Union Min Anurag Thakur launches themes of Y20 summit at curtain raiser

Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Anurag Singh Thakur on Friday launched the themes of Y20 summit, logo, and website in the Curtain raiser event of Y20 Summit India in New Delhi.

Secretary Department of Youth Affairs, GoI Meeta R. Lochan, Dr Vijay Chauthaiwale, Mentor, Y20 Secretariat, India, Anmol Sovit, Chair for the Youth 20 Engagement Group, and senior officers of the Ministry also graced the event.

India is hosting the Y20 summit for the first time. Panel Discussion on "How India can harness its youth population to be a superpower" was also held in the second session of today's event.

 

During his address, Anurag Singh Thakur said, "The G20 Summit in India will bring together, 43 Heads of Delegations - the largest ever in G20 who will be participating in the final Summit in New Delhi in September this year. The G20 consists of two parallel tracks: the Finance Track and the Sherpa Track. The Sherpa Track oversees inputs from 13 Working Groups, 2 Initiatives - Research Innovation Initiative Gathering (RIIG) and G20 Empower, and various Engagement Groups. The Engagement Groups of which Youth 20 or Y20 is a part, bring together civil societies, parliamentarians, think tanks, women, youth, labour, businesses, and researchers of the G20 countries."

He added, "the future of the world economy and humanity rests in the hands of Gen Z, today's youth are born into a digital, globalized and constantly evolving world filled with uncertainty, immense pace, potential, and limitless possibilities! Young people are stakeholders in the present and builders of tomorrow. We have progressed across sectors with the spirit of Atma Nirbhar Bharat and Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat. There is a start-up revolution in the country. It is important to remember that the Youth will inherit the future they build".

Giving more details, the Minister said, "The Y20 Summit is a unique opportunity to allow the youth to provide constructive policy inputs and to utilize the platform to voice their opinions for the world audience. The Youth 20 India Summit brings together the trustees of our future generations from across the G20 countries to deliberate, discuss and deduce innovative, sustainable, and actionable solutions, especially in the realm of social development.

At the Y20 Summit, India will not only speak; but also provide an audience to youth from across the world, to be heard in the world's largest democracy amongst those young leaders geared up with the baton to the future."

Anurag Thakur also spoke about the Themes of Y20 i.e. i) Future of Work: Industry 4.0, Innovation & 21st Century skills, ii) Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction: Making Sustainability a way of life, iii) Peacebuilding and Reconciliation: Ushering in an era of No War, iv) Shared Future: Youth in Democracy and Governance and Health, Wellbeing & Sports: Agenda for Youth.

These priority areas of the Y20 Summit point to the urgency with which the world has to reconcile with the reality of the changing times in our quest to survive and thrive, the Minister added.

Thakur further said, "This summit provides an excellent opportunity for the youth and the world alike to shape the way we evolve. I hope you will use the Y20 opportunity to also educate us and own the responsibility of ensuring that the declaration you finally present to the G20 Leaders is one that fulfills the hopes and dreams of all the youth - rural and urban, in the developed and developing world. The Youth 20 is a brilliant way to amplify the voices of young people. The world will be listening to you very carefully. I firmly believe you are the TRUSTEES of the FUTURE who will uphold peace, ensure gender equity, mitigate climate change, spread intercultural diversity, innovate with passion and heal as you grow."

Thakur highlighted that the youth 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.

Addressing the event, Secretary Youth Affairs Meeta R. Lochan said that the activities to be undertaken by Y20 during our presidency will focus on global youth leadership and partnership. For the next 8 months, there will be Pre summits on the five Y20 themes along with various discussions and seminars at different Universities across states in India in a run-up to the final Youth-20 Summit.

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.