Shillong, Aug 25: Development cannot be measured only by the number of large infrastructural projects and will remain incomplete if farmers, rural entrepreneurs, women and youth are not connected to health, education, tourism, agriculture and food processing, Chief Minister Conrad Sangma said.
Speaking at the inauguration of a Youth Mela organised by the Chief Minister’s Youth Centre (CMYC) at All Saints’ Hall on Monday the Chief Minister said, “Invest in people, invest in institutions, invest in the system that you create. I look forward to many, many more projects and programs that will come up in the future.”
He said that the government has entrepreneurial programs to ensure that entrepreneurship is not limited to a large enterprise or a large business but on nano entrepreneurs.
Cabinet Minister Ampareen Lyngdoh commended the Sauramandala Foundation for encouraging free-fair talk between young and old people to discuss issues of drugs and teenage pregnancies.
Nagakarthik, founder of Sauramandala Foundation in his address stated that the essence of the foundation came with the need for building a space within the community that could cater to everyone, to help the community bloom. He also added that the aim is to work together with those at the policy level and build a partnership with the state government to iterate solutions and build policy making.
Nagakarthik also informed that the CMYC will now be known as the “CMYC++” in every block to make these into safe spaces for the youth and adults.
The four days Youth Mela from August 25 to 28, 2025 will feature panel discussions, live workshops, project exhibitions, library corner and games and activities space for young children.
It may be mentioned that the CMYCs are open learning spaces across rural Meghalaya to provide the youth with a platform to develop innovation, problem-solving and design skills. These are free-to-access open learning spaces, within the rural communities equipped with tools, activities and resources to have meaningful engagement with the communities.
The centres are envisioned to be a space for peer-led, self-learning to explore and learn beyond a school-prescribed curriculum and become a space where innovation, aspiration, passion and problem-solving are nurtured for the youth.
The goal of these centres is to serve as a focal point for community involvement, utilising developmental tools like art, sports, and libraries.
The Government of Meghalaya, with support from Sauramandala Foundation, plans to set up 64 such open learning spaces in rural locations across Meghalaya, under the banner of Chief Minister’s Youth Centers.
The Chief Minister also launched the CMYC++ during the occasion and also distributed the Nano Grant Awards to the Top 50 nano entrepreneurs.
