Delegates From 8 Countries to Attend Seminar On Democratic Traditions At SOA Tomorrow

Bhubaneswar: Delegates from eight different countries, currently on an exposure trip to India to learn about the country’s democratic governance structure, will be attending a seminar on the subject at Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan (SOA) here on Saturday.

The Gen-Next Democracy Network programme, as it is known, which has been organised by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) as part of the ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’, would enable the visiting delegates to get a comprehensive overview of India’s democratic traditions, cultural heritage and developmental initiatives.

The delegates, who arrived in India on Monday, would be briefed about India’s governance structure at the central, state and local government level as also the country’s progress in economic sectors, in the field of science and its technological capabilities.

Twenty-six of the delegates, comprising lawmakers, businessmen, journalists, scholars, activists and youth leaders drawn from Portugal, South Africa, Mongolia, Croatia, Guyana, Brazil, Belgium and Bulgaria would be visiting Odisha on a four-day trip from Friday. They would attend a seminar on ‘Democracy and Governance’ to be held at SOA the following day.

SOA would also organise cultural evenings for the visiting delegates from April 14 to 16 to provide them a peek into the state’s rich cultural heritage.

Besides touring places of importance in and around Bhubaneswar, the visitors would also interact with cultural groups, research forums, academia, think tanks and other relevant stakeholders. They are also scheduled to call on Governor Ganeshi Lal and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.

According to ICCR, the objective of the visit was to share India’s democratic values with other countries across the globe as the country celebrated 75 years of independence and provide an understanding of the success of India’s democratic journey.