Global Unity Dinner and Dance - 2024

This year’s Global Unity Dinner (GUD) saw 250 friends, family, colleagues, business leaders, politicians and community representatives join in celebrations at the prestigious Dorchester Hotel in central London.

The event, held on 3 July, was hosted by the Pankaj family: Regent Global founders and joint CEOs, Dr. Selva Pankaj (CEO) and Mrs Tharshiny Pankaj and their daughters Sharanie and Dharanie. Regent Global is a global technology-enabled education, impactful investment and economy building company.

Promoting Worldwide Harmony

The annual Global Unity Dinner and Dance promotes worldwide harmony, unity and commonality in recognition of the importance of peace among all nations and communities.

The event was a family affair with Sharanie and Dharanie acting as masters of ceremony with great humour. Selva and Tharshiny both spoke, highlighting the importance of forgiveness and understanding in fostering peace and harmony. They asked all attendees to take the spirit of forgiveness out into the world after the event. The Prime Minister Rishi Sunak gave his support to the event in a video message.

A Gift from Sri Lanka

Both Selva and Tharshiny came to the UK in the 1980s, fleeing civil war in Sri Lanka, and the Pankaj family initially established the Global Unity Forum to promote peace among the Sri Lankan diaspora. A highlight of the evening was the Sri Lankan High Commissioner to the UK, Rohitha Bogollagama, presenting Selva and Tharshiny with Sri Lankan citizenship in recognition of their recent gift of Public Learn, an education platform, to Sri Lanka.

The Spirit of Global Unity

By creating a relaxed atmosphere free from fundraising activities, every guest at GUD could immerse themselves fully in the spirit of unity and togetherness.

Attendees were greeted with a champagne reception, before making their way to the ballroom for a delicious three-course dinner. Entertainment from Arjun and Navin Kundra with his angel dancers helped celebrations to continue well into the night.

The Pankaj family hope to host a Global Unity Dinner in Dubai in the future.