Gurgaon: The Asia Society’s sixth annual Asia 21 Young Leaders Summit began on 18th November in Gurgaon. The three day conference will see over 150 delegates from the Asia-Pacific from various fields coming together to discuss the most pressing social issues and shared challenges of the region.
The Summit began with a reception in the evening where LokSabha Parliament Member Mr Baijayant Panda addressed the gathering of the young leaders. Speaking on the role of the youth in public policy making, he said that the most important task is to ensure that all the sections ofthe society, whether rich or poor, affect the most important decision of choosing their leaders through their votes.
He said, “Everybody should be engaged in public policy making… If you are ready to jump into politics, then you are welcome. Otherwise, there are other organisations that are trying to mobilise voters.” He said that this was the only way to bring about any change.
In the next two days, the Summit will also hold a public service project fair. This will be an opportunity for the delegates to present their own public service project and also sign up for these projects as participants. Apart from this, a Public Service Award will also be presented by the society to an achiever in the field of public service.
The delegation for the Summit includes prominent leaders like TsongtbaarDamdin, State Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Mongolia; Christina Lagdameo, Deputy Director of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, USA; and WahidullahWaissi, Senior Advisor to the Minister of Finance, Afghanistan. These leaders will be a part of the Summit that concludes on Sunday.
