Naga Sravan Kilaru, a second year BTech student from R V College of Engineering, was chosen by the Centre for Civil Society (CCS), Delhi to take part in the week-long Conference organised by FNF (Friedrich-Naumann-Stiftung für die Freiheit) at Gummersbach, about ‘Local Government and Civil Society’.
Kilaru was chosen on the basis of an online exam conducted by the FNF in May. He told Deccan Herald that he is also the president and founder of Revolutionising India through Social Empowerment (RISE), an independent, apolitical organisation which conducts initiatives and awareness programmes related to issues such as lake encroachment, waste management, child rights and education among others.
A total of 23 representatives from 14 countries across the globe, participated in the conference (which was held from July 21 to July 28), and spoke about topics reflecting different issues plaguing their respective countries in terms of governance, politics and lack of civil participation. Of them, Kilaru was the only Indian and took the opportunity to speak about the many problems faced by local governments in the country.
Speaking to Deccan Herald, Kilaru explained that he had also highlighted Bangalore’s garbage problem and how it had, at times, crippled the City. “I explained how despite the allocation of so much money in the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) budget every year, problems continue to persist. Though many in the audience knew that Bangalore is an IT hub, they were not aware about the civic problems affecting the people of the City,” he said.
He added that many representatives, specially from countries such as Pakistan,
Armenia and Indonesia raised similar issues. “Representatives from Asian countries spoke about how their political system lacks proper administration and is marred by corruption,” he said. “The Pakistan representative discussed at length about the lack of leadership and how terrorism is ruining the peace of the country and destroying ties with India.”
The conference also allowed for representatives to raise possible fixes for civic problems such as engaging civil groups and building better administration, among others. The Conference was moderated by officials from International Academy for Leadership (IAF), local politicians among other dignitaries.
FNF is a German-based non-profit organisation promoting liberalism and individual freedom while CCS, a non-profit group is an official partner of FNF.
Source: http://tinyurl.com/lyc562p
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