Delhi hosts three-day Asia 21 young leaders summit

The Asia Society's Asia 21 Young Leaders Summit, an event that brings together enterprising, young and under-40 achievers from across the Asia-Pacific region, is being hosted by New Delhi for the first time. The three-day event ends on November 20.

Each year, the forum assembles a selected few fellows from fields as diverse such as government, business, media, performing arts and social work to debate, exchange views and explore issues of critical importance in the Asia-pacific region.

They are then engaged in a series of discussions on leadership and problem solving, and building trust across geographic boundaries. This is the sixth edition of the summit.

Speaking to rediff.com, Jamie Metzl, executive vice president of The Asia Society said, "All the people that we bring together on this forum are very passionate not only about their country, but also about working together to realise a common sense of value and a deep appreciation of human dignity."

"Right now, an Asia 21 delegation is on talks with the Dalai Lama; we've had an Asia 21 delegation go to North Korea; we've had Indians and people from Pakistan working together on Asia 21 projects," he also said.

"We've worked on an Asia 21 initiative in Afghanistan, and are now working to release a statement of principles which would be released next year to the Afghan government and the international community about the best way forward in that country/," Metzl added.

Notable Indians among the selected fellows are Karti Chidambaram, Vani Tripathi and Shaffi Mather, who is a senior Supreme Court advocate.

A member of the All India Congress Committee and son of Union Home Minister P Chidambaram, Karti Chidambaram is also the chairman of the All India Tennis Association, chairman of the organising committee of the Aircel Chennai Open (ATP) tennis tournament and the chairman of Asia Society's Asia 21 India Chapter. He spoke to rediff.com about what he hoped to achieve through the three-day summit.

"I am excited to be meeting people who are from different backgrounds but have similar aspirations, though it is not possible to have a resolution over a weekend. This is an opportunity to connect with other young achievers and understand their perspective," Chidambaram said.

On being asked what he would be talking about, Karti said, "We have seen that in the recent past in our country, the aspirations of the people are being very well articulated. And we have somehow been lead to believe that civil society is a representative of the aspirations of the people of the country; whereas the elected representatives are not."

"This is not true. The government should not been seen as divorced from the civil society. I hope to bridge the gap between the two," he contended.

Also among the young leaders summit is Vani Tripathi, the youngest National Secretary of the Bhartiya Janta Party. "I have been a part of Asia 21 Society since 2007," she said.

"I am working towards women's participation into mainstream politics and getting support for women empowerment programs," she said.

The Asia Society is an international organisation, and is aimed at bettering ties between Asian countries and the Untied States.

The New York-headquartered organisation was founded in 1965 by John D Rockefeller 3rd.