SiliconTech collaborated with the Human Circle, New Delhi to organize the 12th edition of Young India Challenge on 25 and 26 March 2023 in the SiliconTech campus.
Young India Challenge is an initiative by the Human Circle – a community of people driving the #Do What you love and # Youth for Sustainability movements. Human Circle inspires the youth to pursue a career that contributes to nation-building and helps to overcome the key global challenges of the time. It organizes a series of events like the Young India Challenge and curates theme-based online campaigns like #DoWhatYouLove, #YouaretheStory, Sustainable living, Youth for Sustainability, and others.
The 12th edition of the Young India Challenge was held with the objective of finding a sustainable, innovative, and systemic solution for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 12 and 13.
The event began on 25 March 2023 with an interesting ice-breaking session. Many expert talks were also organized to motivate the youth. Mr. Kamal Seth, Global Palm Oil Director, WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature), Founder, Human Circle & Co-creator, Young India Challenge delivered a talk inspiring the students to find innovative solutions for global challenges. He also introduced the students to the #DoWhatYouLove movement. Ms. Wioleta Burdzy Seth, a coach and trainer from Poland promoting sustainable living conducted a session on ‘Hack Your Brain to Follow Your Passion’ where participants shared their life stories and explored their passion. Mr. Punyasloka Panda, Founder, Youth for Sustainability and TasQ encouraged the audience to adopt sustainable practices in their daily lives.
Ms. Archana Soreng, one of the seven members of the United Nations Secretary General’s Youth Advisory on Climate Change joined the event virtually to create awareness about climate change. She shared the traditional knowledge and practices adopted by the indigenous people for environment conservation.
After the expert talks concluded, the delegates were divided into ten groups to develop a proposal (idea/project) focusing on one specific challenge related to SDG 12 or 13. They were also asked to design a social media awareness campaign that can be implemented within six months and contribute towards the sustainability goals of our country.
On 26 March 2023, the delegates worked on their ideas under the supervision of their mentors. Mr. Sanjog Sahu, Co-Founder, Mati Farms, Mr. Aditya Asutosh Panda, Founder, The6AM Club, Mr. Rohit Srivastava, Founder, Foodfindo, Mr. Punyasloka Panda, Founder, TasQ, Mr. Satyajeet Arya, Assistant Professor, Sri Sri University and Mr. Durga Prasad Gouda, Chief Operating Officer, Nalanda Institute of Technology joined the event as mentors.
The delegates presented their ideas before the expert panel. The proposed projects were evaluated based on vision, mission, feasibility, strategy, and roadmap among other criteria. Manisha Priyadarshini Sahoo (CSE, 2024) and her team ‘One Piece’ emerged as the winner of the challenge and won the seed amount of one lakh rupees. Their idea involves recycling and managing wet waste and e-waste to generate profit for the society.
Another session titled ‘You are the Story’ was also organized on the second day of the event. Mayamugdha Mohanty (ECE, 2024) was chosen as one of the speakers for this session. She is a volunteer in YfS Silicon Chapter and Sattvik Soul Foundation. Ms. Kumari Anamika, Assistant Professor, BSH and Faculty Coordinator, YfS Silicon Chapter also discussed her journey in this session.
More than 110 delegates from Mizoram, Pune, Kolkata, Chennai, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Nigeria, and Greece attended this event.
