Youth 20 (Y20) is an official consultation forum for youth from all G20 member countries to be able to dialogue with each other. Y20 encourages youth as future leaders, enabling them to express their vision and ideas to raise awareness of global issues, exchange ideas, argue, negotiate, and reach consensus.
The Y20 Inception Meet scheduled for 6th- 8th February 2023 in Guwahati laid the groundwork for programmes of Y20 during India's G20 Presidency. 250 delegates from across the world and over twelve thousand college and university participated in the 3-day event in Assam. It focused on five themes of Future of Work; Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction; Peace Building and Reconciliation; Youth in Democracy and Health, Wellbeing and Sports.
During the meet, Shri Anurag Singh Thakur held a 'Youth dialogue' with Y20 delegates followed by launch of Youth20 Whitepapers, outlining vision of G20India. The white-papers are expected to form the basis of deliberations among global youth at IndiaY20. He also said, “Digital transformation, coupled with the energy of youth, is propelling India towards becoming a superpower. Youth is the engine which drives the nation towards success. Innovation, entrepreneurship will be the corner stone for the youth-led development anywhere in the world. This is an era of opportunity for the youth and it must be leveraged to address the global challenges. The Y20 Meet would exemplify the youth-centric efforts and showcase policy measures ideated by the youth.”
The meet hosted panel discussion on Peace-building and Reconciliation: Ushering in an Era of No War, participated by eminent speakers and leaders. It also provided an opportunity for innovators and start-up companies of IIT Guwahati and the incubation hubs of the region to showcase their products in areas of healthcare, renewable energy, 3D printing, EV, sustainable materials, plant tissue culture, food technologies and green hydrogen production.