Shreekant Patil, Startup India mentor and trade advisor, joins Wallonia Belgium, official government platform, as ambassador to promote Wallonia's strengths across India. CEng. Shreekant Patil, Ex. Sr. Consultant at NPC India (Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India), Chartered Engineer, Valuer, and Technical Committee Member with BIS India & member of American Welding Society has been appointed as an ambassador for Wallonia Belgium. With a distinguished career mentoring MSMEs, SMEs, and startups, and extensive collaborations with European commissions and global trade bodies—including Euro Exim Bank, AfDB, SIDBI, EBRD, and the United Nations—Shreekant brings unmatched expertise to this role. As brand ambassador, Shreekant Patil embraces the mission to promote Wallonia's unique strengths embodied in the brand's four pillars: sense of sharing, accessibility, technical know-how, and quality of life. This appointment enables him to showcase Wallonia's assets to his vast network locally and internationally across India, Europe, and beyond, using strategic platforms such as social media and the Wallonia.be blog. CEng Shreekant Patil's leadership roles include Committee Chairman at the Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce, Vice President of IBSEA and GFID in Maharashtra, and advisor and consultant in various national and international trade and quality certifications. He is also an official mentor for flagship initiatives like Startup India, BHASKAR, STPI, BIRAC, MeitY, AICTE, and several prestigious academic and trade bodies including IIT Bombay, Baylor University (USA), and CII Alpha. His ambassadorship will further strengthen economic and cultural cooperation between India and the European business ecosystem, fortifying ties that promote technical excellence, sustainable growth, and shared success stories. Shreekant Patil expressed his honor at being selected as a brand ambassador for Wallonia.be, stating, This appointment allows me to further promote Wallonia's unique strengths and foster deeper connections between India and Europe. He added, I am committed to showcasing Wallonia's rich heritage, innovation, and quality of life to global audiences through my network and collaborative efforts. CEng. Shreekant Patil is also honored to serve as the Sustainability Ambassador for SPSC – UK, promoting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) in India. In this role, he leverages his expertise to advance sustainable development and mentor industries aligned with global sustainability standards. SPSC Ambassadors are Sustainability Promoters & Sustainability Collaborators who play an important role to support Sustainable Procurement & Supply Chain. As brand ambassadors of Wallonia, we share a unified purpose: to champion the unique strengths and differentiating qualities of the Wallonia region. This mission is embodied by Wallonia's four brand pillars—sense of sharing, accessibility, technical know-how, and quality of life. Ambassadors leverage their professional and personal networks to actively promote these values, bringing the Wallonia brand to life across social media and the Wallonia.be platform. This role also allows sharing of personal experiences and success stories related to Wallonia, thereby fostering deeper connections and broader recognition of Wallonia's assets and opportunities. The theme "Feel Inspired" of Wallonia.be captures an open invitation to discover and embrace Wallonia as a source of creativity, innovation, and shared values, encouraging everyone globally to draw inspiration from its rich culture, technical know-how, and quality of life. It symbolizes Wallonia's welcoming spirit and its openness to the world, motivating people to connect, create, and thrive together. Wallonia.be is the official digital platform representing the Wallonia region in Belgium, managed by the Walloon government. It promotes Wallonia's culture, innovation, education, and business opportunities globally, serving as a centralized source for information and international outreach to attract investors, entrepreneurs, students, and tourists. The platform reflects Wallonia's identity and values with a focus on openness, accessibility, and quality of life.

Delarai has been having a hard time lately. She moved to a small village in Belgium with her family not long ago. She misses her friends in California. To add to all of that stress, everyone is fearful of the Coronavirus. How can Delarai make friends when they are sitting so far away? As she arrives home after school and opens the door, the sweet smell of rose and pistachio fills her nostrils. That smell could only mean one thing: Nan-e Nokhodchi cookies for the Persian New Year! Delarai runs into the house and drops her books on the sofa. “Mummy? Is it really Nowruz already?!” she shouts with excitement. "What's Nowruz?" Delarai's five-year-old sister Annalisa asks, running in behind her, out of breath. Delarai turns and smiles at her sister, “It's the Persian New Year, and it means spring is here!” she exclaims. Annalisa thinks hard, trying to remember what Nowruz was like. “Is that when we jump over the fire?” she asks. “Kind of,” says Delarai, laughing, “That's the holiday starting things off, it is called Chahar Shanbe Suri!” “That's right,” Mummy says, “Great memory! Do you remember where that tradition comes from?” Delarai scrunches up her face, thinking. “I think it's about burning away all the bad stuff in our lives. I'm so excited! It's so much fun to jump over the fire with everyone, even though it is a little bit scary. Is it almost time to do it this year?” “Yes, darling, but this year because of coronavirus, we have to be more careful than usual. We cannot gather with other Iranians to do this as a group. We must stay safe, but I will ask Papa to put together some fire in the backyard and we can still celebrate together. You can even bring one friend from school, now that Belgium will allow it! For Nowruz, we can also see family and friends if we stay safely in our social distancing bubbles.” “But Mummy, I have a hard time just choosing one friend,” Annalisa moans, “I want to invite Benaya, and Louise, and Dana, and Jasmine...” Delarai shrugs her shoulders, “I don't want to invite anyone Mummy, I don't have any friends at school,” she says, sighing sadly. “We still have time to figure something out, honey. Now, we need to get busy doing khooneh tekooni, cleaning the house. Would you like to help me out?” As they clean, Delarai tells her mom about her latest school assignment from her teacher, Madame Caroline. The essay topic is to talk about how your family is celebrating a certain tradition differently in the times of corona. “You should write about Nowruz for your essay,” Mummy suggests. “That's a perfect idea!” Delarai says, excitedly. The next day at school, when Madame Caroline calls on Delarai to read, butterflies instantly erupt in her stomach. She stands up from her desk, swallowing her nerves, and gathers her courage. “How my family celebrates Nowruz in the times of corona: “Every year on the exact day of the Spring Equinox, the whole family gathers to celebrate Nowruz. Everyone in our family helps to prepare the house and puts on new clothes. By doing this spring cleaning, we wash away the bad things from the previous year and prepare for better things to come in the new year. In the evening of the last Wednesday before Nowruz, bonfires are lit and we all jump over the flames. The flames burn away sickness and bad luck and it is the warmest memory that continues in the rest of the year. After that, every family member comes and sits together around a special table called the ‘Haft-Seen', which means ‘seven S's'. On it, there are seven special objects, all of which begin with the ‘s' sound in the Farsi language and which symbolise something meaningful for the coming year.” Madame Caroline approaches Delarai and asks her what part of Nowruz she loves the most. Delarai thinks for a moment. She wants to say that the best part is getting presents for thirteen days straight, but that this year will be different because they cannot visit anyone. Usually, for Nowruz, they get to visit all family members and friends that they might have not seen for a while. Suddenly Delarai remembers that there is one part of Nowruz that even coronavirus cannot take away. Her great-grandmother always said that Nowruz is not Nowruz if someone leaves the celebrations with a heavy heart. Yes, Delarai thinks, this is the best part of Nowruz: trying to bring a smile to everybody's face. That is the core beauty of Nowruz. You forget about all of your negative thoughts and feelings and help others forget theirs too. You give them all away to the fire. Then you have a fresh space for your good thoughts, good deeds, and good actions.