SHILLONG: Although the youth have many more paths to pursue in today’s world, the exciting opportunities that await them can also be confusing and frightening with many distractions of modern life thrown into the mix.
Having successful, experienced adults to guide, advise and encourage the young is therefore priceless and Shillong will have its first such forum with the start of YouthMENTORS@Avenues, an initiative that will launch on Thursday at the KJP Synod Conference Centre at Barik Point, Shillong at 10:00am.
The first of a planned series of seminars is entitled ‘Living Your Passion’ and will feature four speakers who have made a name for themselves by pursuing their dreams.
The four are fashion designer Daniel Syiem, green architect and marathon runner Gerald Pde, breakout performer Merlvin Mukhim and Avenues founder and social entrepreneur Mark Stone Laitflang.
Inspiring the youth and challenging them to build a better Meghalaya is a key part of this mentoring initiative and Pde wants the audience to see the world from the different perspectives that the speakers will bring.
“Youth need mentoring all the time and when I was younger we didn’t have that,” Pde said a day before the event. “Back then it was up to our parents and family to guide us but now there are so many more opportunities for young people to get into and it’s important that they can learn from other people and see the world from different perspectives and prioritise their lives.”
Pde is an architect who focuses on environmental design. After working for several years in New York he moved back to Shillong with an aim to make a difference.
“My wife and I gave up the American dream to come here and do something in Shillong. In my own small way I want to use some of what I have learned and my experiences to make Meghalaya a better place.”
Working with youth is something Pde, who has taken part in several marathons in several countries, has already done through his own initiative – RUNMeghalaya – which was launched last year with the aim of giving direction and support to the talented long distance runners the state can boast of.
Bringing together these four successful men to share their life stories and experiences is an admirable initiative. YouthMENTORS@Avenues has been formulated with a sense of optimism, a firm belief that the young adults of Meghalaya can do great things and work wonders with mentors providing a helping hand and a spark of inspiration.