Hello All,

As most of you know, the May 2010 issue of Glocal was published last month. Thanks to all of you that have given feedback or congratulations. If you missed it, you can find it here.

We're happy to announce that some changes are being made to Glocal. We are bringing more reflection, creativity and innovation into Glocal, thereby making it a publication more representative of all that DFP has to offer.

In order to make our newsletter as dynamic and engaging as possible, we would like it to represent the experiences of members of the DFP community beyond just our current Fellows. For this reason, we are inviting submissions. There is no set format for submissions, except that it be able to actually fit in our newsletter - so please, nothing longer than 600 words. There is no minimum word count. Submissions can include:

• Letters to the Editors
• Book Reviews
• Editorials/Opinion Pieces
• Accounts of Current Projects or Recent Experiences
• Relevant Photos (with descriptions included)
• Anything that you think Fellows, Alumni and Friends will be interested in! Creativity is encouraged!

Submissions must be original (your own writing). If you would like to share a link to someone else's work, you can do so on the DFP Facebook Page. Anything you would like included in the newsletter should include your name and designation. If you are a DFP Alum, please include your Cohort #. If you would not like your name included, please state this in your email.

If you have something that you would like to share, something which you feel will add to the quality and scope of Glocal News, please submit your work along with any relevant material (pictures, charts etc) to our editorial staff. The deadline for inclusion in our June issue is Thursday, June 10.

Our editors this month are:

Avinash: avinash@dfmail.org
Anita K: anita.kulkarni@dfmail.org
Laxmi: laxmi.rasalkar@dfmail.org
Vishwanath: vishwanath.bk@dfmail.org

Obviously, the focus of Glocal will still be on the current Fellows' experiences, so there is a limited space for outside contributions. It is at the editors' discretion which submissions will be included in each issue. However, if your submission is not selected, we encourage you to keep trying!

Thanks, and we hope to be reading something from you soon!

The DFP Team

Mr. Pramod Kumar of Cohort-I has once again earned the Alumni of the Week award.

This past week, Pramod announced that he would be giving incentive in the form of a Rs. 2000 cash prize to the team of Cohort-IV Fellows who develop the best Business Plan presentation.

Additionally, Pramod has offered to share his experiences and expertise in the area of starting a new enterprise by giving mentorship to 2 Fellows from Cohort-IV who are interested in this path.

Thank you again, Pramod, and we hope you will continue to be such an exceptional member of the DFP community.

The Deshpande Fellows are organizing “Walk-a-thon” to pledge against Tobacco on the eve of “Anti-Tobacco Day”, on 30th of May, 2010. It will be held from Durgad Bail to Rani Chennamma Circle, at 5:00 pm in the evening (Reporting time 4:00 pm).

The registration is free, only the first 500 participants who register get a free t-shirt & cap. Please support the cause, you can contact us at 9448813565 or mail us on anindita.d@dfmail.org, please conform your participation either by phone or email before 29th evening 6pm.

Thanks very much to Mr. Jagadish Katkar of DFP Cohort I, who has earned the third Alumni of the Week title!

Jagadish has connected DFP with Kevin Clauff, the founder of H2O for Humanity, as a Guest Speaker and also as a potential employer for DFP graduates in the future. Jagadish has also engaged Fellows in one session, sharing his experience in SELCO as the Innovation Manager and the background and operations of SELCO and their work in renewable energy. At the end of his Fellowship, he received the superlative “Most Passionate about a Cause” for his passion regarding tiger conservation.

Thanks Jagadish and keep up the good work!

Thanks very much to Ms. Poonam Jha of DFP Cohort III, who has earned the second Alumni of the Week title!

Poonam donated 25% of her first salary to the DFP Corpus Fund, the idea for which she had also proposed. Even while busy getting acquainted with her new post at Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled, Poonam has made generous contributions of her resources to DFP, as well as referring applicants for Cohort-V. Within her Fellowship itself, Poonam was known for her friendly and helpful nature. She was even named “Friendliest” when the Cohort-III superlatives were announced. Now, after her Fellowship has been completed, her support of DFP has continued.

Thanks Poonam and keep up the good work!

DCSE is very happy to announce its first Alumnus of the Week: Mr. Pramod Kumar.

Since graduating from DFP as a Fellow of Cohort-I, Pramod has been actively involved in both the Development Sector and with the Fellowship. Although currently based in Ramanagar, near Mysore, on his trips back to Hubli-Dharwad Pramod has been active in organizing meetings with DFP alumni and fostering a sense of collective engagement with the Program. Most recently he joined with DFP as a Module Specialist for the Livelihood module, to great reviews from current Fellows.

Thank you, Pramod, and DFP looks forward to your continued involvement!

Photo: Pramod with Cohort-IV Fellows during Livelihood Module