The youth has always been in the fore-front in the building of a social, political and economic order of a society. This is also true in the case of Imphal where an international youth convention was recently held.

The Global youth meet-2014, organised by Club-25 International Manipur started off on the 25 of February at Manipur Film Development Corporation (MFDC). The 6 day long Global Youth Meet-2014 India, on promoting Young blood donors and looking beyond disaster was inaugurated by the Governor of Manipur VK. Duggal in the presence of the Chief Minister of Manipur O. Ibobi Singh and the head of the Club-25 International Board (USA) Stephanie Benedetti. Manipur is hosting such global event for youths for the first time which witnessed the participation of a large number of delegates from different countries.

Speaking at the occasion the Governor stressed on the importance of the youth in shaping the future. He said that the youth population of India is similar to Manipur where the youth make up 50% of the total population and that the importance of this cannot be undermined as the youth could really change the world being the driving force which propels the reform movements. He said that the youth needs to be more aware of its surrounding and be actively involved in decision making for the future. The Governor also lauded the role of Club-25 India that encourages the youth to donate blood even as the Manipur chapter of the club has been rendering a yeoman’s service besides earning the credit of being the single largest blood donation unit of the State. In the 80s and 90s, due to the spread of HIV/AIDS on a large scale and after knowing the mode of its infection, stringent criteria were adopted to ensure disease free blood donation and secure safety which adversely led to a decline in the number of blood donors. He further stated, “Manipur falls within seismic zone-5 and thus is extremely vulnerable to earthquakes. Even though other disasters such as fires, floods, mud slides, hail storm etc. visit Manipur, these are localised and easier to tackle. It is better to take precaution by retro filling old buildings and training volunteers in rescue and search, first aid etc so that in such situations the response is fast and credible. Important lifeline buildings like hospitals, district offices, fire services etc. must be retro-filled, so that they survive the quake”.

The Global Meet also provides a forum for the young leaders to be linked to the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDG). Even though the MDG was set in 2000 to attain 8 objectives by 2015, in many parts of the world these objectives are still a distant dream. Hence, with the year 2015 round the corner, there is a need to deliberate on the post 2015 agenda to find out where the approach was wrong. The Governor said that role of the youth needs to be more active and involved in decision making for the future. He expressed his hope that the initiatives taken by Club-25 will yield a positive outcome.

In his speech, the Chief Minister of Manipur O. Ibobi Singh expressed his appreciation towards Club-25 for organising such a mega event in the State. He stressed on the role of youth towards the development of the State while urging the youth to initiate pro-active roles for a better society. He also expressed that the Global Meet will definitely provide a platform for the young people to share, discuss, understand and find solutions to issues pertaining to the blood donation movement and taking care of all the eventualities after disasters. About the role of the youth, he said that youth are at the forefront of global change and innovation. He said, “The more empowered the youth, the more the key agent for development and peace. If however, they are left on society’s margin, all of us will be impoverished”. Further he pointed out that the common social problem being faced across the globe are poverty, unemployment, high rate of HIV/AIDS, increasing crime against women and children, human rights violations and above all terrorism. He suggested that the Meet would provide the opportunity to foster an exchange of information among the people who have many experiences. The Chief Minister said, “The global network of young people all over the globe will facilitate a sharing of experiences and exchange of views and ideas on youth movement and other social activities. The recommendations of the Conference on International Youth Projects can be recommended to Governments, international bodies like WHO, UNESCO, UNICEF, UNDP on youth resilience, rebuilding communities and health response”.

Head of Club-25 International Board, USA, Stephanie Beneditti also spoke at length about the significance of the Global Meet. The inaugural function was also marked by a presentation of Global Youth Award-2014 to Rakibil Hassan of Bangladesh, K. Karnajit of India and Dr. Maibam Chourajit Singh of India.

Delegates from more than 20 countries including Nigeria, Afghanistan, Vietnam, Philippines, Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Nepal took part in this 6 day long meet. Later the inaugural function showcased by a cultural programme presented by the delegates across the globe like Myanmar, Indonesia, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Manipur as well.

Coming to Club-25 International Manipur, it is a youth-oriented social club for young people regularly donating blood. The name ‘Club-25’was taken from the young donors’ pledge to ‘give 25 blood donations’. The Manipur chapter of Club-25 International is taking a leading role in organising blood donation camps in the North-eastern province with support from Bangkok based NGO,UNESCO Youth Foundation. In Manipur Club-25 International was founded on February 22nd, 2014. It was spearheaded by persons like Dr. Tomcha Khuman, Associate Professor, M. Chourajit and K. Karnajit. There are about 30 Club-25 units in India at present and London Olympic Boxing Bronze Medalist M.C. Mary Kom is the ambassador of this Global meet-2014.

Club-25 is an International organisation which is spread over 90 countries with the objective of donating blood 25 times at 25 years of age. The Global Youth Meet-2014 is the first of its kind in the world and is looking to strengthen global youth networks, examining challenges and problems and also chalking out an action plan for making the world a better place to live in.

The youth population of India is similar to Manipur where the youth make up 50% of the total population and that the importance of this cannot be undermined as the youth could really change the world being the driving force which propels the reform movements.

Various other activities were carried out during the 6-day long meet such as discussion and interaction programmes on peace, culture, health, environment and disaster management. Also Club-25 International day was celebrated at the auditorium of MFDC, Imphal. The chairman of the Club-25 Manipur chapter K. Mangi, Head of Club-25 International Board, USA Stephannie Beneditti and President of Club-25 International Nigeria Subair Fatimah Olabish graced the occasion as members on the dais. Members of Club-25 Manipur were felicitated with citation and mementos.

Later a peace rally was carried out to promote blood donations among the youth and also to highlight crimes against women and children, human trafficking and to stop the use of drugs etc. Finally, the Global Youth Meet 2014, under the theme ‘Promoting young blood donors and looking beyond disasters’ concluded at the premises of MFDC auditorium. The valedictory function was attended by K.Mangi Singh, Chairman club-25 Manipur chapter, Ranjan Kantel, President of club-25 Nepal and Fadilah, National President of club-25 Nigeria. Various awards and mementos were conferred to the young delegates coming from different parts of the world and colourful cultural programmes were highlighted with great pomp and show on the last day.

On the whole, the Youth Meet was a huge success. Such meet will make this world a better place for mankind. In the words of famous English poet, S.T. Coleridge, ‘Youth are the binding force of this world’. One should remember that the planet Earth is the only place where we exist. Now the future lies in our hands to make this world a peaceful one.

Khelmani Khangabam