BHOPAL, 22 Jan: An 11-member team of the North Eastern Training, Research & Advocacy (NETRA) Foundation, representing the eight states of the Northeast, participated in a two-day think-tank 20 (T20) programme on ‘Global governance with life, values and wellbeing: Fostering cooperation in framework, finance and technology’, as part of the G20 process in India, on 16 and 17 January, here in Madhya Pradesh.
The event, which was attended by around 400 participants from 43 countries, was inaugurated by MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
During a special interactive session with the delegates, NETRA Foundation secretary-general Dr Jayanta Choudhury spoke about the activities of the NETRA Foundation, especially with regard to localisation of SDGs of the NE region. He emphasised on the importance of capacity building of different stakeholders and strengthening of the existing local level institutes of Northeast India.
Tripura University’s Economics Professor Subhrabaran Das highlighted the strengths and weaknesses of the Northeast region, while
Gauhati University’s Women’s Studies Professor Polly Vauquline spoke on the topic ‘Women and youth led development’, during which she highlighted issues such as gender inequality in the country, gender-based violence, “and the need to generate data on women.”
Meghalaya Administrative Training Institute Assistant Director Ivyreen Warjri, during the session on ‘One health, wellness and traditional medicine’, said that “traditional medicine is knowledge developed over generations. However, there are issues with certification and registration of practitioners in the country.”
IIT Guwahati Associate Professor Dr Harsh Chaturvedi emphasised on “collaborative mechanism for joint technology development and IP sharing and development of technologically viable, economically feasible and ecologically responsible methods for implementation of SDGs.”
The NETRA Foundation has been selected as the knowledge partner to coordinate the G20 ‘university connect’ programme in eight NE universities identified by the external affairs ministry. The universities are Rajiv Gandhi University, Arunachal Pradesh; Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati; Dibrugarh University, Assam; Manipur University, Imphal; North Eastern Hill University, Meghalaya; Mizoram University, Aizawl; St Joseph University, Nagaland, and Tripura University, Agartala.
RGU was represented by its Education Professor Kesang Degi.
