO India 2013" was 'Sustainability' and it aimed at enabling NGOs become "self-sustainable" as well as support the corporate community to achieve "brand sustainability" through effective understanding and implementation of CSR strategies.

According to Joji George, Managing Director, UBM India, "We are very proud as a company to be at the forefront of sustainable business and providing this powerful platform for social change as a part of our CSR initiative. This step towards bringing the stakeholders on a common platform proved to be a success with an attendee turn out of over 4000 and we at UBM will do our best to ensure that strong and fruitful relationships can now be forged between the Golden Trio - NGOs, Corporates and Policy Makers."

Stressing on the importance for companies to link their CSR initiatives to their core values and interests, Priya Naik, Founder and Joint MD, Samhita, said, "Though there are companies who are willing to fund NGO's, the only hurdle they face is lack of time and expertise to identify credible, appropriate, high impact NGO'S relevant to their area of focus. Companies, on the other hand, should determine whether their interest lies in forming a long term strategic partnerships with NGO's or just complying with the prerequisite defined by Government before committing to a particular cause."

The positive response the event garnered from exhibitors, visitors, dignitaries and stakeholders alike with unfaltering support from key partners including Guidestar India, Wockhardt Foundation, RE Rogers, Public Interest Registry, PS Bedi, NESCO Group of Companies, Oxfam India, Leaders Quest and many more has boosted UBM's Morale to continue on their chosen path of 'Building Sustainable Businesses'. The event was a grand success with exhibiting NGOs and attendees from all over India. All exhibitors appreciated this platform provided by UBM India which allowed them exposure to other NGOs and corporate on a national and international level.

About the Event:

Giving Back - NGO India 2013 is the second edition of UBM India's CSR initiative and a part of the Community Engagement Series of UBM. UBM began the CSR initiatives in 2009 with "ONG Brasil", an exhibition and conference in Brazil which has just run very successfully for its fourth year. It also has "Business4Better" in UK and USA and "Giving Back- NGO India" in India.

Date: 14th and 15th June 2013

Venue: Bombay Convention and Exhibition Centre, Mumbai

About UBM India:

UBM India is a part of UBM plc which is a leading global business media company. UBM is the platform that brings the world's buyers and sellers together at events, online, and in print, providing them with the information they need to do business successfully.

The focus is on serving professional commercial communities, from doctors to game developers, from journalists to jewellery traders, from farmers to pharmacists, from nuclear to green around the world.

For more information, please visit www.giving-back.in [http://www.giving-back.in ]

Primary Media Contact: Riya Banga, riya@mutualpr.com, 91-9930-375208