The Hindu : Kerala / Kochi News : Get ready to select the youth icon

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Aug 15, 2006

Kerala

Kerala - Kochi

Get ready to select the youth icon

Young Indians to hold SMS campaign to choose winner A person in the 18-45 age group will be elected through an SMS poll

Young Indians (Yi), part of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), will start a campaign to select the "star" among Kerala youth from Tuesday. An SMS campaign will be conducted across the State to find the icon.

"Youth icon of Kerala is an initiative of the Kochi chapter of the Young Indians to identify and acknowledge young achievers. A person in the 18-45 age group will be elected through an SMS poll," says Rajiv Nair, Chapter Chair.

The candidates shortlisted for the title include Sreesanth (cricket); I.M. Vijayan (football); P.T. Usha (sports); Gopinath Muthukad (art and culture); Dileep (film); Nandakumar (business); K.S. Chitra (music); K.B. Ganesh Kumar (politics); and T.K. Jose (service).

Mr. Nair says the messages have to be forwarded to the number 123. The winner will be decided by a panel of experts based on the number of SMS votes each nominee gets.

The panel includes the former Supreme Court judge V.R. Krishna Iyer, Ernakulam Range DIG K. Padmakumar, film director Renjith and writer K.L. Mohana Varma. A youth award nite will be held at the Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium on September 17.

Programmes

Mr. Nair says the organisation undertakes various activities through five platforms - Yi Bridge, Yi Learning, Yi Connect, Yi Summit and e-Yi.

Yi Bridge is for working with youth in schools and colleges. A Yi net is created in each school or college. These groups facilitate the youth to unleash their potential and create a positive impact by taking up social, developmental and knowledge dissemination projects.

Leadership development

Umang Patodia, vice-chairman of the CII Kerala State Council, says that the Yi Learning platform is used to promote continuous learning, leadership development and networking.

Yi Connect will engage leaders and opinion-makers in an ongoing dialogue on issues that are critically important for the development of the country.

Yi Summit provides an opportunity for youngsters to converge at one location and discuss issues vital to the overall development of the country. Mr. Patodia says that the aim of e-Yi is to harness the networking of young Indians across the world.

G. Krishnakumar

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