Saloni Zaveri-Ahluwalia works with Strategic Communication and Public Diplomacy at the Consulate General of Sweden in Mumbai. Alumni Relations is a key part of her portfolio. She calls the Sweden Alumni Network a “vibrant lot” who are always eager to do things. It is a small wonder, she says, that they were selected as the Alumni Network of the year in 2021.
There is a constant cooperation between the Consulate General and the Sweden Alumni Network. Their specific expertise has been used by the Consulate General for research for the Sustainability Mapping of Swedish Companies in India and the Nobel Prize Teacher Summit is handled by an alumna and her team.
On World Environment Day, Consul General Anna Lekvall teamed up with a record breaking 146,850 participants for a plogging event and gathered close to 2,000 kilograms of plastic and litter in Pune. The event was organised by Pune Municipal Corporation and the Sweden Alumni chapter in Pune.
Why is the relation with the alumni important for the Consulate General in Mumbai
– Building meaningful relationships with the alumni is something we have consciously worked on over the past few years, says Saloni Zaveri-Ahluwalia. Several of them are value creators in civil society and NGO:s or are well-placed CSR professionals in Indian corporate houses. This gives them access to other like-minded people to further amplify our messages of Sweden promotion.
– At the Consulate, I have started a social media campaign where we introduce the alumni, one person at a time, talking about the work they have done and highlighting their learnings from Sweden.
Best memory of cooperation with the Sweden Alumni Network of India
– The campaign #Loveis love! As everything was shut down during the pandemic, I contacted our alumni network and culled out those working with LGBTQIA+ to send me videos talking about different issues on the subject of love. It ended up being a very successful campaign where I could also highlight the important work being done by them.