Chamber leader honoured in annual festival
The head of Solihull Chamber of Commerce, Samantha Frampton, has been honoured as one of the region's most inspiring women during a festival celebrating Indian culture in Birmingham.
The Birmingham Thyagaraja Festival (BTF) is the annual festival of Indian Classical /Folk music and dance celebrated in honour of the South Indian saint and composer Thyagaraja since 2015.
The 8th annual festival took place online this year, organised by ShruthiUK, on 12 March.
The festival was proud to receive patronage from both UNESCO and United Kingdom National commission for UNESCO, and was hosted in partnership with the Consul General of India, Birmingham, The Nehru Centre, London, Mr Andy Street CBE, Combined Mayor of the West Midlands, University College Birmingham, Touchwood in Solihull, St James Clinic, Birmingham, Solihull Chamber of Commerce, Solihull BID, Asian Business Chamber of Commerce, The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, along with a host of other premier national and international partners.
The festival commenced with the welcome address from Cllr Ken Meeson, Mayor of Solihull; Andy Street, CBE, Combined Mayor of West Midlands; Mr. John Crabtree, OBE, Her Majesty 's Lord lieutenant of West Midlands, His Excellency Dr Shashank Vikram IFS, Consul General of India in Birmingham and Dir. Paul sabapathy, CVO CBE, Her majesty 's Former Lord Lieutenant of West Midlands and Patron of ShruthiUK.
BTF 2022 had an overwhelming response which resulted in a two-day festival featuring over 150 performances of Indian Classical/ Folk music by professionals and young people from across continents showcasing their brilliant talents with great enthusiasm to honour and pay homage to the Saint.
Every year, in lieu of International Women 's Day, BTF honours women achievers at the awards ceremony and recognises outstanding women who have made a positive impact and contribution to the society.
Among the inspiring women recognised was Samantha Frampton, head of Solihull Chamber of Commerce.
During her acceptance speech she said: "Being awarded with this honour is special to me in a number of ways. Firstly, it is amazing to gain recognition for my role as head of Solihull Chamber of Commerce- a title that I am incredibly proud to hold.
"Secondly, I am proud to be acknowledged as one of the region 's influential, female business leaders- especially following this year 's International Women 's Day campaign.
"Our region has an overflowing pool of talented, female leaders and it is through acknowledgments such as these that we can continue to inspire the future generation."
Dr Chithra Ramakrishnan FRSA, founder and artistic Director of BTP said: "A huge thanks to all of our esteemed sponsors, global patrons, ambassadors/youth ambassadors and our esteemed participants involved in putting together this amazing event at such challenging times.
"The festival would not be possible without the wonderful support of the participants from across the globe."