NYC 2023- Youth in Urban Development: Bringing ideas into action

Mar 12,2023

India’s biggest youth summit- ‘National Youth Conclave’ is being organized by NationalInstitute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) in association with Smart Cities Mission, MoHUA and Department of Youth Affairs, MYAS. The event is organized under the aegis of India’s G20 presidency in 2023,aligning with the Urban20 and Youth20 engagement groups. Both, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports are coming together in this 2-day Conclave, being held on 13-14 March 2023 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. It will bring together young minds to deliberate ontheU20 and Y20 priority areas and fosterbright leaders oftomorrow.

“Urban 20 has to be seen as a great opportunity for global peer learning”, saidUnion Minister for Housing & Urban Affairs and Petroleum & Natural Gas, Shri Hardeep. S. Puri at the Urban 20 Inception Meeting, Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Keeping this fervent ambition of learning alive, the eventwillseeyouthfromallover the country, nationalleaders, experts, students researchers and innovatorscome together to discuss some of the pressing concerns and learn from each other on how tomakecitiesandcommunitiesabetterplacetoliveandthrive.

The Secretary, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Shri Manoj Joshi also highlighted the importance of planning, finance, and governance, as well as sustainability and demographic shifts, in determining what happens in our cities. “India is at present 35% urban, which is expected to go to 53% by 2047. And our urban population is about to get doubled with about 400 million more population going into our cities. So, for us the future of urbanization and future of India's prosperity hinges on what happens in the city and how well we manage our urbanization process, whether it leads to a sprawling of cities or a well-organized city.”, he said at the U20 Inception Meeting, Ahmedabad, Gujarat. In light of all this, the summit will have presentations, discussions, interactive sessions, and other engaging activities that highlight thepriorityareas identified byboth engagementgroups.

Some of the key events in the conclave would include:

Release – SAAR Compendium 1.0
15 premier colleges of the country have documented 75+ case studies of innovative urban projects under the SAAR program (Smart Cities & Academic towards Action Research)

Other releases – The event will also be a ground for the launch of compendiums of articles, case studies andinformation by Prajatantra, IndianSmart Cities Fellow Programme (ISCFP), National Urban Digital Mission (NUDM), The UrbanLearningInternshipProgram(TULIP) and National Urban Learning Platform (NULP).
Launch – SAAR Programme 2.0
Every Smart city is being encouraged to tie-up with at least one academic/research institution and prepare at least 3 case studies of implemented projects. These will become reference document for replication of innovative urban initiatives.

Exhibition – Twoexhibitions on innovative urban projects under by SAAR and NMCG (National Mission for Clean Ganga) Smart solution exhibitionwould be set upfor the 2 days on the event venue.
Plenary sessions – Discussions on themes for climate change resilience,governance and planning frameworks catalysing skills and innovation for better urban futures will be take place.
 
The Joint Secretary for Smart Cities Mission, MoHUA, Mr. Kunal Kumar, said “This conclave highlights the importance of Indian youth, and their role in India’s urban development. Several initiatives to promote Indian youth will be showcased during the event. Our cities will become smarter with their energetic involvement”.

NIUA’s Director, Mr. Hitesh Vaidya, said “The enthusiasm and passion of youth for creatingpositive change in their communities is awe inspiring. The National Youth Conclave, whichbrings together country’s youth and government leadership, is an opportunity for cross learning.While it provides the much needed impetus for youth to learn about the irrights in governance and contribute in the national development,the leadership will gain through the youth’szealousness and innovative ideas!”

AboutUrban20

Urban 20 (U20), an Engagement Group under the G20, brings together mayors from major G20 cities to inform the discussions of national leaders at the G20, and establishes a platform for cities to collectively inform G20 negotiations.U20 dialogue this year will emphasise on the need for changing the urban sector to achieve long-term beneficial results for the globe and set the way for coordinated city-level activities. The deliberations under U20 will be focused on six priority areas that are critical for grounding complex global urban agendas into actionable city-level initiatives. Inclusion will be a cross cutting focus across all deliberations.

Priority Areas of U20 are:

Encouraging Environmentally Responsible Behaviours
Ensuring Water Security
Accelerating Climate Finance
Championing ‘Local’ Identity
Reinventing Frameworks for Urban Governance and Planning
Catalysing Digital Urban Futures
About Youth20

Youth20(Y20)engagementgroup,withitsfirstY20conferenceheldin2010,providesaplatform that allows youth to express their vision and ideas on the G20 priorities and comes upwith a series of recommendations which are submitted to the G20 Leaders.The Y20Indiasummit in 2023 would exemplify India’s youth- centric efforts and provide an opportunity toshowcase its values and policy measures so that India’s leadership of this summit can stand outamongtheyouthcohort.The priority areas selected for the summit will showcase Indian leadership on these issues to both global and domestic audiences and help fulfil India’s vision of making the G20 summit truly participative.

Priorityareas of Y20 are:

Future of Work:Industry 4.0,Innovation, & 21st Century Skills
Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction:Making SustainabilityaWay of Life
Peacebuildingand Reconciliation: Usheringinan Era of No War
Shared Future:Youth in Democracy and Governance
Health,Wellbeing & Sports: Agenda for Youth