Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu. Photo: Damien Lepcha

Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu has invited the youths of the state in the age group of 18 to 30 years to engage proactively in areas of public policy and governance by participating in the “ATAL Conclave”.

He called upon the youths of the said age group to get themselves registered by logging in to www.atalconclave.in.

ATAL – Arunachal Transformation and Aspirational Leadership – Conclave would give a platform to tap the huge untapped potential of the youth in the state to contribute towards ideation of policies, creating pro-active demand for suitable policies, propose solutions to existing challenges, live chats /discussions/hangouts with leaders for their feedback and commitment on proposal and solutions and finally culmination of the same through opportunity to work with leaders / government to put the selected ideas to action.

It will provide an opportunity to around 150 youths of Arunachal Pradesh, working in teams to put their heads together based on the theme of ‘Vision 2040: Opportunities and Challenges for New Arunachal’ and come up with the ideas, policy proposals and present during the deliberations on five to six key thematic areas.

The Conclave will consist of a 3-day congregation of 1000 youth participants from across the state. Participants shall brainstorm and present their ideas, proposals and solutions before expert panels. Further, interactive sessions with key policy makers, bureaucrats, sectoral experts, thought leaders, grass-root change-makers are planned to be hosted in the Conclave.

“Any such initiative would necessarily strike a chord with the youth when senior functionaries and public representatives would interact closely with the future generation of the state,” Khandu observed.

The chief minister said that around 40 percent of the population of Arunachal Pradesh in the active age group of 18 – 30 years who thrive with ideas and suggestions for the betterment of the nation and their state require a credible podium to share their ideas and have meaningful dialogue with leaders and policy makers in the government.

“Moreover, the youth today would be ready to take a step further than only deliberations and instead of just proposing, supporting or discussing, would believe in action as volunteers to usher in an era of unprecedented transformation to support the governance ecosystem in fulfilling their aspirations. This would in a way ensure a true realization of the adage about democracy, ‘of the people, by the people, for the people,” Khandu said.

Earlier, the chief minister had made the budget preparation exercise participatory and inclusive so that it mirrors the voice of all sections of society.

The exercise of consultation in December, 2017, for the first time in the history of Arunachal, was organized through a policy conclave ‘Dream Change Arunachal 2027’ which saw an overwhelming participation of over 1000 delegates including progressive farmers, educationists and experts from all over the country.

It touched upon the key policy areas which actually formed the soul of the following year’s budget.

Enthused by the results of these consultations, the state has decided to make deliberative conclaves a regular feature, focusing on specific sectors of economy.

Damien Lepcha is Northeast Now Correspondent in Arunachal Pradesh. He can be reached at: [email protected]