The 36th Inter-University North East Zone Youth Festival “YUVA PRATIBHA” has begun today at the University of Science and Technology Meghalaya (USTM). The 5-day-long Youth Festival has been organised by USTM under the aegis of the Association of Indian Universities (AIU) New Delhi from the 4th to the 8th of January at the University campus.
The programme started with the hoisting of USTM and AIU flags by Prof. G. D. Sharma, Vice Chancellor, USTM, Prof S. K. Sharma, IIT (BHU), Varanasi, who is also the Observer from AIU, Dr RK Sharma, Advisor USTM, Mrs Polly Borgohain, Organizing Secretary & Convener of USTM Cultural Forum, apart from other officials in the presence of the participants from different universities.
A colourful Cultural Procession followed the flag hoisting, where student participants of the event displayed the vast ethnic mosaic of the North Eastern region. Cultural groups from the participating universities also performed before an esteemed jury with senior members from across the country.
Speaking on the occasion, Mahbubul Hoque, Chancellor of USTM, stated, “Our University is now on a mission to promote sports and cultural activities as we have students from all over the North East belonging to all communities, and the region has got talents in sports. Sports, culture and literature can connect people together globally. So, we are happy to organise and host such competitions and events for the students.”
Some of the universities participating in the youth festival are Gauhati University, Cotton University, Bodoland University, ICFAI University, Tripura, Tezpur University, Dibrugarh University, National Sports University, North Eastern Hill University, Rajiv Gandhi University, Dhanamanjuri University, Manipur University, Manipur University of Culture, Royal Global University, Indian Institute of Information Technology Guwahati.
Competitions to be conducted during the five-daylong youth festival include Western & Classical vocal and instrument, Group Dance (Folk/Tribal), Skit, Mehandi, On Spot Painting, Elocution, Collage Making, Spot Photography, Clay Modeling, Debate, Folk Orchestra, Cartooning, Rangoli, Quiz, Mime and Mimicry.