The 25th edition of the National Youth Festival concluded on Thursday, marking the culmination of two days of knowledge dissemination, pep talks and cultural fare.
The two-day event, co-hosted by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and the Puducherry Government, was held online following the resurgence of COVID-19 cases across the country.
Addressing the valedictory session, Union Minister Anurag Thakur exhorted the country’s youth to pick one area where they wanted to see change and development, and work towards that goal. “Imagine how the country should be in 2047, which marks the centenary of Independence and make your own contribution to realising that vision,” he said. He also urged youth to take inspiration from the lives of great men like Swami Vivekananda, Sri Aurobindo and Mahakavi Subramania Bharathi. The Minister said it was the time for the youth to “Arise, awake and stop not till the goal is achieved”, quoting Swami Vivekananda.
Minister of State for Youth Affairs Nisith Pramanik, Lieutenant Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, Speaker R. Selvam, Education Minister A. Namassivayam, Youth Affairs Secretary Usha Sharma, Joint Secretary Nitesh Kumar Mishra and other officials participated. Programmes were hosted in four virtual rooms, where experts from various domains shared their knowledge on a wide variety of topics.
The high points also included broadcast of video capsules offering an immersive experiences of Puducherry and Auroville and indigenous sports and games, live music, folk dance and sessions featuring Olympians and Paralympians.
The theme of the event was “ Saksham Yuva - Shashakt Yuva ”. Though restricted to a virtual mode, the event assumed added significance as it coincided with the 75th anniversary of Independence, the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, the 150th birth anniversary of Sri Aurobindo and the centenary death anniversary of Subramania Bharathi.
