The Hindu Business Line : When knowledge economy spills over to public places

Story so far: On a cold night, a few of us go about draping a few homeless people with woollen sheets, even as they shiver through their sleep. Gupta wonders if we should have got the press to cover the act of philanthropy that the company had funded, but the boss is of the view that corporate philanthropy need not be trumpeted from rooftops. Valuable lesson, I feel, not only to Gupta but to many publicity-hungry honchos.

Episode 158

Should corporate philanthropy blow its own trumpet? "Many corporates that earn huge profits are hesitant to spend even a few lakhs of rupees on social spending, even though they have the `social responsibility' to serve the poor," rues a mail from M.A. Srinivasan, Manager, Canara Bank, Coimbatore.

"The poor can be better served if all the corporates join together and create a fund to alleviate poverty. With corporate funding, quality schools and hospitals can be set up, and shelter provided. Swati, have you ever heard of a trade union engaged in philanthropy?" No, I haven't! Srinivasan narrates how Canara Bank Officers' Union has been running an outpatient hospital in Kovaipudur for the last six years to cater to the poor and downtrodden people living in Arivolinagar there. "This hospital is run purely out of the subscriptions given by the officers of our union. When a small union like ours can do this, why not big corporates?" Best wishes for your work, Srinivasan.

There is a mail from Pratyush (http://ialive.blogspot.com), who asks if he could reproduce articles on child labour, farmers and so on. "These are great pieces of motivating work. I wish more and more people thought about social welfare. As your articles/anecdotes are very stimulating, these can be used for such tasks, even if some people get motivated we could help change some child's life," he writes. Thanks for your interest, Pratyush. I'm told there is a `syndication' option in the Internet edition of the paper, for this purpose.

"Dear Swati, I have been a regular reader of your column for the past six months. With regard to the topic `philanthropic acts' I want to share my views," says C. Maruthi Kumari of Salem. "Vocational education should be part of the curriculum so that it will help/motivate students to be employers rather than employees. Not only an MBA graduate but everyone can/should be trained to become an entrepreneur. They should also be taught the principle `give back to society what you got from it'." Useful suggestion.

"Youngsters of today are more willing to help people in need, but they are particular about how the money is used. So every school (including government schools) should reach out to its alumni and ask them to contribute, be it in the form of computers, books or workshops, so that students can prepare themselves for the outside world better. With students ready to receive and the alumni ready to give, it is up to the school to bridge the two. What is missing is the `bridge'. Cheers." Thanks, Maruthi.

"Dear Swati, Bill Gates, Warren Buffet and many other multi-billionaires would never agree that corporate philanthropy is a PR (public relations) gimmick," reads a mail from Sriram Kannan. "Even in the recent adoption episode involving a famous singer, the media went overboard to highlight the difficulties of the underprivileged. The media and PR are to be blamed for hyping corporate philanthropy. For a single child who got the focus of the media, there are millions whose basic needs are not met. Though there are genuinely concerned corporates who try to address the issue of philanthropy, I feel the role of media is also important, that is, in the way they present the news. But since most media houses are driven by TRPs and not CSR, it has become a rarity to find instances of genuine philanthropy in today's modern world." Guess, there is still hope, Sriram!

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Seminar in the park

One fine morning, last week, I decided that I should take a stroll in the neighbourhood park. It had been a few months since I visited the place, and many things seemed to have changed. A small board announced that a popular company had replaced the tiles on the pathway. Another board, more colourful, spoke about the weekly concert on the lawns, courtesy another company. Hedges seemed greener and the trees appeared to be swaying gentler, perhaps because of the elation in my mind!

There were the usual people, in their workout gear, walking and jogging, with iPods adding to their rhythm, instead of the Walkman. What seemed unusual in the park was a small group, attentively listening to a speaker. "We are from different IT companies in the city. And this is our weekly seminar," a lady explained to me when I lingered at the periphery of the group.

The speaker was discussing the developments in computer security. Though much of what he spoke went above my head, the thought that lingered on when I was returning home was about how the signs of a knowledge economy can be seen in public places too! We need more such activities, I told myself. Send in your thoughts by Friday.

SWATI_CA@HOTMAIL.COM

Blog at: http://Swati-CA.blogspot.com