(ICFAI conducts leadership conversations on “Leadership for Social Purpose: The Case of Amala Akkineni”)
“Practice positivity and growth mindset to move forward in life for success“ stated Ms. Amala Akkineni, Actor & Co-Founder, Blue Cross Hyderabad at the 41st WiseViews leadership conversations conducted by ICFAI on January 28, 2022 at 7.30 pm. She delivered a talk on the topic “Leadership for Social Purpose: The Case of Amala Akkineni”.
Ms. Amala shared a PPT to explain about her early career starting from dance and then to films to family and then to social welfare etc. She also told that she received lot of encouragement from her family which allowed her to live in her space.
After marriage Amala shifted from Chennai to Hyderabad in 1992. An animal lover, she was greatly disgusted when she came across injured animals in the streets of Hydereabad. This disturbed her to a large extent and she went about getting the injured animals. Very soon her house got filled with dogs, manggoose, cats birds etc It was then that her husband Film Actor Nagarjuna Akkineni suggested that she take up the issue seriously. Soon Blue Cross Hyderabad was founded in 1992.
Ms Amala said that over these 29 years, the foundation has rescued and treated over 5,50,000 animals with the help of 200 active volunteers. “The Blue Cross is committed to animal birth control, emergency care, adoption and training activities to the people involved in animal rescue. The foundation is also working actively to spread awareness among the people to refrain from cruelty towards animals”, said Ms. Amala.
Ms. Amala further advised that Vipassana Meditation actually helps an individual to develop the growth mindset and help to overcome the negativity. She advocated that regular practice of this meditation helps to accept the failures in the strides of lives and to move on the success path.
Answering to a query in the Q & A session, Ms. Amala said “that Blue Cross aims to sterilize 12,000 animals in a year in coming years to control the population of stray animals”.
The conversation was moderated by Prof. R Prasad, Director – Academic Wing, ICFAI Group and Prof. Sudhakar Rao, Director – Branding, ICFAI Group.
About 250 participants including entrepreneurs, Research Scholars, working professionals from various parts of the country registered for this webinar which was also live streamed on facebook.
About the Speaker: Ms. Amala Akkineni, Actor & Co-founder, Blue Cross Hyderabad
Ms. Amala Akkineni completed her education at Kalakshetra College of Fine Arts at Chennai. She had a successful career in Indian cinema completing 54 films in five Indian languages and continues to do cameo roles today.
About Blue Cross: Married to Film actor, producer Akkineni Nagarjuna. She lives in Hyderabad and together they founded Blue Cross of Hyderabad, an Animal Welfare Organisation working for the welfare of street animals in Hyderabad, since 1992.
Over the last 30 years, they have helped over 5,50,000 animals through various services. The organisation currently focuses on reducing animal suffering through Animal Birth Control /Anti Rabies Vaccination for street dogs and offers animal welfare training.
Present Position: She is the Director at Annapurna College for Film and Media, started inside Annapurna Studios by the legendary Actor Akkineni Nageshwara Rao. The college offers BA and MA degrees in Film and Media, and in Animation, and is affiliated to JNAFA University, Hyderabad.
Recognition: Ms. Amala is known to leverage her time, resources and voice for social change and empowerment. She has served on several founding and governing boards for both Non Government and Government Organisation’s working for such causes and was awarded the Nari Sakthi Award by the Ministry for Women and Child Welfare in 2016 for her work.
Hobbies: On a personal note – Ms. Amala loves animals and nature, she is a voracious reader and traveler, and practices Vipassana meditation.
About ICFAI Foundation for Higher Education: The ICFAI Foundation for Higher Education is Deemed-to-be University under section 3 of the UGC Act 1956. ICFAI Business School (IBS) is a constituent of ICFAI Foundation for Higher Education. About 5,800 students are pursuing various programs in the Faculty of Management (ICFAI Business School), Faculty of Science & Technology (IcfaiTech), Faculty of Law (ICFAI Law School) and ICFAI School of Architecture, NAAC, an autonomous institute of University Grants Commission has also accredited The University with ‘A+’ Grade with an impressive score (institutional CGPA) of 3.43 out of 4.
