The World Hindu Economic Forum, a New Delhi-based non-profit, sought to garner support for its scheduled conference in London, U.K. September 11 to 13, during a press interaction with local media on Devon Avenue last month.
Swami Vigyanand, spokesperson for the upcoming event said WHEF seeks to bring together “financially successful elements” within Hindu society such as traders, bankers, technocrats, investors, industrialists and businessmen along with economists and thinkers so that each group can share their business experience, expertise and resources with their Hindu brethren. “We also aim to encourage, support and mentor budding Hindu entrepreneurs. The goal is to generate surplus wealth and make society prosperous,” Vigyanand said.
He said many economic forums are based on religion, ethnicity, geographical conditions and economic strata, adding that a few of them including Islamic, Chinese, European and world economic forums have been in existence for a long time successfully driving the economic conditions of their members.
The WHEF has successfully held three consecutive World symposiums, Hong Kong in 2012, Bangkok in 2013 and New Delhi in 2014. It was important to make the one in London a success, he said. He claimed that Hindus know how to make wealth, and should also share this knowledge of wealth creation with others. “Our ancestors have expressed their wisdom in the Vedas in the words ‘Sat Hasta Samahara, Sahastra Hasta Sankira’ which means ‘create wealth with 100 hands and share it with 1000 hands,’” he said, adding that WHEF will work to help and support deprived communities around the world, creating sustainable wealth to eradicate poverty, hunger and illiteracy. While economies are passing through a turbulent stage, he said, emerging economies are providing us great opportunities. How to leverage the global situation for collective growth is the challenge, and “Hindus should cooperate and collaborate globally so that market access is facilitated amongst them,” he said.
“Market access across geographic zones and countries, spreading from Auckland to Alaska and Oslo to Johannesburg, cutting across the entire globe – needs to be created,” he said. The former Indian Institute of Technology graduate said similar cooperation can be envisaged in the area of capital, and technology where “technologically savvy Hindus should be matched with those who can convert technical innovation into business with ideas, funds and market access.”
Noting that London a hub of world financial centers with the fifth largest metropolitan area GDP in the world, was home to a thriving Hindu business community which has contributed significantly to the U.K. economy.
“This is a great opportunity for every business-person to explore the European market, and network and collaborate with other business people from around the world,” he said.