The British High Commission invites Indian women to apply for annual competition High Commissioner for a Day

By: WE Staff | Thursday, 9 September 2021

For a chance to lead the diplomatic mission for a day, the British High Commission has solicited applications from Indian women aged 18 to 23. To commemorate the International Day of the Girl Child, a pan-India competition is being held.

Applicants must record and upload a one-minute video on ‘how can young people best support confronting the global challenge of climate change?' to be considered for the position of ‘High Commissioner for a Day.' The video must be posted on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram with the hashtags #DayoftheGirl and @UKinIndia. The application date is September 22, 2021.

Alex Ellis, High Commissioner to India, said: “The impact of COVID-19 on education around the world will be long term, particularly for girls. This is why at the UK-hosted G7 Summit earlier this year, leaders from around the world agreed ambitious global targets to get more girls into school. Empowering and educating girls is also one of Prime Minister Modi's central campaigns. I am delighted to note that this year nearly 60% of UK’s Chevening fellowships and 52% of the scholarships for India were awarded to women.”

“The International Day of the Girl Child is an important moment to recognise that educating all girls everywhere is not just the right thing to do, it is one of the smartest investments we can make to build a better, more equitable world. Through the ‘High Commissioner for a Day’ competition, I want to shine a light on brilliant young women and for them to show their even younger peers in school, that anything is possible,” he added.

Since 2017, the British High Commission has held an annual competition called "High Commissioner for a Day." Last year's winner was Chaitanya Venkateswaran, an 18-year-old who spent her day as High Commissioner learning about gender representation in the media, interacting with senior police officers from Madhya Pradesh and Telangana, and launching the British Council STEM Tracer Study, which documents the stories of Indian women scholars.

The winner will be chosen by a jury at the British High Commission (BHC), and will be publicised on the @UKinIndia social media channels by September 28. Each participant will only be allowed to submit one entry. Multiple entries from the same person will be removed from the competition. The High Commission's judgement is definitive, and there will be no further correspondence on the subject.