ICCR to build ambassador programme among foreign students in India

Subject: Polity

Section: National Body

Concept :

The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) aims to promote India’s cultural and creative heritage globally by using the experiences of over 48,000 foreign students studying in India as brand ambassadors.
ICCR will organize Exit Engagement Evenings (E-3) with foreign students in various Central and State universities, institutes, and agricultural colleges of the country, three or four months before they finish their courses.
In April 2022, ICCR launched the India Alumni Portal, a platform to connect with foreign students worldwide who have studied in India.
Values shown: Cultural Diplomacy, Soft Diplomacy, Brand Ambassadorship, International Education, Networking, and Alumni Engagement.

About ICCR

The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) was founded in 1950 by Maulana AbulKalam Azad.
It is an autonomous organisation of the Government of India, involved in India’s external cultural relations i.e., cultural diplomacy.
Its objectives are:
- to actively participate in the formulation and implementation of policies and programmes pertaining to India’s external cultural relations.
- to foster and strengthen cultural relations and mutual understanding between India and other countries,
- to promote cultural exchanges with other countries and people, and to develop relations with nations.
It is running 36 cultural centresin different countries with the promotion of Indian culture and projecting India as a hub for higher education.
It instituted several awards for foreign nationals as a way to promote India’s culture abroad:
- Distinguished Indologist Award
- World Sanskrit Award
- Distinguished Alumni Award – Citation and Plaque
- Gisela Bonn Award