ITANAGAR, Sep 6: Education Secretary Madhu Rani Teotia inaugurated a three-day training of trainers (ToT) programme on ‘Conflict resolution and peace building’ at Dera Natung Government College (DNGC) here on Thursday.
The programme is being organised jointly by the state NSS cell of the directorate of higher & technical education (DHTE) and Sriperumbudur (Tamil Nadu)-based Rajiv Gandhi National Institute of Youth Development (RGNIYD).
Addressing the inaugural event, which was attended by 30 NSS POs from various colleges of the state, Teotia spoke on the importance of being disciplined in order to resolve conflicts.
She urged the participants to sincerely participate in the training programme and use the knowledge they gain to “further help in channeling the abundantly available youth energy for transforming the society.”
P David Paul from the RGNIYD and D John Chelladurai and David Jebaraj from Jalgaon (Maharashtra)-based Gandhi Research Foundation informed that the RGNIYD is “mandated to be a think tank for the union youth affairs ministry for launching various youth-related programmes and (assessing) their impact on bringing in societal reforms through research and user-based modules.”
Paul informed about the various initiatives of the RGNIYD, and the participation of Arunachal’s youths in those programmes. He urged the state’s youths to “harness continual learning through active participation and implementation of the acquired skill-set and knowledge to come forward for social causes.”
Higher & Technical Education Director Dr Tayek Talom in his address said “one may be inflicted by conflicts arising from within, and for attaining peace and tranquility one must have to find a way to address and resolve them in an amicable manner.”
All issues come with probable solutions, but one has to identify the solutions in a participatory manner instead of running away from them, he said.
Itanagar-based Arunodaya University’s vice chancellor Dr VN Sharma stressed on “dissemination of knowledge and imparting skills to the younger generation, especially soft-skills, for developing empathetic approach and attitude.”
DNGC Principal Dr NT Rikam advocated dealing with conflict situations through introspection and using one’s conscience.
DHTE NSS SLO Ajay Mishra spoke about conflicts arising out of issues such as ethnicity, caste, creed, economic status, discrimination, river water distribution among the states, boundaries of the states, religious processions and celebrations, etc.
Quoting Dr Radhakrishnan, he said, “Peace cannot be established through political or economic changes but can be started by a change in human nature,” and urged teachers to be torchbearers of the society, saying there is a dire need for peace-building in the society.
