Tuesday, November 28 2017 16:42

ArmInfo. Social investors and entrepreneurs Ruben Vardanyan and Veronica Sonaband, together with Anand Mahindra, chairman of the board of the international group  of companies Mahindra Group, based in India, allocate funding in the  amount of $ 7.5 million for scholarships to gifted high school  students from all over the world who go to one of the schools and  colleges of the educational system UWC (United World Colleges) and  whose financial capabilities do not allow you to pay for the cost of  training yourself.

UWC is a worldwide educational movement whose mission is to turn  education into a force capable of uniting people, nations and  cultures in the name of a peaceful and stable future. 17  international schools and colleges on four continents and a system of  national committees in 159 countries and territories whose volunteers  are engaged in the selection of UWC scholars regardless of their  social and financial situation represent UWC.

All three of the above-mentioned benefactors actively support the UWC  educational movement: Ruben Vardanyan and Veronika Zonabend founded  the UWC Dilijan College in Armenia in 2014, while the Mahindra Group,  led by Anand Mahindra, opened UWC Mahindra College in India in 1997.

As part of the agreement, Mahindra Group will provide 150 million  Indian rupees (about $ 2.3 million) to pay scholarships to UWC  Mahindra College students for five years. Half of this amount will be  directed to grants to Indian citizens, and the other half to students  selected by UWC national committees outside the country.

At the same time, the Scholae Mundi Foundation, established by Ruben  Vardanyan and Veronika Zonabend, will allocate $ 5.2 million to pay  scholarships for training in the next academic year. Of this amount,  $ 3.7 million will be spent on scholarships to foreign students of  UWC Dilijan College located in Armenia.

The remaining $ 1.5 million will be distributed as scholarships to  students from Armenia, Georgia and Russia who will go to 16 other  schools and colleges of the UWC system in different countries,  including UWC Mahindra College. The Scholae Mundi Foundation earlier  announced its intention to finance scholarship programs in the  following years.

In an effort to emphasize the importance of scholarship programs, UWC  Mahindra College and UWC Dilijan announced their readiness to  allocate cross-scholarships: UWC Mahindra College will provide one  place in the college and pay up to 100% of the cost of tuition and  residence to a student from Armenia, and UWC Dilijan, respectively,  one place in college and a payment of up to 100% of the cost of  tuition to a student from India. The program is designed for five  years.

Sir John Daniel, Chairman of the International Council of the UWC,  said: "This exclusive initiative of outstanding entrepreneurs from  different parts of the world will allow even more young people to  become part of the UWC movement and to receive international  education of world level. Life and study at one of the 17 UWC  colleges will give them the opportunity to acquire the skills and  experience of intercultural communication that they will need to  become leaders of public opinion and make a difference for the  better."

"Today it is extremely important in the complex, unpredictable  conditions of the world to provide ample opportunities for talented  students with great leadership potential. We hope that the  scholarship program created by us will serve as a catalyst for the  growing influence of the UWC movement in the world and will help to  prepare bright leaders among the new generation who can easily  navigate in difficult surrounding circumstances, "said Anand  Mahindra, chairman of Mahindra Group.

"In our increasingly interconnected and rapidly changing world, it is  extremely important to grow up open and discerning leaders who are  carriers of well-defined humanistic values that will be able to  navigate their course through a zone of uncertainty and play a  significant role in the development of local and global communities.  We are sure that formation of this type of leaders forms in the UWC  system, and Scholae Mundi Scholarship Scholarship program will  promote the inclusivity of this network, "said Veronica Zonaband,  co-founder and chairman of the Board of Governors of UWC Dilijan  College in Armenia, member of the Board of Trustees of the UWC United  Kingdom).