Kathmandu: The Nepal Youth Summit 2024 concluded after two days of discussions and presentations, issuing a seven-point declaration.
Organized by the Forum for Nation Building (FNB) Nepal, the summit provided a unique platform to foster collaboration, knowledge exchange, and networking opportunities for youth leaders and advocates from around the country.
The seven-point declaration aims to institutionalize youth-friendly policies and programs and promote meaningful participation of youth at the national, provincial, and local levels, said Bhupendra Jung Shahi, the coordinator of the event. The summit emphasized the need to keep youth at the forefront of development initiatives, he added. “Our main objective in organizing the event was to bring together youth from different parts of the country and conduct meaningful discussions on their agenda,” he told The DMN News.
Minister for Finance Bishnu Prasad Paudel, who inaugurated the summit on Friday, emphasized the need to ensure a conducive environment for youth to run businesses and enterprises. Youth should have a positive attitude toward setting up enterprises, he said. “The government should not create any kind of hurdles to the aspirations of youth to run businesses and enterprises.”
Minister for Youth and Sports Teju Lal Chaudhary, State Minister for Forests and Environment Rupa BK, Member of Parliament Binod Kumar Chaudhary, Sobita Gautam, Maina Karki, and former MPs Nabina Lama and Rita Shahi were among the participants in the event.
Similarly, businessperson Bidushi Rana, Nepal’s first Paralympic medal winner Palesha Gobardhan, entrepreneur Bharat Dhakal, banker Manoj Gyawali, vice-chair of the National Youth Council Surendra Basnet, journalist Dil Bhushan Pathak, chair of the Nepal Medical Association Dr. Anil Karki, and actor Usha Rajak also took part in discussions with participants of the summit.
The seven-point declaration includes areas such as the promotion of youth entrepreneurship and the assurance of promoting domestic production; youth empowerment and leadership; youth involvement in education, technology, and the innovation sector; assurance of social justice, gender equality, and inclusion of youth from marginalized communities; and youth participation related to climate justice, environmental protection, and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The declaration emphasized partnership, collaboration, and support to realize a just, equitable, and prosperous country.
The declaration was prepared following a rigorous participatory approach with youth participants from different parts of the country, Nirmal Kumar Uprety, chairperson of FNB Nepal, said. “Young people are agents of change, and if they are given a chance, we can ignite hope in the country that we will be a developed nation soon.”
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