North East Youth Festival 2011
Source: Hueiyen News Service / Newmai News Network

Guwahati, December 06 2010: "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 Senapati district of Manipur.

In a PR exercise in the sidelines of the hectic preparations for the festival, Dominic and the members of the Youth Initiative Foundation interacted with journalists from the North East saying that the festival is conceptualized to foster and tap youth talent in 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 competitions, music nites, beauty pageants etc.

Dominic Chawang and members of Youth Intiative Foundation (YIF) addressing the media on the forthcoming North East Youth Festival in Senapati in January

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.

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 NE India.

North East Youth Festival 2011 - 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 in the region.

A concept paper on the festival says, in the midst of all kinds of turmoil and insecurities, the event is an endeavour 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 spread the language of music.

Apart from this, a pageant of beautiful women of the North East who with the talent and vision to conquer the wider world will be showcased during the jamboree, he added.

The organizers invited participants from across the region to join the festival.

Participating cultural troupes from the NE states will have all the expenses paid to revel with one another.

Security cover too will be provided during the mega event.

A cash prize of Rs.1 lakh will be given to the winners of cultural dance competitions, moreover a consolation prize of Rs.10,000 each is a certainty for all the participants in the festival.

As for the beauty pageant, the 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 Rs.50,000 respectively.

Delving on the importance of the festival, Dominic talked of its multi-pronged objectives.

First, the festival aims to reach out to youths so that their vast resources may be tapped to bring about desirable changes 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 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.