Union Minister of State in Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Dr Jitendra Singh inaugurated the 9th Tribal Youth Exchange Programme being organized by Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS) Jammu and Kashmir under the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and sponsored by the Ministry of Home Affairs, here today.Members of Parliament, Shamsher Singh Manhas and Jugal Kishore Sharma besides MLA Jammu East Rajesh Gupta were also present on the occasion.While addressing the gathering, Dr Singh said that such youth exchange programmes enable youth from various regions to interact, share knowledge and exchange ideas.“The people residing in remote corners of the nation have limited access to information about events happening elsewhere in the country. When provided with opportunity to interact with their counterparts in other parts of the country, they develop national and emotional linkage”, he added.He further asked the participants to use this opportunity to represent their home state and share their own culture while learning about and embracing a new one, forging the way to become young ambassadors for peace and international understanding.
Stating that the government is focused on youth development, the Minister said, “If youth are empowered, their future will be secured which in turn will make the nation stronger.”Dr Singh called upon the youth to hone their skills and to work on their weaknesses and further urged them to invest more time in learning and interactions and to emerge as employers rather than employees so as to enable the nation grow.He said the government at the Centre has made significant investment programme for the youth through various departments such as ‘Start Up India, Stand Up India’, adding that, foremost emphasis of the government is skill development of the youth and targets are being set to make the younger population more productive and empowered.He advised the tribal youth that on returning back to their States, they should share their experiences with the people there and spread the message of peace, goodwill and of making united efforts for the progress and development of the nation. He also stressed the need for creating awareness and implementation of national flagship programmes at grassroot level.
The programme has been organized to expose youth to the technological and industrial advancement in the State, to sensitize the tribal youth about rich traditional and cultural heritage of the State.As many as, 220 tribal youth from Maharashtra, Telangana, Odisha, Jharkhand are participating in the seven-day long programme w.e.f 19th February to 25th February, 2017 which will help the participants to understand cultural ethos, language and lifestyle of different communities.As part of the programme, various activities will be organized including interaction with dignitaries from the fields of education, sports and culture, entrepreneurs, group discussion and culture programme, visit to Raj Bhawan and interaction with Governor N. N. Vohra, field visit to border areas, industrial units, interaction with the local youth from the youth clubs and mahila mandals.An enthralling cultural programme was performed by Tribal youth of naxal-hit areas of four States of the country as part of the inaugural event.Among others, Secretary Youth Services and Sports Department, Hilal Ahmad Parray, Director NYKS Sukhdev Singh, Deputy Director, NYKS, National youth volunteers of NYK from different blocks, officers of Para Military forces and J&K Police besides officers of district administration were also present on the occasion.