SHILLONG: Chief Minister Dr Mukul Sangma on Friday asserted that there was an urgent need to empower children since they are the future of the State and the country.
Addressing the participants during the 53rd annual SAARC integration Camp 2013 in the city, Chief Minister said, “All our action must be directed to secure our future and for that we need to empower children.”
The Integration Camp is being attended by children from Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan and several states of India including West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh.
According to Sangma, it is important for the State as well, to create an enabling environment where people can love and respect each other.
While stating that the Government plays an important role in shaping the future of young children, he asserted that the initiative would infuse the spirit of love bonding between children.
Later, young minds also interacted with the Chief Minister and posed several questions before the Chief Minister and accordingly he replied to all the queries of the young minds.
He said that the Government would be receptive to the suggestions and ideas framed by the forum and will partner a forum to help the children of the State to learn to love one another and live in mutual co-existence for a bright future.
The local students of Meghalaya asked the Chief Minister if the Government can make way for the local students to be a part of the integration camp in the future, to which the Chief Minister replied in the positive stating that the students of Meghalaya will be a definite part of the initiative.
Replying to a query of one of the participants about the integration camp, he said that this kind of forum enables people to get connected from people of different back grounds. “With this initiative we can create an environment where people can learn something from the experience of others,” Sangma told the gathering.
One of the participants from Nepal was also keen to know about the matrilineal society of Meghalaya.
The forum aims to promote a feeling of national unity, secularism among children and to develop the quality of leadership.
