Deepa Malik (Second from Right) and Seema Nagar (Right) at Samsung Inspire

At the inaugural edition of #SamsungInspire, hundreds of young students from India’s top engineering colleges and B-schools and young Samsung employees from across the country got to meet Ms. Deepa Malik, who overcame many difficulties in her life including a chest down paralysis to win a Silver medal for India at the 2016 Summer Paralympics.

Ms. Malik, a Padma Shri and Arjuna Award winner and a motor sports and swimming enthusiast, has four Limca World Records to her name. As an activist, she has been instrumental in getting several policies changed in favour of differently-abled people in India.

“We do not follow our heart because we worry about what people will think. I refuse to be anybody’s stereotype,” Ms. Malik told an enthralled audience, narrating her life’s story where she had to break through several stereotypes.

Ms. Seema Nagar, a former student of Samsung Technical School in Jaipur and now a trainer at the same school with a government job, also spoke at the event about the determination to achieve her dreams, overcoming social and gender stereotypes to become a trained technician making her parents and family proud. Ms. Nagar, whose remarkable life story inspired Samsung to make a film on it, hails from a small village near Jaipur and aspires to become a civil service officer, following the recognition of her success.

“At Samsung we inspire the world through transformational technologies. This is possible because we imbibe the values of people, excellence, change, integrity and co-prosperity, which inspire and guide each and every employee of Samsung. We sincerely hope that inspirational stories such as that of Deepa and Seema will motivate the world and individuals to overcome challenges and achieve their dreams,” said Mr. BK Lee, Director, Human Resources, Samsung Southwest Asia.

Two Samsung employees also spoke about challenges in their lives and how they overcame them.

Samsung Inspire aims to engage with bright young talent in the country, inside and outside Samsung, showcase to them the true values of the organization—People, Excellence, Change, Integrity and Co-Prosperity—and inspire them to overcome their obstacles and grow despite any challenges, while aiming to make a contribution to the society and transform lives.

(L-R) Mr. H C Hong, President & CEO, Samsung Southwest Asia, Shri Kalraj Mishra, Union Minister for MSME and Smt Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Union Minister for Food Processing at the MoU signing ceremony for Samsung Technical Schools

Samsung India’s citizenship initiatives came in for praise from Shri Kalraj Mishra, Union Minister for Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) at an event where Samsung and MSME Ministry renewed their partnership for 10 Samsung Technical Schools. Two new MSME-Samsung Technical Schools at Bengaluru and Jamshedpur were also announced.

“Definitely, Samsung and MSME have worked hard to empower women. Samsung has not only worked hard towards this, but also to highlight the success stories… I must say it has worked to realise the dreams of the Prime Minister,” said Shri Kalraj Mishra.

Shrimati Harsimrat Kaur Badal, Union Minister for Food Processing thanked Samsung for rolling out MSME-Samsung Technical School Scholarship program for girls and differently-abled trainees.

“1,000 scholarships to 1,000 girls… 40% of them are from the poor strata of society. I think this is a wonderful initiative and I can’t congratulate you enough and thank you enough that you have come to India and you are making our people a part of this wonderful initiative,” Shrimati Harsimrat Kaur Badal said.

A special screening of Samsung India’s new film, which depicts the real life story of Seema Nagar, a young village girl who breaks stereotypes to achieve her dreams, was applauded by the minister too.

Seema Nagar with her parents

“I was always a fan of this advertisement of Samsung because not only did it highlight what your company was doing but actually brought in a social angle… It highlights your commitment towards society and to giving back to society,” Shrimati Harsimrat Kaur Badal said.

The Minister said Seema Nagar has become an icon for others to follow.

In just one week, Samsung India’s latest digital campaign has received over 25 million hits on social networking platform YouTube.

“I had the full support of Samsung due to which I have been able to progress and make a name for myself,” said Seema Nagar, who was felicitated at the event.

Seema Nagar being felicitated by Shri Kalraj Mishra, Union Minister for Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises

Samsung Technical School was started in 2013 and aims to support the government’s vision to make India a global manufacturing hub by addressing the need for talented manpower with practical know-how and relevant industry experience. These schools have so far trained over 2,000 youth and made them job-ready across different technical trades.