United Nations Foundation Board of Directors Visits India.

WASHINGTON -- From December 13-17, 2005 the UN Foundation Board of Directors, including Founder and Chairman Ted Turner, will visit India and South Asia to meet with government, business and NGO leaders, view United Nations projects in the country, and host public forums in an effort to promote public-private partnerships in India.

The UN Foundation serves as a platform for partnering with the UN to help corporations, foundations, governments, and individuals make a difference in the important work of the UN. This also marks the first board meeting for newly appointed member N.R. Narayana Murthy, Chairman and Chief Mentor of Infosys Technologies Limited.

"We recognize how important India and the region are to a peaceful and prosperous future," said Ted Turner, Founder and Chairman of the UN Foundation. "We are pleased to meet with people from the area to continue to promote public-private partnerships in support of the UN's work in India."

Since 1998, the UN Foundation has invested nearly US $30 million and developed public-private partnerships to support UN projects in India, addressing issues including eradicating polio, protecting Indian women and girls from HIV/AIDS, conserving India's natural resources and wildlife, and developing renewable energy for the country. These efforts are carried out in close cooperation with the Indian government, UN Agencies, and leading Indian business and nongovernmental organizations.

During this visit to New Delhi, India, the Board members will host a reception on December 13 to welcome Narayana Murthy to the Board in his home country. Murthy joined the Board this year and is able to provide leadership on corporate citizenship, globalization, and poverty. The Bombay Chamber of Commerce, American Chamber of Commerce and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) will co-host the reception.

Other Board members attending the board meeting include: Gro Harlem Brundtland, Director-General Emeritus, World Health Organization; Hisashi Owada, Judge, International Court of Justice; Emma Rothschild, Director of the Centre for History and Economics - King's College, University of Cambridge; Nafis Sadik, Special Advisor to the UN Secretary-General; former U.S. Senator Timothy E. Wirth, President of the United Nations Foundation; and Muhammad Yunus, Founder, Grameen Bank of Bangladesh.

Some of the trip events include:

--A lunch on public-private partnerships with Ms. Sonia Gandhi, President, Indian National Congress, to promote increased dialogue among business, philanthropy, and government leaders, and UN officials on public-private partnerships in the social sector. (December 14)

--A public forum with Dr. Amartya Sen to discuss the future of democracy and its challenges. Ted Turner will provide the welcome address and the Governor of West Bengal, Gopalkrishna Gandhi will moderate. (December 15)

--A CHARCA Peer Educators' Conference to discuss the Feminization of HIV/AIDS and how it is impacting India. The CHARCA project is a partnership with the UN Foundation, the Government of the Netherlands, and UNAIDS to help prevent the spread of AIDS and protect women and girls from infection. (December 15)

--An Energy and Climate Change Program with TERI to discuss ways private entrepreneurship in India can support environment-friendly energy. The program participants include Ted Turner, Dr. R. K. Pachauri, Director-General, TERI, and Mr. Jairam Ramesh, Member of Parliament; Member, National Advisory Council. (December 16)

--During the Board's visit, CII will present Ted Turner with the CII Exemplar Award for Social Entrepreneurship. (December 16)

The UN Foundation was created in 1998 with businessman and philanthropist Ted Turner's historic $1 billion gift to support United Nations' causes. The UN Foundation promotes a more peaceful, prosperous, and just world through the support of the UN. Through its grant making and by building new and innovative public-private partnerships, the UN Foundation acts to meet the most pressing health, humanitarian, socioeconomic, and environmental challenges of the 21st century. www.unfoundation.org