Confederation of Indian Industry

Connect SPECIAL EDITION

POST EVENT REPORT

Launch of Young Indians (Gangtok Chapter)

POST EVENT REPORT

Celebrating Yi’s footprint in 32 cities across India

D Thulasiraj, National Head, Young Indians spoke during the launch function welcoming members to the event. He touched upon the history and work of the Confederation of Indian Industry mentioning that it was India's premier business association and that it existed over 115 years, having started its journey in Kolkata. He also highlighted that CII worked for the development of the Indian Industry and in providing a condusive environment for them to business and commerce, by being the voice of the industry to the government and to the world and also highlight on the various Centres of Excellence and their specialised services. He also gave a brief background on the work that it des internationally and how Yi as an organisation was formed in the year 2002 with an objective of creating a platform for young people to play an active role in nation building.

He also remarked that, 2 days henceforth, the 18th of December 2013 would see Yi complete its 11 years of existence and move into the 12th year. Thulasiraj also dealt in detail on the working structure of Yi by highlighting on its verticals and focus areas and also on the fact that Yi was the only organisation in India that represents the Voice of Young Indians on global platforms such as the G20 Young Entrepreneur Alliance and the Commonwealth Asia Alliance of Young Entrepreneurs.

Atreyee Barooah Thekedath, Head – Regional Management Team (East), Yi spoke next as the special address. She spoke at Young Indians as an organisation in depth mentioning that it provided a platform for young people to participate in and contribute by becoming an integral part of the Indian growth story. Yi's work can be divided primarily into three groups she

Yi launched its first chapter in the state of Sikkim on 16 December 2013. Owing to its continued efforts' to spread the wings of Yi across various cities, especially in the states where there was no Yi chapter yet, this chapter became the 7th in the eastern region. This chapter is also an outcomes of the efforts put in by the Yi and CII secretariat in taking the chapter process forward since the last 6 months or thereabouts.

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said and those were "Youth Leadership", "Youth Social Entrepreneurship” and “International Engagements”. “Under youth leadership, Yi works effectively for promoting leadership skills for its members through the learning programs and missions to companies of global excellence in India and abroad; the development and engagement of students through its 96 Student Net platforms that has 7000 students. Under youth social entrepreneurship, Yi engages its members under the board categories of education, environment, healthcare, employability, arts (sports & culture) and rural initiatives contributing positively to its surrounding eco system and the nation. Under the "International Engagements", Yi is one of the proud founders of the G20 Young Entrepreneurs' Alliance which is a collective of leading entrepreneurial-minded organizations representing the G20 countries who seek to promote youth entrepreneurship as a powerful driver of economic renewal, job creation, innovation and social and is one of the founders of the Commonwealth Asia Alliance of Young Entrepreneurs (CAAYE) which is a network of young entrepreneurs from the Commonwealth Asia region and the organizations that support them. Yi has organized learning missions to many countries around the world to understand and learn from the best practices and cultures of countries around the world” she said.

She also mentioned that it has been the endeavour of the Yi national team to have a Yi chapter in each state and in each city that promised to have the potential to make a significant positive difference to our country, which essentially means that every city and village can have one. “In our of our pathfinder meetings that we did recently in Pondicherry near Chennai, our members came out with a very ambitious target of having a Yi chapter in each MP constituency – that is around 542. While we certainly target to make that possible, Gangtok is a welcome chapter for us” she mentioned.

“While you start with the chapter, please look at small things and important things that is immediate for your society and for this city. That will get people together and then a movement starts. While Yi national has a certain mandate to achieve this year, it is also important that Yi is relevant to its immediate surroundings. Therefore, I feel Gangtok and the state at large with its vast base of young people will certainly create a niche for itself and become part of the active engagement of youth that we are involved in. I also have some request for you and I think it is the best occasion to tell this out – as an organisation that is parented by CII, we follow some governance structures and I sincerely request that the leadership team and members follow the key conventions laid out to all of us in leadership and membership positions so that there is no difficulty as you go along” she went to speak.

She wished the team of Yi in Gangtok all the very best as they set their journey in engaging the youth in the state. The Chief Guest of the occasion was MS Keepu Lapcha, Founder, Lepcha Cottage.

Keepu Tsering Lepcha (born 1942), a native of Sikkim, was driven by the need to help members of her Lepcha community, an indigenous Sikkimese tribe whose numbers have dwindled to 30,000-odd today, and whose members have found it hard to keep pace with an increasingly competitive society. Keepu's father was a government official whose job took him to the remote areas of Sikkim, so she grew up hearing her father talk about the need to do something for the community. She fulfilled her father's desire through her careers as teacher, government official, and eventually, social activist.

Keepu went to primary and secondary school in the capital, Gangtok, before going to college in Darjeeling in West Bengal. She then went on to postgraduate studies in Calcutta, capital of West Bengal, before returning to Sikkim in 1967 to become a teacher and, for a brief period, principal of the Enchey Senior Secondary School in Gangtok, Sikkim's capital. The government school had been established mainly to help refugee Tibetan children, 400 of whom, including 97 girls, were in the school's hostel. Keepu volunteered to stay with the girls and developed an excellent rapport with the school's children,

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many of whom had lost their parents while fleeing Tibet. Apart from academic guidance, Keepu and other teachers also helped the refugee children deal with such aspects of their lives as bathing, washing their clothes, cutting their hair, and so on.

In 1994, she was inducted into the state civil service, promoted to the rank of joint secretary and posted outside the education department. Over 28 years, she served as project director in the Rural Development Agency, dealing with people living below the poverty line. However, since 1989, Keepu had already embarked on her parallel role as a mentor for children of her community. This was when Lepcha children started living with her in her own six-room home, called Lepcha Cottage. Apart from supporting the children who lived with her, Keepu also helps members of her tribe get access to healthcare, and improve their social and economic environment. She also endeavors to preserve and promote Lepcha culture and tradition and is trying to revive the dying Lepcha language: In fact, at Lepcha Cottage, speaking in Lepcha within the premises is compulsory.

Keepu works on her own as well as through an NGO, the Human Development Foundation of Sikkim (HDFS), of which she is chairperson. It was started in 1997, with help from Swiss and other donors, and its major aim is to cater to the needs of underprivileged children in Sikkim, mainly through education. Today it has about 400 children in its care, and runs its own school up to Class X. Some of its former alumni are now at university. On 14 November 2003, the HDFS was given the National Award for Children's Welfare by the Indian government. She is fondly called as the Jewel of Sikkim, Mother with a Golden Heart and was the CNN IBN Indian of the year in 2013-14 under the veteran's category. She has numerous other recognitions at the state and national levels to her credit.

Ms Keepu spoke about her life and her transition to become the person that she is known today. She briefly touched upon her area of work and mentioned that she was completely happy with her work and wanted to impact a lot more children that needed support, assistance and help. She also shared her experiences of spending time with young boys and girls from various countries and on how, each time such a delegation came in, they made a lot of difference and brought her motivation. To a question on what kept her going, despite the numerous hurdles that may have come along the way, she said that she always felt happy look at the smile on the children's faces that she was working with and that always wanted her to do more. She also lamented that alcoholism was a major issue in the state of Sikkim and that as young people and through Young Indians, she wished that the youth come together and work in bringing people out of the same as well as creating awareness on the ill effects of consuming it. She also invited the members of Yi to volunteer in causes that are important for the state and that she would be very keen to spend time with the members at a later date.

Post her address and interaction with the audience, Atreyee announced the name of Sony Virdi, Chairman, Mount Zion Kidzee School as the Founder Chair of Yi (Gangtok Chapter) who walked up to the stage from amongst the audience. He gave an acceptance speech mentioning that a youth based organisation like the Yi was the need of the hour in Sikkim and that all efforts would be made to make a positive difference on as many people as possible through the organisation. He called upon Dewaker Basnet, Chief Learning Officer, 24Hrs inspired to be the Co Chair of the Yi (Gangtok Chapter). Dewaker also addressed the members that it was a huge honour to be part of the founding team of Yin in the state and also shared his experiences of being a delegate to the G20 Young Entrepreneur Alliance Summit in Mexico earlier during the year.

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Post this, a panbel discussion on “Youth Progress = Nation's Progress” was organised. While it was moderated by Dewaker, it had the panellists in Deepak Ramaswamy, Co Chair, Yi (Chennai Chapter) & Managing Director, International Clearing & Shipping Agency India Pvt Ltd, Sony Virdi, Atreyee Barooah Thekedath and Raunak Goyal, Chair, Yi (Siliguri Chapter) & Managing Director, GCC Industries Ltd. The panel discussion focused on how a platform like Yi had made a difference to each one of them and also discussed on sharing of some best practices that could be repeated.

The meeting concluded with the closing remarks by Dewaker Basnet. Yi wishes the new city the very best.