Y20: India’s G20 presidency to harness youth power

By Shweta Aggarwal

India is set to harness the energies of over 500 million young people to promote the core agenda of its G20 presidency, which revolves around hope, healing and harmony.

In this regard, Y20, the official youth engagement group of G20, has taken the initiative to intensify “youth connect” across the country, with special events being held in New Delhi, Jaipur, Mau in Uttar Pradesh and Bhopal.

Recently, while inaugurating the National Youth Festival, Prime Minister Narendra Modi sought the support of the Youth to advance the core agendas of the G20 Presidency. The festival hosted the Youth Summit, which witnessed plenary discussions on five themes emerging from the G20 and Y20 events viz. Future of Work, Industry, Innovation, and 21st-century skills; share future- youth in democracy and governance; and health & well-being.

“Setting up 26 thousand new startups can be the dream of any country in the world. This dream has come true in India today. So, the strength and dreams of the youth of India are behind it. And even more importantly, the youth of India have linked their dreams with the needs of the country and with the hopes and aspirations of the country. Youth of India are filled with the feeling today that ‘the work of building the nation is mine, it is for me and I have to do it,” said PM Modi.

As per the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, more than 30000 youth attended the festival, participating in various competitive and non-competitive activities such as debate, folk dance and adventure sports.

“PM Modi is an ardent believer in the power of youth. In a predominantly young country, with over 650 million young population, it’s essential to rope in the youth for important foreign policy initiatives,” said Manish Chand, CEO & Editor-in-Chief, India and the World journal. “G20 presidency is a great opportunity to link dynamism and creativity of the Indian youth to multilateral diplomacy, ” said Mr Chand, the editor of a special volume of India and the World on India’s G20 presidency.

AGENTS OF CHANGE

India will be hosting a series of events under the Y20 Summit. On January 6 in New Delhi, Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Anurag Singh Thakur launched the Logo, website, and themes of the Upcoming Y20 events. He said the task of shaping the present and building the future of the global economy and humanity lies in the hands of Generation Z.

Mr. Thakur called attention to the point that youths are the “AGENTS of CHANGE” the world needs. “Where A stands for Advocate for a cause you believe in, G stands for Go-green and embrace a sustainable lifestyle, E stands for Equality and inclusivity – ensure that the spaces you are in are diverse, intergenerational, inclusive, N stands for Nurture your physical and mental health, T stands for Tech-Innovation – leverage technology for social good and betterment of humanity to enhance the entrepreneurial spirit.”

“The reason why Y20 summits are of paramount importance are two-fold: first, India wants to ensure that its Presidency is people’s presidency and secondly, For India, the G20 Presidency also marks the beginning of “Amritkaal”, the 25-year period beginning from the 75th anniversary of its independence on 15 August 2022, leading up to the centenary of its independence, towards a futuristic, prosperous, inclusive, and developed society, distinguished by a human-centric approach at its core.

“India is playing a significant role in finding workable solutions at the international level to ensure holistic well-being embodying the idea of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam,” he said.

(Swaratmika Dubey contributed inputs for this article)

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