As a precursor to the third meeting of the G20 Education Working Group to be held in Bhubaneswar on April 27 and 28, a Mock G20 conclave involving students from various institutions was held at Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan (SOA) Deemed-to-be University on Friday, April 21.

The Mock G20 on the theme of Future of Work which was organised in collaboration with the Ministry of Education (MoE), Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), Indian Institute of Democratic Leadership (IIDL), Mumbai, was attended by students who represented the member countries and international organisations.

“It has been organised to create an awareness in students as to how the G20 functions. The students are the stakeholders in the field of education and skill development,” Usha Titus, Chairperson and Managing Director of Additional Skill Acquisition Programme, Kerala, said while addressing the inaugural session of the conclave.

The G20 nations accounted for 90 per cent of the global GDP and 80 per cent of the global trade and it was the right forum to talk about partnership and cooperation, she said.

Prof Pradipta Kumar Nanda, Vice-Chancellor of SOA and Devendra Pai, Course Director, IIDL, also addressed the inaugural programme. 

Titus said that COVID-19 had “disrupted our thinking and brought in technology into our lives in a big way.” Technology needs to be harnessed to take education forward and the need was to adopt the best practices and collaborate for future progress, she said.

Prof Nanda said students being the future leaders, the Mock G20 conclave would help them understand how to deliberate on issues with global ramifications. The subject Future of Work is important and the youth have a stake in it, he said.

Pai said it was expected that the Mock G20 would act as a stimulus which would encourage and orient students to think and participate in politics and policy-making and think about international relations.

As part of the mock exercise, students delivered talks as delegates representing different countries and international organizations.

Areesha Fatma, Senior Consultant, International Cooperation, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) and Archana Mayaram, Economic Advisor, MSDE also addressed the inaugural session. Prof Jyoti Ranjan Das, SOA’s Dean (Students’ Welfare), proposed the vote of thanks. Prof Priyabrata Pattnaik, Additional Dean (Research) was also present.