Mumbai/Hyderabad, 19 September 2024: Heartfulness in collaboration with The Commonwealth has announced its second edition of its Rising with Kindness youth-centric summit to be held between 19-22 September. In a press conference held in Hyderabad today, Shri Prakash Reddy IPS, Managing Director – Telangana Tourism Development Corporation; Mr. Pullela Gopichand – Ace Badminton Coach; and Dr. Nivedita Shreyans – Director Youth Programmes, Heartfulness Institute briefed the media about the upcoming three-day summit and the intent behind Heartfulness and The Commonwealth, UNCCD (United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification), The Govt. of Telangana; All India Council for Technical Education, Tropical Agro in hosting the mega event. This collaboration comes as a very significant move in its reach to the youth. Following the immense success in the first edition, the current edition has received registrations of over 10,000 students from across the country. Hon’ble Chief Minister of Telangana Shri Revanth Reddy, Mr. Sushil Ram – Commonwealth Secretariat; Paula Padrino Vilela, UNCCD; H.E. Ms Jennifer Larson, Hon’ble US Consul General; Dr. Hamdan Al Shaer, Deputy Chairman of Zayed International Foundation for the Environment; Dr. R C Agarwal, DDG Education ICAR; and noted filmmaker Mr. Shekhar Kapur, actor Tania Maniktala; singer Ms. Shibani Kashyap and other noted personalities will grace the summit.
Students from various fields of study from science and technology to commerce and arts and others from various parts of the country are going to participate in the summit which is intended to help them cultivate compassion and promote peace through Heartfulness led workshops, panel discussions, keynote talks from stellar speakers and more.
Shri Prakash Reddy IPS, Telangana Tourism Development Corporation said during the press conference, “Rising with Kindness is a unique opportunity for the youth the explore their latent kindness and compassion. Kindness is a quality that can break stereotypes and humanity together and brings peace. I am very happy that Heartfulness and The Commonwealth are organising this event, and even more pleased to see the numbers of students coming together for this summit.”
Shri Pullela Gopichand – ace badminton coach said, “Every child knows kindness. It disappears as one grows owing to the society around. If only each one of us learns to be kind, can it reflect in others. Rising with Kindness hopes to raise a generation of kind souls who will transform the world.”
Dr. Nivedita Shreyans – Director, Youth Programmes Heartfulness Institute added, “Under Rev. Daaji’s vision, the aim of the summit is to help students and youth introspect within and hone their quality of compassion, treat each other with respect and set an example for rest of the world to follow.”
The summit is aligned with the Gov.t of Telangana’s various initiatives such as Yuva Vikasam schemes, Vidya Bhrosa Card, and TEJAS programme (Telangana Entrepreneur Journey for Accelerating Success) focuses on entrepreneurship to help youth in the electronics sector, defence, textiles, etc with more opportunities and entrepreneurial skills, and so on.
A summits like “Rising with Kindness for Youth” will create lasting impacts to inculcate a culture of empathy, compassion, and social responsibility among youth. Youth summits as this will sustain momentum, continually engaging youth in meaningful discussions around leadership, kindness, community service, entrepreneurship and skill building.
The press conference also made an announcement on the upcoming Green Kanha Run that will involve youth as well and the registrations for the same are ongoing.