India’s biggest youth summit- ‘National Youth Conclave’ is being organized by the Smart Cities Mission, MoHUA, Department of Youth Affairs and National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA). The event is organized under the aegis of India’s G20 presidency in 2023, and aligning with the Urban20 and Youth20 engagement groups. Both, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports are coming together in this 2-day Conclave, being held on 13-14 March 2023 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. It will bring together young minds to deliberate on the U20 and Y20 priority areas and foster bright leaders of tomorrow.
“Urban 20 has to be seen as a great opportunity for global peer learning”, said Union Minister for Housing & Urban Affairs and Petroleum & Natural Gas, Shri Hardeep. S. Puri at the Urban 20 Inception Meeting, Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Keeping this fervent ambition of learning alive, the event will see youth from all over the country, national leaders, experts, students researchers and innovators come together to discuss some of the pressing concerns and learn from each other on how to make cities and communities a better place to live and thrive.
The Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Shri Manoj Joshi also highlighted the importance of planning, finance, and governance, as well as sustainability and demographic shifts, in determining what happens in our cities. “India is at present 35% urban, which is expected to go to 53% by 2047. And our urban population is about to get doubled with about 400 million more population going into our cities. So, for us the future of urbanization and future of India’s prosperity hinges on what happens in the city and how well we manage our urbanization process, whether it leads to a sprawling of cities or a well-organized city.”, he said at the U20 Inception Meeting, Ahmedabad, Gujarat. In light of all this, the summit will have presentations, discussions, interactive sessions, and other engaging activities that highlight the priority areas identified by both engagement groups.
Some of the key events in the conclave would include:
- Release – SAAR Compendium 1.0
15 premier colleges of the country have documented 75+ case studies of innovative urban projects under the SAAR program (Smart Cities &Academic towards Action Research)
- Other releases – The event will also be a ground for the launch of compendiums of articles, case studies and information by Prajatantra, Indian Smart Cities Fellow Programme (ISCFP), National Urban Digital Mission (NUDM), The Urban Learning Internship Program (TULIP) and National Urban Learning Platform (NULP).
- Launch – SAAR Compendium 2.0
Every Smart city is being encouraged to tie-up with at least one academic/ research institution and prepare at least 3 case studies of implemented projects. These will become reference document for replication of innovative urban initiatives.
- Exhibition – Two exhibitions on innovative urban projects under by SAAR and NMCG (National Mission for Clean Ganga) Smart solution exhibition would be set up for the 2 days on the event venue.
- Plenary sessions – Discussions on themes for climate change resilience, governance and planning frameworks catalysing skills and innovation for better urban futures will take place.
The Joint Secretary for Smart Cities Mission, MoHUA, Mr. Kunal Kumar, said “This conclave highlights the importance of Indian youth, and their role in India’s urban development. Several initiatives to promote Indian youth will be showcased during the event. Our cities will become smarter with their energetic involvement”.
NIUA’s Director, Mr. Hitesh Vaidya, said “The enthusiasm and passion of youth for creating positive change in their communities is awe inspiring. The National Youth Conclave, which brings together country’s youth and government leadership is an opportunity for cross learning. While it provides the much needed impetus for youth to learn about their rights in governance and contribute in the national development, the leadership will gain through the youth’s zealousness sand innovative ideas!”
AboutUrban20
Urban 20 (U20), an Engagement Group under the G20, brings together mayors from major G20 cities to inform the discussions of national leaders at the G20, and establishes a platform for cities to collectively inform G20 negotiations.U20 dialogue this year will emphasize on the need for changing the urban sector to achieve long-term beneficial results for the globe and set the way for coordinated city-level activities. The deliberations under U20 will be focused on six priority areas that are critical for grounding complex global urban agendas into actionable city-level initiatives. Inclusion will be a cross cutting focus across all deliberations.
Priority Areas of U20 are:
- Encouraging Environmentally Responsible Behaviours
- Ensuring Water Security
- Accelerating Climate Finance
- Championing ‘Local’ Identity
- Reinventing Frameworks for Urban Governance and Planning
- Catalyzing Digital Urban Futures
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