With the objective to enable smarter movement of knowledge, ideas and goods, Young Leaders Connect looks at how its platform can help the North East explore new frontiers making greater leaps than ever through connectivity within and beyond. Young Leaders Connect is a landmark initiative that provides a common platform for young leaders and achievers from the North-East, launched in 2011 in Kohima. Young Leaders Connect is an annual conclave where young change makers and leaders from diverse fields like business, politics, academia, sports, music and culture come together, put their heads and hearts together to plan where they would like to see India visà-vis North East in the future, plan a roadmap, and strategize on interventions at the grassroots and policy level.
The objective of the YLC is to come up with key actionable steps required to inform and sensitize the population from the rest of India regarding the North-East, and create a positive outlook about the region that looks beyond media reports of conflict to the untapped potential that the region holds in terms of cultural heritage, natural resources, and human capital
The first and second edition of YLC was held in Kohima on 3rd October 2011 and 20th October 2012 respectively under the Chief Patronage of the then Hon’ble Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio and supported by the Government of Nagaland. The third edition was held in Guwahati on 21st of November 2013. The fourth edition was held in Delhi in Oct 2014 with Hon’ble Union Minister of State (Home) Kiren Rijiju as the Keynote Speaker and in January 2016, YLC core team met with the Hon’ble Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. The 7th edition was held in 2019 in New Delhi at The Grand, Vasant Kunj on the theme “Made in North-East”. Riding on the Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Made in India’ campaign the conclave focused on entrepreneurship in the North-East region witnessed over 322 participants from all over the NER and other states including international countries representing different sectors.
The conclave not only brings together young leaders from the North-East and rest of the country, but also engages policy makers, strategists, entrepreneurs, professionals, members of academia, and students to join the development discourse. Some speakers from the earlier YLC‟ editions have been the likes of Baijayant Jay Panda (Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha), Rajeev Chandrasekhar (Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha), National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, FilmMaker Prakash Jha , Entrepreneur and Former National Chair Young Indians Bhairavi Jani , Chairman of Joint Intelligence Committee R N Ravi, and several other noted personalities from the NE like Mary Kom and National Film Awardee Geetanjali Thapa. CNN News (formerly CNN- IBN) has been our media partner.
Theme : Connect, Exchange, Strengthen
3rd October 2011 | Kisama, Nagaland
Theme : Connect, Exchange, Strengthen
20th October 2012 | kisama Nagaland
Theme: Branding Northeast: Speaking for Ourselves
22 November 2013 | Guwahati, Assam
Theme: A Strong North-East is India’s Asset.
18th October 2014 | New Delhi
Theme: Start-Up North East, Stand-Up North East
28th-29th October 2016 | Itanagar, Arunachal
Theme: Made in NorthEast
27th-28th November 2018 | Shillong, Meghalaya
Theme: Made in Northeast
2nd November 2019 | New Delhi