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Students and professors of the University of Kashmir (KU) participating actively in preparations to make the Youth 20 (Y20) summit at KU a grand success have set the ball rolling for G20 tourism working group meeting slated to be held in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, on May 23 and 24.
The KU, the highest seat of learning in Kashmir, is among the 15 institutions in the country that were chosen to represent the nation and host Y20 events during India's Presidency of the G20 in the current year, according to a report. After being honoured to host the prestigious international event the KU identified important departments across faculties to hold events on 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) identified for attainment by G20 in the year 2023. The report said that the KU during the past few months has played an important role in creating awareness about the importance of the G20 summit and is hosting a 2-day consultation Youth 20 Summit-2023 from May 10. Seventeen delegates from 10 countries, including host India, Russia, Indonesia, United States, Brazil, Turkey, Japan, South Korea, Nigeria and Mexico are taking part in the Y20 meet on "Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction: Making Sustainability a Way of Life." The Youth-20 being hosted by the KU is a G20 engagement group constituted in the run-up to the main Y20 summit to be held at Varanasi in June 2023, according to the report. The Y20 aims to increase the understanding of youth in the thematic area and provide a forum for healthy discussions and dissemination of India's G20 agenda. Prior to hosting the Y20 summit the University of Kashmir held many seminars and programmes. These included a 4-day theatre workshop organised by the Department of Students' Welfare in collaboration with Tata Advanced Systems Limited for 30 student participants from KU's teaching departments and affiliated colleges to expand their vision about the theatre as a means to express feelings and thoughts. The EMMRC department organised a two-day workshop on Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs) for teachers from Universities and affiliated colleges under the umbrella of Y20 and G20 events. The event offered an opportunity for teachers to prepare for online teaching. KU's General Administration and Department of Social Work organised a 4-day training programme on gender sensitisation at workplaces for male officers/officials of all levels in the university administration. The theme of the programme was "Embrace Gender Equity" which was in sync with the larger theme of the Civil20 Working Group on Gender Equality and Disability. The University also hosted a C20 Working Group meeting on 'Gender Equality and Disability." The Department of Political Sciences KU under the banner of G20 and Y20 organised a two-day national seminar on 'Creating Sustainable Urban Spaces', the report said. The ICSSR-sponsored seminar provided a platform for local and national-level experts to discuss a range of issues related to urbanisation in the country with special reference to Jammu and Kashmir. The Student Counselling and Guidance Cell, Public Relations Centre, University of Kashmir organised a seminar on 'Psycho-Social Wellbeing' under the banner of Youth20 to acquaint student participants from teaching departments about the importance of mental wellbeing, which is one of the essential sub-themes identified for Youth20 programmes in the country. Besides these programmes, many other events were held to prepare the ground for the Y20 summit. The University of Kashmir during the past few months has remained the epicentre of the activities and its administration has left no stone unturned to present Jammu and Kashmir as one of the most vibrant regions in the country. Participation of students and the varsity officials in the Y20 meet signifies the change which the Himalayan region has witnessed after August 5, 2019-- when the Centre announced its decision to abrogate J-K's special status and bifurcated the erstwhile princely state into two Union Territories. Students who participated in the events that were held before the ongoing Y20 summit acted as emissaries to carry forward the message related to important themes chosen under India's G20 presidency. Pertinently, when India attained the G20 presidency, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, set a goal to involve the country's youth power to spread awareness on 17 Sustainable Development Goals which concern people's welfare across G20 countries. All researchers, faculty scholars and students have been involved in organising the Y20 event in the varsity. It has provided an opportunity for the youth to come forward and share their ideas on how they could contribute towards nation-building. (ANI)
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