Amity Youth Festival 2021 inaugurated by Om Birla

Amity Youth Festival (AYF) 2021, which is being held virtually, kick-started on Thursday for both university and school students. The theme for the festival this year is "Creatively Engaging Youth: With Students, For Students, By Students".

The festival was inaugurated by the Chief Guest for the occasion, Hon'ble Speaker Lok Sabha, Om Birla. Speaking about the event, he said that such competitions develop talent and creativity skills amongst the students.

He said, "Amity provides modern education with values that can be useful for professional as well as personal life. Education is an essential factor for the all-around development of the country, so government and private sector participation is also important. Institutions like Amity provide students with a growth environment and opportunities."

India, which holds its own identity in the field of knowledge, where zero was also discovered, today is at the top in the field of knowledge, wherein youth have a special role. Today's society is technology and innovation-based, and skill development is a way of giving direction to society. In such a situation, it is necessary to stay connected with our culture and move forward in the field of science, technology, and art.

Om Birla also said that the "role of educational institutions is to transform dreams into sankalp and sankalp into sidhi." He noted that the youth is committed to fulfilling their dreams, that is why the youth of India is leading in every field in the world. He also said that universities are an inspiration for students that build students' character and capacity.

He also spoke about the new education policy, skill policy, and youth development policy that have been prepared by the government, while keeping the youth at the centre for all-round development.

"Today India's youth power is playing an important role in the economy of the country, so the development of leadership capacity among the youth is also necessary," remarked the Hon'ble Lok Sabha Speaker.

Dr Atul Chauhan, Chancellor, Amity University advised students to always learn from people. He said, "Amity Youth festival is a unique online platform for students to showcase their talent without boundaries."

He also added that there is no fun in being a follower in life and you have to be the leader who innovates. Events like the youth festival are a great platform to develop leadership attributes among students who will compete.

For every young person, it is very important to have great role models to whom they can look up to. Dr Chauhan said, "Leaders do not just develop overnight. Leadership skills are inculcated from a very young age, most of the leaders are proactive from a very young age."

Professor Balvinder Shukla Vice-Chancellor, Amity University, spoke about how the university focuses on making the students ready for industry and said, "This platform will bring competition and friendship across the globe. This festival is not about winning and losing but it's more about nurturing the relationship for the future."

Dr Shukla also said that today's youth is not only developing in academics but also focuses on holistic development and therefore, industry 4.0 is looking for such people who have innovative thinking with a global outlook. So, this youth fest along with academic understanding will emphasise on managing resources also.

During the inaugural of the virtual AYF 2021 Dr Marshall Sahni, Chairperson, and Dean of Student Welfare of Amity Youth Fest 2021 thanked thousands of students for their participation and wished all for a healthy competition. The inauguration was attended by thousands of students, institutional heads of Amity campuses, and faculty members.

The AYF 2021 comprises of 97 creative and knowledge-driven activities with around 10,000 students from India and 35 countries internationally. Some of the competitions include debate competition, dance competition, singing competition, storytelling competition, hackathon, software hackathon, legal hackathon, hardware hackathon, filmmaking among many others.

The event, which began on March 11, is scheduled to conclude on March 14.

( With inputs from ANI )