Our Correspondent
KOHIMA, FEBRUARY 17
Nagaland Youth Summit 2016, a two-day event, will be held on February 26 and 27 at the NBCC Convention Centre, Kohima under the theme ‘Celebrating Young Nagas; Preparing the Next Generation’.
The event is being put together by YouthNet in partnership with the state government and under the patronage of the Chief Minister, TR Zeliang. The summit will also commemorate the 10th anniversary of YouthNet, celebrating a decade of its efforts in empowering young Nagas.
YouthNet is expecting a participation of 2000 young Nagas at the event, which is aimed to give opportunity for discussion of best practices in leadership, success stories, constructive dialogue and what new generations may do to create new opportunities for partnerships, sustainability, and cooperation.
Addressing a press conference at Dream Café here this morning, YouthNet director, Hekani Jakhalu Kense said the summit will present and promote the roles of the youth in the state, and will also be a celebration of young Nagas. She informed that 54 young Naga achievers from across the country have been lined up as speakers for the summit and they will be sharing their inspirational stories.The summit will have thematic sessions on three key areas- entrepreneurship, skill development and good governance, she said, wherein a recommendation each will be brought out for each area to be forwarded to the government for action. Besides these, panel discussions on entrepreneurship, role of the youth in state building, good governance, Nagas as ambassadors of Christ, skill building, entertainment, sports, music etc. will be the major highlights of the two-day event.
Supplementing to this, YouthNet chief strategist, Lezo Putsure said the summit will not only connect young people from different parts of Nagaland but also be a platform of communication and interface between the Naga youth and the state government.
“The summit will create a common platform where youth from across the state come together in and enable them to share solutions and questions with one another and also create an experimental space where fresh minds and influential leaders from all over the state come together,” states a YouthNet handout.
All the 60 legislators of Nagaland, 17 apex student bodies, colleges and churches are said to have been asked to nominate 15 young people each from their respective constituencies and organizations to attend the summit so that they will be able to connect, exchange experiences, ideas and knowledge, and take best practices.
According to YouthNet, the youth of Nagaland along with the rest of the country and elsewhere are constantly bogged by the challenges of time, thus, the goal of the summit is not only to recognize young Naga achievers but create an environment of hope that the new youth of the day together can solidify their position economically, socially and politically.
“We are hoping that something really great will come out of this summit,” says Hekani. She also informed that YouthNet Trailblazer Award will be announced during the summit.
On the sidelines of the summit, various government departments will be putting up stalls and highlight their work and also disseminate information pertaining to the youth.
