The Youth-20 (Y20) Pre Summit Meeting, hosted by the Indian Ministry of Youth and Sports Affairs, took place amidst the awe-inspiring natural beauty of Ladakh from April 26 to 28. Over 100 delegates convened in this mesmerizing location, surrounded by the region’s majestic mountains and pristine landscapes.
Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports, Anurag Singh Thakur, highlighted in a press conference that under India’s G20 Presidency, new milestones have been achieved. The summit fostered insightful discussions and deliberations on some of the world’s most intricate challenges while simultaneously exposing delegates to the rich tapestry of indigenous art, culture, and heritage left an indelible mark on the delegates, further elevating the significance of the Y20 Pre-Summit in Ladakh. Y20 is one of the consultation fora for youth from all G20 member countries. Y20 encourages the youth as future leaders to raise awareness of global issues, exchange ideas, debate, negotiate, and find a consensus.
G20 or Group of Twenty is an international forum with nineteen wealthiest countries in the world and the European Union. It addresses major issues in relation to the global economy, climate change mitigation, sustainable development and international financial stability etc.
India assumed the G20 Presidency on December 1 2022 for 1 year i.e. up to November 30 2023. India’s theme for its presidency is embedded in its civilizational value system of ‘Vasudeva Kutumbakam.’ It has inspired the theme – ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future.’
For India, the G20 Presidency also marks the beginning of “Amritkaal”, the 25-year period beginning from the 75th anniversary of its independence on 15 August 2022, leading up to the centenary of its independence. The government envisages this moment as critical for the nation’s journey towards a futuristic, prosperous, inclusive, and developed society, guided by a human-centric approach at its core.
Under the framework of the G20 Presidency, the Department of Youth Affairs, Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, Government of India is entrusted with organizing the Youth 20 Summit-2023. The Youth20 Engagement Group, which seeks to provide a platform for the youth to speak their minds and share ideas on G20 priorities, has been organizing pan-India discussions to engage the nation’s youth on ideas for a better tomorrow and prepare an agenda for action.
The government’s decision to hold the engagement group meeting in Leh comes exactly three years since security forces detected unusual numbers of Chinese troops assembling along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh. Some observers have interpreted the move as a bold diplomatic statement, showcasing peace and vitality under India’s authority over a territory which had seen hostile military action in the recent past. A spokesperson of India’s Ministry of External Affairs said in early April that G20 conferences are organised across the country and it is “natural” to hold them in Ladakh as an “integral and inalienable” part of the country.
Preparations for the Y-20 meet in Leh and the G20 tourism meet in Srinagar are being completed. The Kushok Bakula Rimpochee (KBR) Airport in Leh has received a facelift and e-buses have been pressed into action to ferry the delegates. In addition, three centrally protected monuments of the Archaeological Survey of India Leh Circle, the historic Leh Palace, Hemis Monastery and Thiksey Monastery, have been lit up.
This year, the Y-20 consultations have focused on four broad thematic areas: future of work, peacebuilding and reconciliation, climate change and disaster risk reduction, youth in democracy and governance and health, well-being and sports. Anurag Singh Thakur, Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, on January 06, launched the themes of the Y20 summit, logo, and website in the Curtain raiser event in New Delhi.
A total of eighteen consultation sessions are scheduled across various Indian cities. The first of them took place in Delhi on January 06 and Varanasi will host the final one between 17 and 20 August. The Pre-Summit meeting at Leh was the 12th such session.
Briefing the media in Leh on the eve of the meet, Joint Secretary, G20, Nagaraj Naidu Kakanur, presented it as a great opportunity. Speaking on the mandate of Y-20, Director of the Ministry of Youth and Sports Affairs, Pankaj Kumar Singh observed that these engagement groups offer a platform to young leaders who are interested in different thematic areas.
Saugat Biswas, Divisional Commissioner of Ladakh, spoke about the institutional support of the Leh administration for the event. The education department organised several events, quiz competitions, and discussions to engage youth on themes of climate change and sustainability. Several Jan Bhagidari (Empowerment) activities have been organised in schools, and colleges to engage the local youth.
One of these was a campus challenge competition organized by the Department of Higher Education, UT Ladakh based on one of the Y20 themes, ‘Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction: Making Sustainability a Way of Life.’ A team from Government Degree College, Kargil including Farzana, Sayeeda Bano, Asiya Batool and Kaneez Fatima, stood first in the competition for a project titled ‘Recycle, Reduce & Reuse; Stationery Waste Management System in College.’
The Y20 pre-summit at Leh began an excursion for the youth delegates around the town. Later, Lieutenant General Brigadier BD Mishra (retd.) inaugurated ‘Ladakh Haat.’ The participants also explored some of the major attractions of Leh, including the Hemis and Thiksey monasteries.
They watched ‘Cham’, the sacred mask dance, at the Hemis ‘gompa’, which is the largest monastery in Ladakh. The delegates were taken also to the Gurdwara Pathar Sahib, which was built in 1517 to commemorate the visit of Guru Nanak to Leh, and the Buddhist Maitreyi Temple, which houses a statue of the Buddha as Maitreyi.
The inaugural session of the Y20 Pre-Summit was held at Sindhu Sanskriti Kendra. It was formally inaugurated by LG, Ladakh Brig. B.D. Mishra (Retd). Other dignitaries present on the occasion were Smt. Meeta Rajivlochan, Secretary (Youth Affairs), Nagaraj Naidu Kakanur, Joint Secretary, MEA Tashi Gyalson, Chief Executive Councillor; Jamyang Tsering Namgyal, Member of Parliament, Ladakh, Umang Narula, Advisor to Lt Governor, and Anmol Sovit, Y20 Chair.
LG Ladakh, Mishra in his address welcomed the visit of the delegates as beneficial for the whole nation on multiple levels such as social interaction, economic activities, emotional plane or ceremonial occasions. He further highlighted the culture, food and traditions of Ladakh, including its scenic beauty, handicraft and handloom by women self-help groups and pashmina wool, wood carving, and apricots as a part of the horticulture heritage of Ladakh.
LG Mishra also mentioned various other tourist attractions at the Union Territory, such as buckthorn, ice hockey and winter sports activities like ice climbing, ice skating, skiing and frozen lake marathon.
In the business sessions that followed, a team from the Indian National Young Academy of Sciences (INYAS) presented a round table on the theme ‘Health and Wellbeing-The Indian Perspective.’ The panel of discussants consisted of Pradeep Banandur, Pankaj Barah, Kalpana Nagpal, Dhiraj Bhatia, Rigzin Smanla, Shalini Arya and Sharanjeet Dhawan while Prof. Rajendra S Dhaka was the moderator. The session was followed by an interactive session where the panellists addressed the questions and concerns of the youth delegates.
The Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Anurag Thakur, held a Yuva Samvaad (Dialogue with the Youth) with the delegates on the final day of the meet, interacting with the delegates from the participating countries and holding discussions on various issues related to youth, start-ups, women, skill development and education. Minister Thakur later said that the runway is ready for youth to take off, whether it is for economy or education, sports or entrepreneurship, skill development or digitisation.
The Y20 summit highlights Ladakh’s efforts to preserve its cultural heritage and support women-led development initiatives to foster economic growth while empowering women in the region. The event also advocated for carbon neutrality and environmentally conscious living. By promoting sustainable economic growth, renewable energy goals, and international collaboration, the event made a lasting and significant impact on both regional and global scales.
The Union Minister later met the press at Zen Hotel in Leh, noting with pleasure that a consensus on the five themes of the Y20 summit had emerged among the participating countries and international organizations. He was particularly happy that the meeting yielded several insightful suggestions on future challenges including reskilling and Upskilling.
He exuded optimism regarding the successful conclusion of the event, despite some opposition. He emphasized India’s Presidency for the G20 Summit in India as one of the highlights of the celebrations of 75 years of Indian Independence.
The author, Dr Maheep, is a leading expert on India’s foreign affairs. He is the Principal Investigator of a national project on India’s Soft Power Diplomacy.