Happy New Month and Workers’ Day everyone!
Meet our Young Person of the Month for May 2014, Bharat Itagi from India. Coincidently, he will be turning 22 this month. We hope Birthday wishes are in handy. Bharat is not just a great Cricket player but also a young leader passionate about service. His experiences; like currently pursuing his internship at Outreach, Protection and Intervention Unit of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Malaysia is building him into a stronger and selfless leader than ever before.
Read this amazing feature and be inspired!
BHARAT RAMESH ITAGI
Bharat is a 4th Year student of 5 years integrated B.A.,LL.B course at University College of Law, (recently renamed as K.U.S.S.K. Law College), Dharwad, India. Coming from a city named Dharwad in the state of Karnataka, Bharat will turn 22 this May. Until he started his law course he was known to be more of cricket player with some brains than anything else. A born athlete who loves to stay fit is now known as a young leader with a bright future.
Due to his passion towards studying International Law, Bharat is currently pursuing his internship at Outreach, Protection and Intervention Unit of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Malaysia. According to him, this experience has changed the way he looks at the world. The stories of the refugees and asylum seekers that he comes across, their experiences and their problems have made him stronger than ever before.
How he began his journey
This would probably be one of the most random stories that you would come across. Bharat attended the International Youth Forum at Delhi, which was organized by Alexis Foundation. Later, through his friends he got to know that there is an opening to start a Centre for Study and Research in Law. This is when Bharat decided that he would bring this research centre to Dharwad so that his fellow mates who are less fortunate than the rest would get the same opportunity as everyone around the world. Often encountering difficulties to explain people from different parts of the world on where he comes from, Bharat decided that its time for him to give back something to the city of Dharwad in whatever way he can and since then he has never looked back.
Achievements
Bharat is the founding Chairperson of Alexis Centre for Study & Research in Law (ACSRL), which is an autonomous centre of Alexis Foundation – an organization participating in United Nations Global Compact, United Nations Civil Society Network and Government of India’s NGO Partnership System.
ACSRL has initiated a project called as Dynamic Dharwad, which aims to make Dharwad a better place to live in. The Vision is to unleash the dynamicity in Dharwad, by creating a platform for all to discuss, debate and harp upon the common issues concerning Dharwd, and at arriving practicable solutions to all the concerns. In this regard the project has already started making an impact. ACSRL was successful in raising funds and setting up a water purifier after realizing that the kids at an orphan home suffered diseases due to impure water. Members of ACSRL are helping spread awareness of Right to Vote as India goes to polls.
Mr. Itagi has actively participated in various International and National conferences in India and abroad. He was a delegate at 24th International Youth Leadership Conference (IYLC), facilitator of 26th IYLC held at Prague and Head Facilitator of 1st IYLC, Malaysia. Carrying on his pursuit of getting Dharwad into the world reckoning, Bharat along with the help of Alexis Foundation initiated World Law Dialogue by being the President for the event. The event was a huge success and was first of its kind to be held in Dharwad.
Bharat’s Sports Life
Right from his schooling days, he has been a leader & an active participant in extra-curricular activities. Because of his keen interests in sports and hard work, he has represented his State’s Cricket team at National School Games for two consecutive times. He toured Australia when he was 16 with a cricket coaching scholarship. He was also selected to play at State Level in other sports like Table Tennis, Badminton, etc.
He loves writing and has many publications in various journals as well as popular websites to his credit. Bharat, with his time management continues to be among the top rankings at his university.
On what inspires him
Bharat tells Opportunity Desk, “First to inspire me was my family and then my teachers. Whatever I achieved till date and will continue to achieve is because of the guidance and blessings of my family as well as teachers. I think, not getting into the top National Law Schools of India also inspires me in a way to prove that you don’t need a big brand name on your CV to make it big. All you need is passion and willingness to make an impact. And of course, after my UNHCR experience, I have realized how cruel the world can be. Thus, I will continue to serve more to the society than ever before.”
Final words for young people
Success is not only as big as your hometown is. It is as big as the world we live in. Part of success is already achieved if you respect others around you. If you want to change something around you that you think is not right, always remember that you can’t change what’s going on around you until you start changing what’s going on within you. Dream big and try to execute these dreams by working hard. As I always say, you will win… Not immediately but DEFINITELY!!
For more information about Bharat Ramesh, check him on LinkedIn, connect with him on Facebook, follow him on twitter @BharatItagi or email him – [email protected]
———————————————————————————————————————————
Who will be the Next Young Person of the Month?
You can be the next Opportunity Desk Young Person of the Month! All you have to do is get a friend to recommend your work or fill out our nomination form here. We want to use the platform to recognize and celebrate the efforts of amazing young people around the world. O! Did I forget to add – that you must be an active Opportunity Desk member, either as a fan, reader or subscriber? Yes!
Don’t miss any updates in the future. Join Opportunity Desk on 13,000+Facebook, 2,300+Twitter, 17,000+Group or Subscribe via Email below!
