Dimapur, May 28 (EMN): The annual general meeting (AGM) of the North East Writers' Forum (NEWF) and its silver jubilee celebration was organised by INTERFACE, the Tripura Chapter of the forum at Agartala from May 15 to the 16th.
The annual general meeting of the forum was inaugurated at Agartala Press Club, where dignitaries from Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Nagaland and Tripura lit the lamp.
In his welcome address, Arindam Nath, former vice-president NEWF, expressed his gratitude to all the delegates attending the AGM and offered his condolences to late Aiyushman Datta, late Jodha Chandra Sanasam and late Raghu Leishengtham - members of the forum who lost their lives during 2020-21.
Acting President, T Bijoykumar elaborated on the initial days of the forum, the journey it has made over more than two decades across the region and the activities and achievements of NEWF over the years.
The Secretary's report was presented by Dipanjol Deka. The report gave an elaborate description of the activities conducted by the forum during 2020-2022 that included a number of web talks and virtual workshops as well as publications brought out by the Assam and Arunachal Pradesh chapters of the forum with aid from the parent forum.
An important highlight of the AGM 2022 was the election of a new executive committee headed by Monalisa Changkija as the new president; Prof. Ashes Gupta, Pankaj Thapa, Samrat Bora as vice-president(s); Dr. Elika Assumi as the secretary and Dr. Gumlat Ong Maio as the joint secretary.
The organisers also felicitated the top ten winners of the "Dear Covid-19" online letter writing competition in August 2020.
One important highlight of the event was the release of the second issue of the INTERFACE journal published by the Tripura chapter.
A panel discussion on the theme "NE English Writer and the NE Reality: Public expectations, marketability and the mirroring effect” was also held. The discussion highlighted the use of English in the Northeast as a language for the masses.
It may be mentioned that NEWF, formally registered in 1997 as a book-reading club, is now a vibrant body comprising members from Tripura, Mizoram, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Manipur, Sikkim, Arunachal and Assam. The primary objectives of the forum include promotion of creative writings and translation of regional literary works to and vice versa in English.