Youth conclave to show the e-way: Samyak Chakrabarty

What is the theme of this year's UNYCC and why?

The theme for this year is "Age of E: Role of Technology in Governance, Media, Business and Social Impact". It is becoming increasingly critical to integrate technology in all aspects of the functioning of public & private institutions. Through this year's conclave, we want to discuss some success stories and also areas where digitization has caused more problems than solved. Further, we want our speakers to seed ideas amongst our young audience who represent various sectors - which they can use in their area of work.

How did you get involved with UNYCC?

About 8 years ago, the UNIC India Chief Rajiv Chandran expressed his interest in developing a program which engages urban indian youth with the United Nations. That is how the idea of this conclave emerged and i have been presiding over it's organizing committee ever since. The intent was to create a fun learning experience for young changemakers who may not in their normal course of business have access to the kind of speakers we bring in.

How do you select speakers for UNYCC?

Over these years, we have built a large community of attendees and applicants among whom we conduct a poll. The suggestions come from there. If you notice this year, we have moved away from only political and business big-wigs to younger speakers from diverse backgrounds.

What makes UNYCC such a great opportunity for students?

As most of us would agree, our education system does not enable much exposure & learning experiences outside the prescribed curriculum. Through such a conclave, one gets a first hand insight from achievers about what it takes to achieve one's dream. Secondly, we work very hard to curate our audience so this also becomes a great platform to meet different people doing interesting things. Most importantly, y ou dont have to be a member of an EO, YPO or any such elite group to attend - all that matters is your sense of purpose and desire to enable positive social impact.

Speakers for this year's conclave include Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Rakesh Maria, Police Commissioner of Mumbai, Kailash Satyarthi, Nobel Laureate, Smriti Irani, Minister of Human Resource Development, Varun Gandhi, MP Sultanpur, Varun Dhawan, actor, amongst others. Students and Individuals can apply to attend till the 12th of April and the event will take place on the 18th of April. Visit http://youngchangemakersconclave.in/ for more details.