Youth are the embodiment of sincerity, aspiration, generosity and steady determination:Professor Ganeshi Lal

Bhubaneswar24/3/23: Youth are the embodiment of sincerity, aspiration, generosity and steady determination. They have no caste, creed or religion. They are for co-existence and collaboration, said Odisha State Governor Professor Ganeshi Lal.

Prof. Lal was addressing the youth, university students, grassroots community members from tribal-dominated districts of Odisha and dignitaries at Vihaan-2023, organised by the Centre for Youth and Social Development (CYSD), a Bhubaneswar-based civil society organisation, to mark its 41^st Foundation Day here on Friday.

Prof. Lal urged the youth to be the agents of change focusing on human-centric globalisation to materialise India’s concept of VasudhaivaKutumbakam – The whole world is one family.

Eulogising the rich knowledge of tribals so far as conservation and life skills are concerned, Prof. Lal said, “I wish tribals adopt me. I had my happiest day in life when I had my lunch with Kavery, a tribal girl from a remote village of Koraput district.”

He congratulated CYSD for completing 41 years of journey and bringing transformation in the lives of tribals according to their perspective of development.

Delivering the Foundation Day lecture on Jana Bhagidarior people’s participation in building a resurgent India, Dr. R. Balasubramaniam, Member, Capacity Building Commission, Govt. of India, said, the development planning requires people’s participation to attain sustainability. It is the people who know what development they need. The State or NGOs should not impose their perspective of development on the communities, emphasised Dr. Balasubramaniam.

He underlined the need for the participation of grassroots people, NGOs, people’s organisations, civil societies, universities and the state and Central governments for the integral development of society.

It is the obligation of NGOs, civil societies and people’s organisations to educate the state to include community perspective in the development planning, Dr. Balasubramaniamunderlined.

CYSD’s mentor and Co-Founder Jagadananda shared the experience of four decades of the journey of CYSD in working with people of the remote tribal pockets since the time when there was no road communication or telecommunication facility. “CYSD played a crucial role in catalysing the Self Help Group movement, materialising the community-based disaster mitigation system, empowering the tribals and women and propagating skill education,” he added.

“Both CYSD and the communities it was working with enriched each other,” Jagadananda concluded.

Prof. Lal inaugurated “Banashree” – a web-based application dedicated to empowering the livelihoods of tribal people so far as Non-Timber Forest Produce is concerned. He also released a book titled, “Stories of Change,” which features the manifestation of development in a participatory approach in tribal-dominated southern Odisha districts like Malkangiri, Koraput, Rayagada and Nabarangpur.