GreenBkk.com Williams F1 | Children’s charity given pole position for Indian Grand Prix

Children’s charity given pole position for Indian Grand Prix

Posted on Friday 28 Oct 2011

Global child rights organisation Plan International is delighted to announce that it has been given a unique opportunity in celebration of this month’s Formula One™ Indian Grand Prix.

The non-profit organisation which works in 50 developing countries will see its logo take pride of place on the nose of the AT&T Williams team’s cars for the inaugural race on October 28-30.

The amazing opportunity was created by Thomson Reuters, a long-term partner of AT&T Williams, which generously donated its usual branding position on the cars to help highlight Plan’s work.

The race at the Buddh circuit in Uttar Pradesh is very timely for Plan as the populous state will also be the location on October 31st for its major campaign on girls’ rights.

According to United Nations’ estimates, the world population will pass the 7 billion mark on October 31. Plan is using the occasion to raise awareness of the increasing problem of millions of ‘disappearing’ girls in India and globally through the continued practice of foeticide and infanticide.

Hundreds of thousands of female babies are being terminated in India every year even though sex-selective abortions and use of ultrasound technology for foetal sex-determination are illegal in the country. Plan’s Let Girls Be Born campaign in India has been very active in trying to combat this damaging and growing gender gap.

Plan International CEO Nigel Chapman said: “We are extremely proud to be so prominently involved in this first Indian Grand Prix and very grateful to both Thomson Reuters & AT&T Williams for this marvellous and generous opportunity.

“It will enable Plan to significantly raise our profile and for us to further our work in India on this and many other pressing issues adversely affecting the lives of children in poverty there.”

Internationally acclaimed actor Anil Kapoor and Plan’s patron in India said: “Plan is bringing a lasting change in the lives of over a million children in India and it’s a great opportunity to showcase Plan’s work on the global platform; I will be there personally to cheer on AT&T Williams and celebrate Plan’s success.”

About Plan International:

• Founded over 70 years ago, Plan is one of the oldest and largest children's development organisations in the world. We work in 50 developing countries across Africa, Asia and the Americas to promote child rights and lift millions of children out of poverty.

• In India , Plan works in 10 states and has directly impacted lives of over a million children and their families. As a response to India’s worst child sex ratio since records began, Plan India has launched ‘Let Girls Be Born’ (LGBB) campaign and its main objective is to realise a gender balance in society by eliminating female foeticide/ infanticide and ensuring the right to identity, name and citizenship for girls.

• The ‘Because I am a Girl campaign’ (BIAAG) is Plan’s commitment to unlocking the astonishing potential of girls around the world by fighting gender inequality, securing girls’ rights and lifting millions of girls out of poverty. The campaign is dedicated to building the human capital of girls through knowledge and skills, aiming to equip, enable and engage girls of all ages to acquire the assets, skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in life.

• Plan believes that birth registration is a critical first step in ensuring the rights of a child. Since the launch of its birth registration campaign in 2005, Plan has facilitated registration of over 40,000,000 people across 32 countries, most of them children. The campaign has helped to improve laws in 10 countries enabling access to registration for an additional estimated 153,000,000 people.

• According to provisional Census totals, India ’s population at 1210.2 million is almost equal to the combined population of the United States, Indonesia, Brazil, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Japan.

• World Development Report 2012: Gender Equality and Development says globally, “missing” girls at birth and excess female mortality after birth account for an estimated 3.9 million women each year in low-and middle-income countries. Almost one million of these excess deaths are in India .

Credit: at&t Williams F1 (www.williamsf1.com)