TMB Report
Imphal: Union Minister of State for Education & External Affairs Dr RK Ranjan noted that the driving force behind a nation’s growth story is the talent and energy of its youth and with its intrinsic ability for unconventional and lateral thinking, its dynamism, and its idealism, the youth of a nation represents not only its future, but also its potential for bringing about changes in every sphere of life.
Addressing the valedictory session of the SCO Young Authors’ Conference on Thursday, Dr RK Ranjan stated that India became a Member of the Organisation in 2017 and since then, it has been actively taking part in all the cooperation activities of the organisation.
He stated that India highly values multifaceted socio-cultural political and economic cooperation activities of the organisation, keeping intact the centrality of the Central Asian countries.
He stated that the focus of theme of the event “Shared civilizational links” is a true reflection of the age old linkages of the people of the region, which not only facilitated trade and economy of the region, but also helped in exchange of culture, tradition, social structure, food habits, the overall socio-cultural aspects of the people of the region.
Stating that the cultural, civilizational and people-to-people linkages of SCO countries go back to centuries, he maintained that India has been organising various socio-cultural events and activities to re-ignite and re-invigorate those cultural and civilizational linkages. This event is testimony to our Commitment not only to whole-heartedly work together and contribute in the organisation, but also to enhance the people-to-people contact through such activities, he added.
In the past, during our Chairmanship of SCO Council of Heads of Government in 2020, 10 literary classics were translated from Indian regional languages into Russian and Chinese languages. In January this year, SCO Film Festival was organised in Mumbai, which was a great success.
The SCO Young Scientists’ Conclave hosted by India is another milestone in recognising the young talent pool of SCO countries, he conveyed.
SCO countries are blessed with an unprecedented demographic dividend which can be realized only if the young people constituting a substantial segment of the population come together on a platform like this and showcase their talents. Uniquely large youth demography is well-known core strength of SCO along with its surging literary presence in today’s world, the Union Minister continued.
Recognizing the huge talent and potential of youth in SCO countries, it was decided to host, for the first time, SCO Young Authors’ Conference, he congratulated the Ministry of Education and National Book Trust to provide this opportunity to the SCO Young Authors to come together, showcase their talents, exchange ideas and enrich the cultural unique-ness that represent their countries.
Dr RK Ranjan exuded confidence that during this two-day conference, there have been exchanges of ideas and themes among these budding young authors.
This conference will surely pave the way for more extensive cooperation and collaboration among the SCO Member States in future days to come, he added.
