NE Fest shifts ‘home’ from Delhi, will focus on growth agenda post-COVID
GUWAHATI:
Blame it on the pandemic effect or not, but after seven editions of the North East Festival at the national capital, the eighth edition of an event that promotes the potential of the region at the national platform will, for the first time, be organised at “home”.
The two-day festival to be held at Radisson Blu hotel in the Gateway to the Northeast - Guwahati - from December 19, by adhering to all COVID-19 protocols and guidelines, will have minimum human presence and broadcast across the globe through digital platforms.
The pandemic-triggered lockdown has severely affected Northeast’s first and foremost source of income and livelihood – tourism. So the focus of the festival will aptly be on the “Growth Agenda for North East Post COVID-19.”
A new entity NEF Ideation Conclave will have a series of discussion sessions.
The session - “Success stories of North East Youth” – will have prominent personalities of the region such as singer Zubeen Garg, mountaineer Anshu Jamsenpa, athlete Hima Das, cricketer Riyan Parag, IAS officer Armstrong Pame (who got a 100 km stretch of road constructed in Manipur in 2012 without any help from the government), Shillong Lajong Football Club owner and entrepreneur Larsing Ming, among others speaking about their journey to fame.
A session, “Market linkage on agriculture” will have farmer producing companies of the North East Region interacting with buyers from outside besides a B2B (business-to-business) meet on tourism.
A session on “Make in North East” will have prominent investors in the region such as NRL, Patanjali, ITC etc sharing their experiences.
A virtual walkthrough of the North East Festival will be showcased on both the evenings, presenting tourism destinations, festivals such as Hornbill, Sangai, Tawang Festival etc, cuisines, dance forms, craft and the tribes of the region.
The inaugural session on “Development Agenda for North East” will highlight the positive work done by the various chief ministers of the region in the presence of Union DoNER Minister, Dr Jitendra Singh.
“North East Festival, over the years, has been able to create a positive perception about the region. This time, the focus is to highlight the strength of North East as an investment destination and focus on the region as an ideal tourism destination post-COVID,” Shyamkanu Mahanta, organiser-in-chief, North East Festival, said.
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