One Day Y20 Seminar on
Shared Future:
Youth in Democracy and Governance

The Group of Twenty or G20 is an intergovernmental forum of the world’s largest and most advanced economies to address issues related to global economy, climate change, and sustainable development.
Under the G20 summit, various seminars are organized for different engagement groups or stakeholders: business leaders (B20), trade union and labour leaders (L20), civil society delegates (C20), academics and civil society delegates (S20), think tanks (T20), cities (U20), women (W20), and young leaders (Y20) from the G20 members.
India is assuming the G20 Presidency this year 2023 under the true spirit of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ or the ‘World is One Family’.

Members of G20:

WHERE

AUDITORIUM, MANIPUR UNIVERSITY, MANIPUR, INDIA

About Y20

The Y20 is the official youth engagement group for youth from G20 members. Y20 promotes youth as future leaders to raise awareness of global issues, dialogue with each other, and reach consensus.
Manipur University is proud to host a one day seminar under the theme “Shared Future: Youth in Democracy and Governance” on 4th May 2023.
There will be 4 invited international speakers from G20 members. In addition, 25 youth delegates from G20 members and 25 from within India will also be attending. The targeted audience are academicians, scholars, students and youths.

WHEN

THURSDAY, 4 MAY 2023

Y20 2023 ISSUES

The goal of Y20 India Seminar in 2023 is to exemplify India’s youth-centric efforts and provide an opportunity to showcase its values and policy measures so that India's leadership of this seminar can stand out among the youth cohort. The themes selected for the seminar 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 in nature.

BACKGROUND

The focus on youth, in terms of their engagement in the political arena, is a relatively new priority but extremely timely, particularly in light of recent events and democratic transitions in the country. In order to respond to the needs of young people, and to guarantee that their basic human rights are recognized and enforced, young people’s active and meaningful participation in their societies and in democratic practices and processes, is of crucial importance. Tailored efforts to inform and communicate with youth are needed to promote an open government culture and include youth as active actors in open government strategies and initiatives. India has recognized the need for participatory structures and greater trust between youth and institutions for greater capacity development. India understands the importance of voicing the democratic opinions of the most vulnerable groups, and various government as well as civil society initiatives are flourishing with an aim to build political engagement and leadership among young people.
Understanding how young people use technology and reflect their use of traditional and new media into tailored communication strategies has played a central role for the Indian government to efficiently inform, communicate and engage with the youth. Technology and in particular social media has become an important part in young people’s everyday life. Consequently, India’s digital transformation under the ‘Digital India’ initiative has propelled the youth engagement in democracy and governance with its pillars and visions focusing on e-Governance. India also depicts an exemplary example of the convergence of democracy and youth through its student-centric organisations. It is therefore, safe to say that India’s belief of the role of youth in democracy and governance is explicit of the creative force and a dynamic source of innovation, catalyzing important changes in political systems.
As an incredibly young country, India presents models for dynamic leadership offered by youth across a whole range of organisational and institutional diversity. This theme provides an opportunity to evolve a shared understanding of how young people across the world can become shared partners in transformative agendas of politics and governance.