In a major recognition, Dr. Achyuta Samanta's humanitarian venture Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) has been accorded special consultative status by the United Nations. The special consultative status confers a host of privileges and facilities on an NGO, which are similar to those conferred to a member country by the UN. Induction of an NGO in this elite group follows a ratification process similar to membership of a new country in the UN. The United Nations Economic and Social Council (UN-ECOSOC) granted the prestigious recognition to KISS after concurrence by representatives of all the member countries. Till date, only six NGOs from India have received this recognition; this year KISS was added to the list. It is the first NGO from Odisha to get special consultative status from the UN. A communication to this effect from the UN Headquarters was received by the KISS authorities on July 23, 2015.
"The special consultative status for KISS is a matter of great pride and glory not only for itself, but also for the entire tribal community of Odisha, the state of Odisha as well as the country," said an elated Dr. Achyuta Samanta . The KISS authorities had made a presentation for grant of special consultative status at UN Headquarters in New York in front of the representatives of all member countries of the UN in February 2014. Following detailed discussion and a year round time to satisfy the queries raised by few countries, KISS was, subsequently in a resolution, granted special consultative status and was adopted unanimously.
About the Recognition Process:
The visionary founder of KISS, Dr. Achyuta Samanta initiated the process for this prestigious recognition in 2009 and an application was submitted in the same year. The UN silently but thoroughly evaluated the activities, functioning and achievements of KISS during the period from 2009 to 2012. The observation phase was followed by detailed discussion on various activities of KISS. All Committees of the UN were satisfied with the functioning of KISS. Different committees recommended the UN for grant of special status to KISS between 2012 and 2014. In 2014, in a session of the Heads of the Member States of the UN, the proposal for grant of special status to KISS received the final approval. Subsequently, KISS was accorded with this recognition in a session of the General Assembly of the UN after approval of the UN Secretary General Mr. Ban-Ki Moon. Dr. Achyuta Samanta continued his effort with perseverance to get his NGO KISS from India to receive this recognition from among several thousand that had applied for the coveted status.
Privileges to KISS
With this special status, KISS will have following special privileges:
- Providing expert information to UN-ECOSOC
- Receiving information about provisional agenda of the UN-ECOSOC
- Engage with the Secretary General of UN and place items of special interest in the provisional agenda of the UN-ECOSOC
- Having access to the United Nations and attendance at its meetings, designate official representative to the United nations Headquarters in New York, United Nation's offices inGeneva and Vienna and participate in various events, conferences and activities of the United Nations
- Sitting as observer at public meetings of UN-ECOSOC and its subsidiary bodies, General Assembly of UN, Human Rights Council and various other United Nations intergovernmental decision-making bodies
- Submitting written statements in areas of its competence and relevant to the work of UN-ECOSOC
- Making oral presentations at UN-ECOSOC
- Providing consultations to UN-ECOSOC and its subsidiary bodies
- Using facilities of United Nations
KISS, which had a humble beginning as a residential tribal school in 1993 in a rented house with only 125 students, is now the largest free residential tribal institute of the world with 25,000 students, providing education from KG to PG. KISS has been actively engaged in fulfilling the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) of the UN.
About Dr. Achyuta Samanta:
Dr. Achyuta Samanta is the founder of globally recognised KISS (Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences),a one-of-its-kind home for 25,000 poorest-of-the-poor indigenous aborigine children, which provides free accommodation, food, healthcare and education from kindergarten to post-graduation (KG to PG) with vocational training. Dr. Samanta has been honoured with numerous national and international recognitions for his noble work, includingGusi Peace Prize International in 2014 and Isa Award for Service to Humanity'. He is the Founder and propagator of 'Art of Giving' (philosophy of life), a concept aimed at bringing peace to human mind around the globe.
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