Valerie Mitchell, Director-general, English Speaking Union of the Commonwealth
She wanted to tell us about the Queen?s English on her first trip. And that?s what Valerie Mitchell, OBE, did when she chaired a session on ?English, India and Globalisation? on the invitation of the British Council in New Delhi. Mitchell, who is the director general of the English Speaking Union of Commonwealth Nations (ESU), joined the organisation in 1980 and since then she had been involved in administering the English language and music activities. In 1983, the ?Branches and Cultural Affairs? was opened under her directorship and for her good work, she moved up the ladder to the top post in 1994.
Building on the already fluent English-speaking Indian people?s base, Mitchell is on a mission to get them to become even more comfortable with the language. She?s trying to get Indians to have no qualms about using English as the medium for public speaking.
And when she wasn?t motivating people to speak in public, Mitchell went on a tour of Delhi, taking in the forts, mosques, and other must-sees of the capital. Her next stop was to be, yes, you guessed it, the Taj Mahal. If ?first impressions? are what matters, then Mitchell is pretty much sold on the city.
Reverting back to the ESU, the charming Mitchell said the agenda was to get more and more young people across the globe into the organisation. ?The ESU brings together youth between the age of 17 and 19 years and involves them in ?public speaking?.? Much of this happens through ?youth exchanges, national and international conferences and other similar programmes such as debating, public speaking competitions, which are wholly convincing.? HSBC is the sponsor for the International Public Speaking Competition that ESU puts together. The competition brings together 60 participants from all across the globe ?of all races, castes, creeds, politics and culture?. This enhances understanding among nations.
Mitchell was optimistic about the growth of the ESU. There are 48 active centres all around the world, of which seven are in Delhi. The ESU possesses many features that have been made keeping in mind the needs of the 21st century. Essentially a membership organisation, the ESU also brings together all those nations that use English as their first language and also those that use it for achieving their goals. Mitchell says: ?this approach is based on the absolute respect for the autonomy of other languages and the choices of those who speak them.?
Seeing the big picture, Mitchell feels much of her efforts in the ESU serve to revamp the old relationship that India had once shared with Great Britain. ?From the days of imperialism until today, Britain has helped a lot in building India?s infrastructure.? That includes the railways and the post offices that were introduced by the British during their political dominance. The ESU wants to work on the same old relationship but minus the political intentions. And as far as India is concerned, she believes the country ?has risen with the rise and rise of English?.