The fourth regional edition of Samvaad 2018, a platform for discourse amongst tribal communities of India, was organised at Tetso College, Dimapur in Nagaland from September 22 to 23.
Focused on the theme of ‘Coming Together for Social Change’, the two-day meet aimed to deconstruct concerns of the tribal communities and identify solutions across a range of subjects.
Organised by Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Tata Steel, in collaboration with Tetso College, the Dimapur edition was attended by 117 participants, representing 34 tribes of North-East states of India, informed a press release.
“The enthusiasm of participants comprising the youth primarily was visible in the activities and discussions that were held on the first day of the meet,” the press release said. It added that apart from Nagaland, tribal communities from Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Sikkim and Tripura took part in the discourse. The tribal participants belonged to Sumi, Zeliang, Bodo, Rabha, Ao, Khasi Boi, Kuki, Pouamai Naga among others.
Samvaad also witnessed participation from several tribal youth leaders who are leading initiatives and organisations in their respective areas. Concerns including lack of unity among tribal communities, drug addiction, unemployment, gender inequality, ecological imbalance in the hills, among others were shared by the participants. Solution to these concerns formed the core discussion on the second day.
This is the fourth round of regional Samvaad; the first three dialogues having been held at Odisha (Gajapati), Tamil Nadu (Madurai) and Rajasthan (Udaipur), which reached out to over 400 participants from 85 tribal communities in the Eastern, Southern and Western regions of the country.
Speaking about the meet, Sourav Roy, Chief CSR, Tata Steel, said: “As Samvaad travels across India, we continue to witness an ever-growing interest both within and outside the tribal communities for a stronger and deeper exchange of ideas leading to a better understanding of each other.”
He stated that the “pluralistic fabric that is so unique to India offers huge potential for coming together for meaningful impact.” Roy further thanked the delegates for “reposing their faith in us and being so forthcoming with their thoughts on social change.”
The regional Samvaad meets in 2018 are a series of six community-sourced dialogues among tribal communities, culminating in the main conclave from November 15-19, 2018 at Jamshedpur, Jharkhand. The remaining regional Samvaad meets for this year will be hosted in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand.
Source – http://morungexpress.com/coming-together-for-social-change-samvaad-2018/