SHILLONG, March 13: A delegation of 38 gifted youth leaders from eight countries such as Chile, Kenya, Ecuador, Mexico, Suriname, New Zealand, Nigeria visited North-Eastern Hill University on Monday morning with the objective of mutual learning and interaction with NEHU faculty and students. The initiative was taken under the aegis of Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR).
The Office of International Affairs (OIA) of NEHU held the meeting-cum-interaction to felicitate the foreign delegates from eight different countries who are part of a mission called “NextGen Democracy” and paid a state visit to NEHU to share their experience of democratic processes and struggles in their respective countries with NEHU fraternity.
Vice-Chancellor of NEHU, PS Shukla, presided over the programme and felicitated the visiting dignitaries, who included Member of Parliament from Suriname, Kanafe Josafat Obed, who represents African-origin people in Suriname parliament.
Obed expressed his pleasure at NEHU’s hospitality and the level of discussion.
Another prominent public figure included Norbert Andrew Ouma of Kenya, who is a grassroots politician. He shared his rich experience of being a footballer and a grassroots-level party-builder. Another significant voice from Chile Maite Estay, who is the spokesperson of Chilean Confederation of Students, showed her solidarity and empathy for women’s role in public life in a democracy as well as in leading the university in research and studies. Another noted political personae from City administration of Cuenca under the provincial government of Azuay of Ecuador, expressed her desire to explore Shillong and Meghalaya and found quite a few learnable things in her brief visit to NEHU.
