CEO Pooran C. Pandey Appointed to the Boards of Trustees of the World Food Programme for India

BERLIN, October 31, 2016 /PRNewswire/ --

"I feel very honoured to join the Board of Trustees of the World Food Programme (WFP). My position as CEO at the Dialogue of Civilizations Research Institute (DOC) and my contribution to the WFP will bring a valuable asset to both organisations, connecting research with practical advice", says DOC CEO Pooran Chandra Pandey.

"Members of the Board expressed a keen and unanimous desire to request Pooran Chandra Pandey's valuable contribution in view of his expertise, his experience in public service, and his commitment towards promoting food security and removal of poverty", states Rita Sarin, Country Director of The Hunger Project India.

Joining Rita Sarin are Prof Swaminathan, known as the father of the Green Revolution in India and holder of the World Food Prize, and Neela Gangadharan, Former Chief Secretary to the government. The Trust offers advice without distinction based on any caste, creed, colour, race, religion, language, nationality, or gender and without any profit motive.

The purpose of the Trust is to reduce poverty, hunger, and malnutrition for the most disadvantaged sections of the population in India, especially women and children. Its mission relates to the distribution of food. The Trust was chaired by the Former Indian Prime Minister I.K. Gujral for several years.

The Dialogue of Civilizations supports the commitment of Pooran C. Pandey in the WFP Board of Trusts as it goes in-line with the principles of the Institute to reduce potentials of conflict situations in the world.

About DOC RI:

Rooted in a tradition of seeking dialogue-based solutions to humankind's most pressing issues, Dialogue of Civilizations Research Institute builds on the work and achievements of its predecessor organization, the World Public Forum Dialogue of Civilizations, bringing together global thought leaders from academia, public policy, business and civil society to debate and develop practice-based policy advice.

The roots of the organization date back to 9 November 2001, following an initiative by Iranian leader Mohammad Khatami, when UNESCO Member States unanimously adopted the 'UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity' and the UN General Assembly presented its Global Agenda for Dialogue among civilisations, setting out the principles of intercultural dialogue to be defended and objectives to be achieved. The World Public Forum Dialogue of Civilizations emerged as a practical endeavour to implement this initiative, and has since evolved into what is today Dialogue of Civilizations Research Institute.