Last year, the excitement was palpable. When names such as Arnab Goswami, Tanmay Bhat and Mallika Dua took to the stage, sharing stories about their professional journeys, the gathering got some valuable life lessons. This year, the fifth edition of the Under 25 Summit is back with a promise of being bigger, and involving a greater number of young people, all below the age of 25. After travelling to Hyderabad, Mumbai and Delhi, the fest finally comes to Bengaluru this weekend. This time though, the engagement with Bengaluru’s youth has been on for a week with various workshops and meet-ups. The grand finale of the summit happens this Sunday at the YMCA Grounds. The theme this year is ‘Belong Together’. “The idea behind Belong Together is to highlight communities that influence and impact youngsters today. While there will be individual speakers, the focus will remain on bringing community work to the fore,” explains Anand Bhat, head of finance and partnership for the summit. The line-up of speakers includes names such as Ricky Kej, Grammy Award winner, D Roopa, IPS officer, and Terence Lewis, leading choreographer from Bollywood. We catch up with a few speakers, who tell us more:
Anil Shetty, entrepreneur and president, Nav Bharat Democratic Party
Bengaluru-based Anil is known for his initiative ‘Peace Auto’ that helped build a better life for auto rickshaw drivers and make transportation easier. Last year, Anil took over the reigns of the Nav Bharat Democratic Party, and he is one of the youngest political party heads in India.
As a young politico what message will you be conveying to young people at the summit?
We want young people to understand that being indifferent to politics is not the solution. The youth in India is like an elephant that has been chained by social conditioning and politics. The elephant can break this chain and bring about change, but it’s afraid to do it, we want young people to be motivated to break this chain and lead in politics.
Is there a panel discussion at the summit that you are looking forward to?
D Roopa (IPS Officer), Ricky Kej (Grammy award winner), Sandeep Maini (entrepreneur), Shruthi Hariharan (actress) and I will be discussing youth in politics. In addition, the Nav Bharat Democratic Party is launching a website to conduct a survey on a proposed youth reservation bill — we are asking for reservation in politics for young people.
Pearle Maaney, motivational speaker and CEO, Paul & Pearle
A VJ, model, television anchor and actress, Pearle is known as the host of the Malayalam dance reality show D4Dance on Mazhavil Manorama. Now, Pearle is heading Paul & Pearle training institute that helps people achieve their goals by using mind power. At the summit, Pearle will be sharing her
journey about being in the entertainment industry and how one has to go about it.
What will be the key takeaway from your talk for the audience?
I will be sharing my experience as a woman who has managed to survive in the entertainment industry. I want to tell aspiring youngsters that investing only on looks is not important. They need to draw strength from within and use their mind to do that.
How would young people understand your perspective of using inner strength?
I will be focusing on how to harness the mind. Many people don’t believe in themselves and think they don’t deserve what they can achieve. But the mind is like a super computer, you need to know how to use it to its full potential.
Sidharth Bendi, singer-songwriter
One of the young singer-songwriters from Hyderabad, Sidharth released his debut EP, One In a Million, in September last year. He is also known as the founder of The Beautiful World Movement, an NGO that helps raise funds for education of children and animal welfare through stage shows where anybody can perform.
Tell us briefly about what you have planned for the Under 25 Summit.
I want people to know about my journey as an artiste. I am still pursuing my engineering from CBIT College in Hyderabad. What I want aspiring artistes like me to understand is that everyone can strike a balance in their lives, pursue their passion and fulfill their parents’ wishes. I will also be performing some of my songs and tracks from my EP after the talk.
Will you be sharing anything about your NGO?
At the summit, we will showcase our NGO’s merchandise for people to become aware about the cause.
Highlights
Apart from the talks, panel discussions and presentations, there are a lot more activities and shows to keep you entertained throughout the summit.
Tonight, 20 storytellers will enthrall you with untold tales from their childhood, office gossip and fables of epic adventure at Indigo XP, Koramangala at 5 pm
Tomorrow, head to Tattva Cafe in Koramangala on your cycle. The cafe hosts the ‘Plan the Unplanned and Pedal’ a food crawl on cycles at 12 noon
At YMCA Grounds on sunday, head to the various experiential zones to get the best of all that’s on offer:
Under 25 Interactive: Meet people with common interests, network and make great connections
VR Zone: Experience the best of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality, the technologies that are going to take over the world in the not-so-distant future.
Pop-up library: Disconnect and sink into a bean bag with a book at the pop-up library.
Artist Collective: This is a common platform where talented artists come together to work on a piece of art with the same theme.
Esoteric Stage: Here’s an open mic stage for youngsters who want to showcase their talent.
Rs 999. February 18. At YMCA Grounds, Nrupathunga Road
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