Mysuru:  The Consul General of the United States Consulate General in Chennai, Robert G. Burgess, visited Swami Vivekananda Youth Movement (SVYM), Mysuru, recently to promote citizen-to-citizen, people-to-people relationships, with the larger goal of creating global citizens especially in the fields of cultural and       educational exchange.

SVYM is a development organisation, engaged in building a new civil society in India through its grassroots to policy level action in the sectors of Health, Education, and Community development for the last 34 years.

SVYM has set up the Vivekananda Institute for Indian Studies (VIIS) at Mysuru with an aim of introducing India and promoting India’s culture and heritage to the world. VIIS aims to expand human and social capital in order to create global citizenship, citizens who strive to make the world a better place.

Consul General Robert Burgess highlighted the activities of the US Consulate in India, Chennai, its role in fostering partnerships with academia in both countries, and the many opportunities that US students have for pursuing their studies in India. He emphasised that people-to-people relationships, programmes that connect Indian and US citizens, connect programmes and events where individuals can share the culture and heritage of both the countries which are pivotal to building long-lasting partnerships.

Dr. M.R. Seetharam, President, SVYM, Donna Ramil, Associate Director, Intl. Studies, ILR School Cornell University, SVYM Dy. CEO Praveen and other senior staff of SVYM briefed him about the activities of SVYM and the on-going University partnerships.