By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, Jan 2: Governor CH Vijayashankar on Friday graced the Meet and Greet programme for youth delegates selected for the National Youth Festival–Viksit Bharat Young Leaders Dialogue (VBYLD) 2026 at Lok Bhavan, Governor’s House, here.
During the programme organised by the State Department of Sports and Youth Affairs, in collaboration with My Bharat Kendra, the governor interacted with and felicitated the selected participants.
Congratulating the delegates for qualifying through a rigorous national-level process, the governor said leadership is not about power, but about character, discipline, consistency and service to society.
He urged the youth to use the national platform meaningfully to contribute ideas towards a Viksit Bharat, and cited the inspiring journey of Rifiness Warjri, an NCC cadet from Meghalaya who scaled Mount Everest at the age of 20.
Meghalaya has secured representation in the Viksit Bharat – Design for Bharat track with Nishant Kumar Singh and Necharika Singh of NIT Shillong.
Their innovation, a Smart Braille Watch, is an affordable assistive wearable enabling visually impaired users to access time and notifications through tactile Braille output.
Sharing her aspirations, Ashita Kar, a Class XI student from East Khasi Hills, said, “This is my second time participating in the National Youth Festival as part of the Viksit Bharat Young Leaders Dialogue. I will be presenting my vision on building a future-ready workforce for Viksit Bharat, and I hope that the ideas of youth from across the country are heard and implemented towards Viksit Bharat 2047.”
Akbarlang Synteng Nongdhar, representing Meghalaya in the Folk Dance category, said, “I am proud to represent Meghalaya at the national level. As a youth, we look forward to guidance and more such opportunities to showcase our culture, heritage and talent on a national platform.”
Football coach Elbonson Marbaniang added, “We will be performing the traditional folk dance ‘Ka Shad Mastieh’ in New Delhi. We hope to represent Meghalaya with pride and perform our best in front of delegates from across the country.”
A total of 25 youth from Meghalaya have been selected for VBYLD 2026 through a multi-stage process that began with a nationwide online quiz in September–October 2025, which saw participation from nearly 50 lakh youth.
From Meghalaya, 2,393 participated, 475 qualified for the essay round, 88 advanced to the state championship held on December 13, and the final selections were made after presentations and leadership assessment interviews.
Additionally, 23 youth artists will participate in the cultural track, while three youth will compete in declamation, poetry and painting events.
These participants were selected from the Chief Minister’s Youth Engagement Programme held at NEHU in December 2025.
The selected delegates will interact with the Prime Minister on January 11 during the 29th National Youth Festival, scheduled at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, from 9 to 12 January.
