'The Rise' London Summit and Launch of the Great Tamil Dream

"When Tamils come together to synergize, we can envision and visualize larger and bigger initiatives. Only the communities that collaborate endure."

Society & Culture

Apr 20, 2022

Praveen Suresh

Analytics professional

India

___

***Are you or someone you know in the global Tamil community doing great things? We'd love to feature them: FILL OUT THIS FORM ***

Network & collaborate with Tamil Changemakers from around the world. Request to join our private LinkedIn community here.

INTERESTED IN MEETING OTHER TAMIL CREATORS, PROFESSIONALS & ENTREPRENEURS FROM AROUND THE WORLD? JOIN THE TAMIL CHANGEMAKERS COMMUNITY HERE & ACCESS OUR MEMBERS ONLY LINKEDIN GROUP, EXCLUSIVE EVENTS & MORE!

___

I had a chance to connect with Fr. Jegath Gasper Raj on the upcoming The Rise Emerge London Summit. Fr. Jegath is the founder of The Rise, a networking organization of Tamil Entrepreneurs, Professionals and enthusiasts working towards promoting the Tamil language, culture and community.

From a Catholic priest to promoting Thiruvasagam to taking up causes related to social justice and Tamil identity, Fr. Jegath has come a long way. We featured Fr. Jegath in a 2019 article, which you can read here.

The Rise brings in a culture to help others grow and succeed. According to Fr. Jegath- "When Tamils come together to synergize, we can envision and visualize larger and bigger initiatives. Only the communities that collaborate endure."

‘The Rise’, an impactful confluence of Global Tamils, is organising its fourth international global summit on May 5, 6 and 7, 2022 in London. The first global summit was in 2018 Dec in Madurai, the second was in 2019 May in Malaysia and the third was in 2019 Nov in Chennai.

At The Rise, there are different tracks to cater to the varied needs. Knowledge inputs by resource persons, opportunities to network, pitch and look for funding too. All the registered participants will be able to present and showcase their products/services, so that the summit will become an occasion to sign real-time business deals and partnerships.

The organization also provided online training programs on Entrepreneurship, Trade and Leadership up to 60 days prior to the summit, involving top line experts, professionals, and accomplished entrepreneurs.

WATCH NEXT

Praveen Suresh (PS): Why host the upcoming summit in London?

Fr. Jegath (FJ): The Rise is well established in the APAC (particularly Malaysia and Singapore), reasonably known in India and North America. The Rise now wants to take the message to UK and Europe, a group of people also came forward to collaborate. London being the financial capital for half of the world and the capital of the Commonwealth, seemed to be a good fit.

PS: What can one expect from the summit?

FJ: The Rise Emerge London Summit is rigorously outcome based. Impactful new initiatives that have been in preparation for months will be launched during the conclave. New proposals that will potentially change the face of Tamils in the global arena will be submitted and adopted.

The Rise Emerge London Summit is planned with a clear intent and in a manner to create value:

For every delegate/participant
For every organization, association, enterprise who participates in the Summit
To the Tamil community as a Global Collective
To strengthen the current investment/job generation momentum of Tamil Nadu and the Northeast of Sri Lanka
To the wider humanity

There is also a pitch fest, sessions on preparing a business/project plan for beginners, environmental and social governance to scale up businesses across regions and on the current situation in Sri Lanka.

There are also special sessions for Global Tamil Lawyers, Global Tamil Auditors and FinTech Professionals, Global Tamil Healthcare professionals, Global Tamil Educationists, Global Tamil Thinkers, Public Intellectuals, Global Tamil Retailers, Global Tamil HR professionals etc.,

PS: Can you share some of the new initiatives that will be launched during the summit?

FJ: To name a few- AaTral- a forum comprising of 70-100 (midsize and above) IT entrepreneurs to share jobs and projects, Global Tamil Start-up fund, Global Tamil Engineers Forum, Global Tamil Top circle (with big pockets and extraordinary professional experience) and The Great Tamil Dream | மாபெரும் தமிழ்க் கனவு.

PS: What is the Great Tamil Dream all about?

FJ: These are some of the dream projects to discuss and corroborate upon. Like Global Tamil Bank, Global Tamil Crypto currency, Tamil Pay/T-Pay: The Tamil Digital Wallet, a Global Consultancy Service to help Tamil enterprises etc.

PS: How has The Rise changed since the 2019 Chennai Summit?

FJ: The curiosity about The Rise has grown and people have taken it seriously. The Rise has gained traction in attracting serious minded people to become an effective mediating agency between Tamil Entrepreneurs globally. We have also established footprints in more countries (35+ and counting), building strong Global Teams with more sense of ownership and country-based teams.

The Rise has grown despite the pandemic and the inability to meet in-person. We conducted 4 online summits (after Nov 2019) to keep the knowledge share going and to keep the org alive.

PS: Lastly, what are some of the challenges the Tamil community faces today which you hope to address?

FJ: We are a community with no one religion, geography, or political ideology, hence a lack of wider coordinating agencies to unite us and harness the enormous potential Tamils have. The other is second gen in the English-speaking countries have very little connection with Tamil legacies and cultural memories, although a small section is rooted. Lastly, a lack of supportive ecosystem for graduates and entrepreneurs back in Tamil Nadu and in the Northeast of Sri Lanka.

Learn more at The Rise.

**Looking to create your love story? Join the other couples who have dated and got married through myTamilDate.com!***