MoS Kirti Vardhan Singh highlights SCO's growing relevance in fostering cultural and people-to-people ties

New Delhi, Sep 25 (IANS) Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh inaugurated the 2nd SCO Young Authors’ Conference in New Delhi on Thursday during which he interacted with youngsters from the SCO nations and stressed the organisation's growing relevance in fostering cultural and people-to-people ties.

In a statement shared on X, the minister stated, "Delighted to inaugurate the 2nd SCO Young Authors’ Conference in New Delhi today. Interacted with vibrant young minds from SCO countries and underlined the Organisation’s growing relevance in fostering cultural and people-to-people ties. Commend the efforts of National Book Trust, India in nurturing this platform of creativity and dialogue."

The second edition of the SCO Young Authors’ Conference is being held in New Delhi from September 25-26. The theme of the upcoming Conference is ‘Dynamics of Creative Spaces in the Digital Age: A Dialogue Among SCO Young Authors’. The SCO Young Authors’ Conference 2025 aims to explore how digital spaces shape new formats of knowledge, pedagogies, and literary culture for young authors, particularly in the context of SCO nations,

Organised by the Ministry of Education with the National Book Trust, India as the Implementing Agency, the event aims to bring together young scholars and authors below the age of 40 from SCO member states for meaningful exchanges.

The first edition of the SCO Young Authors’ Conference was held under the chairmanship of India in New Delhi in 2023. The theme of the conference was ‘Civilisational Dialogue Among SCO Member-States’.

During the two-day conference, discussions will be held on how different societies and countries of the SCO group embrace these changes while preserving the richness of their cultural heritage. Through discussions and interactive sessions, the conference will bring together the voices of a new generation – voices that are engaging with the creation of literature, art, and media across the SCO nation-states, creating a cross-cultural symbiosis.

The conference will be attended by 24 authors below the age of 40 representing the countries including India, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Belarus and Iran, according to National Book Trust. Each session of the Conference will have a distinguished scholar as its Chairperson and some discussants as well.

The SCO is a permanent intergovernmental international organisation established in Shanghai on June 15, 2001. The SCO member states are: China, Russia, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Iran and Belarus.

--IANS

akl/as