INDIA is reaching out to Africa in an initiative to foster a People-to-people understanding.'With 70 percent of the population in Africa and India below the age of 25,' according to Navdeep Suri, Joint Secretary, Public Diplomacy Division, Ministry External Affairs, 'promoting engagement between youth in Africa and India is imperative to pave the way for a shared future.'The Indo-Africa train will berth in Nigeria on May 24 at the University of Lagos in a daylong session of entrepreneurial seminars and musical show featuring Indian band, Parikrama.Speaking on the new initiative, Ambassador Pinak Chakravarty, Special Secretary, Public Diplomacy, Ministry of External Affairs, Govt of India said, 'We are entering a new phase in our ties with Africa. From a shared history of struggle against colonial oppression and economic exploitation to achieve freedom, we are now poised to take a great leap in our developing partnership. This new relationship is based on economic partnership in a globalised, deeply interconnected world.'This great leap is being mid-wived by theideaswork, a design and strategy firm headquartered in Delhi, and supported by the Public Diplomacy Division of the Ministry of External Affairs.'IndiAfrica: A Shared Future' is a three-year initiative that was launched in 2011. They are partnering with AISEC, Lagos Business School and EDC for the Nigeria event.The P2P initiative invites creative exchange between young Africans and Indians through a multidisciplinary contest series and a Young Visionaries fellowship program. It creates a dynamic platform for youth and professionals across India and Africa to collaborate through competition, innovation and entrepreneurship.'Increasingly, cultural competency is necessary for success as more and more young people become global citizens sharing the same hopes, dreams and aspirations across countries and continents. When two billion people start to build a dream together, a new history can be scripted.' said Seema Kundra, Director at theIdeaWorks.The contest series would be in the areas of Business Plans, Essay Writing, Photography and Poster Design. The contest is intended to help create a platform for talented young Indians and Africans to exchange ideas about emergent realities, successes and challenges, and explore future collaborations in business, design and culture.The Young Visionaries Fellowship programme will identify promising young entrepreneurs in India & Africa and offer them opportunities for growth and collaboration. The driving vision is to encourage cross-fertilization of ideas, increased future trade, and a better understanding of the challenges and opportunities of doing business in the two geographies.For each contest category, cash prizes of US$1,000 will be awarded to three winners from each of the following regions: Eastern Africa, Western Africa, Central Africa, Southern Africa, Northern Africa and India while each winning Young Visionary will be awarded a five-day tour of India or Africa (depending on country of origin) that will comprise relevant meetings, seminars and trade shows, as well as platforms to interact with potential contacts for commercial or collaborative purposes. The final short listed participants will be eligible to compete for a financial grant of US$10,000 to develop a collaborative project with India/Africa.
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