"North East Youth Festival to be held next month at Senapati in Manipur is to promote the rich cultural heritage of the Noth East communities," said Dominic Chawang, convenor of the mega event. The event will be sponsored by Youth Initiative Foundation (YIF).
Addressing a press conference in Guwahati late last night at Atithi, Dominic Chawang talked animatedly about the upcoming 3-day cultural extravaganza that kick starts on January 17, 2011 in Sanapati district of Manipur.
In a PR exercise in the sideline of hectic preparation for the festival, Dominic and the members of the Youth Initiative Foundation interacted with journalists from North East saying that the festival is conceptualized to foster to tap the young talents of the region and to expose the rich culture of the various tribes and peoples of North East India. The three- day mega event consists essentially of cultural programmes with participation by traditional cultural troupes of various communities, food fest competition, music nites, beauty pageant etc.
As North East is a region where people from different cultures are accommodated, the festival aims to promote the rich culture of the various North East communities amongst the people of the region. The entire region of North East is rich in culture and there are underlying diversities within, thus the festival will promote these diverse cultures of the communities living in North East India.
The festival to be organized by Youth Initiative Foundation under the theme “peace through culture and identity” seeks to tame the frustration amongst the youths of the region. A concept paper on the festival said “in the midst of al kinds of turmoil and insecurities, the event is an endeavor to highlight ‘a ray of hope.'
In order to harness the talent of the people of North East who are almost invariably synonymous with music to the outside world, grand musical nites with internationally recognized artists like Guru Rewben from Manipur, Soul Mate and Lou Majaw from Meghalaya etc. will be roped in to encourage music. Apart from that, a pageantry of beautiful women of North East with a vision and talent to conquer the wider world will be showcased during the jamboree, he added.
The organizer invited participants from across the region with all expense paid reveling to each of the participating cultural troupe from the states of North East, including security cover during the mega event.
While a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh will be given to a winner of cultural dance competition, a consolation prize of Rs 10,000 each is a certainty for all the participants in the festival. As for the beauty pageant, a crown title holder of “Queen of the Mystic Earth” will go back richer by Rs 1.20 lakhs and the first and second runners up by Rs 80,000 and 50,000 respectively.
Delving on the importance of the festival, Dominic talked of the multi-pronged aspects of the initiative. First of all, the festival aims to reach out to youths so that the vast resources of youth may be tapped in bringing about desirable change for the future. The importance of the festival in spreading awareness regarding AIDS/HIV cannot be overemphasized. The festival also seeks to bring together contemporary and traditional music, creating a culture of fusion and change, said the convener of the festival.
Hectic PR exercises are on for now to dispel “fear” of the region by the outside world, and it is through this festival, said the organizer, that the echo of serenity will resonate through the prism of the hearts of the people.
~ MEx
