HISD Abroad | Puranik Foundation

Puranik Foundation collaborates on HISD inaugural Global Issues Summit

The Puranik Foundation was humbled to be invited as a contributor to HISD’s inaugural Global Issues Summit on May 27th ,2020.

This Summit was designed to increase the global competency of Houston students by creating international youth exchanges aimed at disadvantaged demographics in Houston. Participants were able to connect with fellow students and teachers from twenty-two different countries and discussed issues not only affecting their own communities, but communities around the world.

As part of our commitment to a Global Education, the Puranik Foundation pledged one fill scholarship to volunteer abroad to the Go Abroad speech competition winner. Students as young as thirteen-years-old gave speeches on women’s rights, climate change, wealth disparity, and other global issues related to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Ritika Gupta, an eighth-grader at Lanier Middle School gave a passionate speech about gender equality, and ultimately won the competition. She will be joining our Impact India program in Summer 2021. Each of the student speeches given at the HISD Global Issues Summit will be included in UNICEF’s #CreateForUNICEF initiative, and the Go Abroad Competition winner has been selected to participate in the HYOUston DiverCity Fest by UNICEF.

Impact India Alumni Donovan Robinson of Wheatley High School and Mia Garcia of Houston Academy of International Studies led a breakout session during the summit and shared their knowledge & insights on combating water scarcity with various forms of conservation used on the Puranik Foundation campus in Pune, India, which pertains to Sustainable Development Goal Number Six.