Type of Dialogue
Independent
Convened by
Moral K Rymba (Village Headman of Mawlynnong), Stephen Anurag P (Alumnus of King’s College London), Sumarbha Dkhar (local youth leader), Mr Kishore Yarra (MBDA), Ms Fidiarity Kharumnuid, Mr Darius JMT, Mr O Donald Singh (Intellectual Forum Shillong)
Language of Dialogue Event
English, Khasi and Hindi
Date/time
From:
To:
To:
City
Mawlynnong, Meghalaya, India
Geographical focus
India
Format
In-person
Please review the details below for registration information if available or contact the Convenor if you would like to attend.
Curator
Stephen Anurag P (Public Policy Consultant for Planning Department, State Government of Meghalaya, India)
Description
On the UN International Youth Day 2021 i.e. 12 August, the youth of Mawlynnong in Meghalaya, North-East India celebrate the event through a flagship Mawlynnong Youth Dialogue“.
The objective of this event is to discuss and initiate formulation of a declaration on the new interventions, experiences and best practises of the ‘rural youth‘ in promoting ‘local value chains in food systems‘, ‘entrepreneurship‘ and ‘biodiversity conservation‘ thereby addressing SDGs No 12 “Responsible Production and Consumption“.
This flagship event has encouraged the participants to initiate a draft declaration on certain rural entrepreneurship, biodiversity conservation and developing food value chain systems in the village.
The following key sectors have been discussed during the Mawlynnong Youth Dialogue which require integrated and collective interventions for the promotion of SDGs.
1. Mr Henry Kharrymba, a member of the youth in Mawlynnong village has expressed his interest and experience in developing bio-compost and solid waste management in the village by enabling collection, transport and proper dumping.2. Mushroom cultivation has already been initiated by Ms Trinity Kshiar, Ms. Alice Larisakhonglam and Ms. Crosbina Khongthiem in village however further interventions and support system for soil testing and preservation of the produce has been discussed with the science and technology researcher from IFS.3. Bee-keeping has been one of the primary occupation of the villagers. To further promote the business, Ms. Dapshisha Dkhar has decided to develop a marketing framework in support of this bee culture.4. A food garden with all the locally cultivable crops and fruits and a mini-digital library with CSR funding have been discussed and further modalities are being developed by the researchers of IFS in coordination with the village Youth.5. Mawlynnong, being regarded as the Cleanest Village in Asia, has one of the highest footfall both in terms of tourism and entertainment. In view of this, the youth of the village have collectively decided to capture the business and develop a confectionery with locally baked items and ArtiCrafts with bamboo.
The commitment makers of the Mawlynnong Youth Dialogue have decided to draft the declaration by 24 October 2021 i.e. UN Day and convene a meeting for developing an execution plan in consultation with all the necessary stakeholders.
Acknowledgement
MIG Sillong; Yes We Can Youth Organization; King's College London (Hyderabad Alumuni Chapter) & Intellectual Forum Shillong.
