Young thinkers meet on regional cooperation in city next week

The British Deputy High Commission here will be hosting a conference of young thinkers next week, to bring people from different communities together, cutting across boundaries.
The young thinkers will talk about regional cooperation and how they can contribute, the British Deputy High Commissioner in Kolkata Bruce Bucknell told PTI.
The participants of the conference will represent countries such as Nepal, Myanmar, Bangladesh and India in the region, he said.
"We are working with the Department for International Development (DFID) in developing various initiatives which will boost transnational links in countries like Nepal, Myanmar, Bangladesh and India," Bucknell said on the sidelines of a Hope Foundation event here yesterday evening.

The thinkers will also be meeting people from other regions of India such as lower Ganga and Brahmaputra basins, and the Himalayan foothills, he said.
"With this, we can actually help in contributing development in certain areas and bring cities together across continents," he said.

Talking about Hope Foundation, which celebrated its 18th Annual Cultural and Education Day, the Deputy High Commissioner said, "They have incredibly strong links with the city. They bring people together, they bring communities together."
Maureen Forrest, founder and director of The Hope Foundation said, "We have 10 homes and we are taking care of children from underprivileged background who were abandoned and neglected."

Forrest also said that the foundation was trying its best to support them since all children are special.
"We work with child welfare committees closely," she said.
She also said if the foundation has more money then it can look after more children.
Around 500 boys and 200 girls attended the annual cultural and education day, themed on love, Forrest said.
"Without love the world is nothing. We have so much war, we want to give these children a conflict-free world, we want to make them better citizens," she said.
The Hope Foundation, set up in 1999 is now a registered Irish charity with its offices in Ireland, India, the UK, Germany and the US.