Come Friday, 23-year-old Ayswarya Alex from Kottayam will ‘virtually’ step into the shoes of the British Deputy High Commissioner to Karnataka and Kerala for a few hours.
A final-year BDS student at the Maharishi Markandeshwar College of Dental Science and Research in Haryana, Ms. Alex has won the opportunity after emerging top from the Kerala- Karnataka region in a pan-India competition conducted by the UK’s diplomatic mission last month. The contest, which was open to women in the 18-23 age group, invited applicants to post a one-minute video on “what global challenges and opportunities do you see for gender equality in the age of COVID-19.”
Citing the example of her mother — a housewife — Ms. Alex asserted in her video that the digital age presented several opportunities for women in the form of online learning and online business. “The video was posted on September 13 and a couple of weeks later, I received a communication on behalf of the British Deputy High Commission in Bengaluru, seeking to confirm my engagement with the Deputy High Commissioner,” she said.
Exciting engagement
Inviting Ms. Alex to join Jeremy Pilmore - Bedford for a series of virtual calls from 9 a.m to 12.30 p.m., an official communication from the mission said it planned to host her ‘for exciting engagements such as an introduction to the British High Commission’s work in India, an all-staff meeting with the members of the British Deputy High Commission and an engagement with women leaders to speak about women’s issues and ways to work together’.
Ms. Alex, the second daughter of Alex M. Arayath and Anitha Alex from Kalathipadi in the district, had earlier attended the National Children Science Congress in 2009 in Ahmedabad as a child scientist.
