ENARADA , Bhubaneshwar, July 6, 2013:
Laxman Hembram, a 17-year old tribal student of Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS), Bhubaneswar has been invited to participate in the Malala Day United Nations Youth Assembly at the United Nations Headquarters in New York to be held on July 12, 2013.
The Malala Day United Nations Youth Assembly coincides with the 16th birthday of Malala Yousafzai, Pakistani activist and a courageous advocate of universal education and girls’ rights. It will have a series of events hosted by the President of the UN General Assembly and the UN Special Envoy for Global Education. In support of the United Nations Secretary – General’s Global Education First Initiative, international youth leaders will convene at the United Nations and in cities around the world in support of reaching the goal of having all children, especially girls, in school and learning by 2015. Laxman is the only youth leader representative from India selected for the event at United Nations Headquarters.
Hailing from restive SWAT Valley of Pakistan, Malala invited wrath of Taliban for attending school and supporting girls’ education. On October 9, 2012, Taliban gunmen shot Malala in the head and neck in an assassination attempt while she was returning home on a school bus. She was seriously wounded in the attack but recovered after a prolonged treatment in the U.K. Her activism and courage attracted global admiration and bagged her nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize, making her the youngest nominee for this honour in the history. Malala will attend the Youth Assembly and deliver her first public speech since the shooting, dedicated to the importance of universal education.
The global community will come together to celebrate Malala Day to highlight the leading role that youth can play in enabling all children to get education. Mr. Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary-General, Mr. John W. Ashe, President of the UN General Assembly, Mr. Gordon
Brown, UN Special Envoy for Global Education and Mr. Ahmad Alhindawi, UN Special Envoy for Youth are among those who would grace the occasion. The outcome of the Youth Assembly will be a resolution urging governments, individuals and organizations to take decisive action to include every child within the fold of education.
“I will highlight educational backwardness among tribals and efforts that KISS is making to help tribal children join the mainstream society”, said Laxman, who received the invitation to attend the Youth Assembly from the Office of the President of the UN General Assembly last week. He will leave for New York on July 10, 2013 to attend the meet.
Son of a poor Santhal family from Mayurbhanj district of Odisha, he is one among 20,000 tribal children whom KISS has provided a hope of bright future. A student of KISS since 2006, Laxman has recently passed his +2 (Grade 12) exams and aims to become an engineer. During his studentship he has undergone English Access Program and Youth Leadership Program of US Department of State. In the past, he had the opportunity to travel to Seoul, South Korea, to present a paper on Climate Change under the United Nations Environment Program.
It is a matter of great pride for KISS, tribal community and Odisha to have a tribal student from the state to represent the country at this prestigious international meet, said Dr. A. Samanta, Founder, KIIT & KISS.
