Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Monday launched “Yuva Sangam” portal aimed at building empathy between the youth of north eastern states and those from other parts of the country.
The initiative of Yuva Sangam’ under Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat has been conceptualised to strengthen people-to-people connect and build empathy between youth of the Northeast and other states.
The portal was launched in collaboration with various ministries and departments such as culture, tourism, railways, information and broadcasting, youth affairs and sports, home affairs, Department for Development of North-East Region (DoNER) and IRCTC.
Minister of DoNER, Culture and Tourism G. Kishan Reddy, Minister of Law Kiren Rijiju and Minister of I&B and Sports & Youth Affairs Anurag Thakur, Minister of State for Education, Dr. Subhas Sarkar and the Minister of State for External Affairs and Education and Dr. Rajkumar Ranjan Singh were present at the launch.
Around 1,000 young people are expected to participate in the Yuva Sangam pilot programme.
The Yuva Sangam will focus on conducting exposure tours of the youth comprising students and off-campus youngsters from the Northeast to other states and vice versa. It will also provide an immersive and multidimensional experience of various facets under four broad areas of paryatan’ (tourism), parampara’ (tradition), pragati’ (development) and paraspar sampark’ (people-to-people connect).
“With the spirit of Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat’, Yuva Sangam will strengthen people-to-people bonds, mainstream the vibrant culture of our north-eastern states and bring immense exposure and opportunities for knowledge exchanges, especially for our youth in the north-east,” Pradhan said.
“Yuva Sangam will celebrate India’s diversity, rejuvenate the spirit of oneness and highlight the strength of India’s democracy. A unique initiative, Yuva Sangam, will further strengthen the spirit of India in Amrit Kaal,” he added.
The Union education minister invited the youth to come forward, register themselves and also provide suggestions for Yuva Sangam.
Minister of DoNER said that the programme will work to connect the youth of the Northeast with the whole country. The Wide Cultural Exchange Programme is an opportunity for the youth of NE to see and celebrate the ancient culture and natural diversity of India, he added.
Reddy also said that over the next few months, more than 20,000 students will travel across India and enhance their mutual understanding.
He also said that in the pilot programme, out of 1000 students, 300 students will be from the North East.
Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju said the initiative of Yuva Sangam will inculcate common spirit of understanding among thousands of youth participating in the programme, which will resonate throughout the country and contribute immensely towards building a truly Shreshtha Bharat (great India).
