IITH, INYAS announces Model G20 Initiative, a national youth challenge

HYDERABAD: Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad(IITH), in association with the Indian National Young Academy of Science (INYAS), has announced Model G 20, a national-level youth challenge.

The Group of 20 (G20) is the premier forum for international economic cooperation among its members, who are the world’s major economies, representing 85 percent of the global economic output, two-thirds of world’s population and 75 percent of the international trade.

The G20 reflects a recognition that global prosperity is interdependent, and the economic opportunities and challenges are interlinked. In order to make it more inclusive and representative, the G20 also traditionally invites a few other guest countries as well as key international organizations.

Stating the importance of such a nation-wide challenge, B S Murty, Director, IITH, said, “India is leading the G20 initiative under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The IITH is proud to get the opportunity to host such a novel Model G20 initiative conceptualized by the Ministry of Education (MoE). Collation of the suggestions out of this Model G20 will significantly contribute to socio-geopolitics for revolutionary reforms at the global level."

Lauding the efforts of the MoE and IITH, Dr Rajendra S Dhaka, Chair, INYAS, said, “The theme of India's G20 presidency is 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' - One Earth, One Family, One Future. To amplify the vision of G20, INYAS will extend its expertise in the field of sustainable science for accelerated, inclusive and resilient growth. To empower/motivate young researchers/students and promote women in science, INYAS will contribute its share to plan and strengthen STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Agriculture and Mathematics) activities of model G20 initiative.”

Elaborating on the Model G20 Initiative, Prof Chandrashekhar Sharma, Dean (Sponsored, Research & Consultancy), IITH, said, “A Model G-20 initiative by MoE is to engage the students from all 50K+ degree colleges/universities/technical Institutions in a dialogue and hence, provide exposure and insights into the nuances of multilateral discourse on global challenges and pressing policy issues of the current times. Under this initiative, the young students will be given a unique opportunity to model the functioning and proceedings of G20 meetings. This initiative will run over six months, starting with an Essay competition open to all college students across the country, followed by a debate, and finally concluding with an elocution competition. The six students will then share the final award apart from the certificate of merit signed by the G-20 Sherpa.