Pondicherry University launches G20 presidency lecture series

“India can contribute in rethinking the old developmental paradigms based on hegemony and hierarchy in favour of an approach based on partnership and egalitarianism”, he said…reports Asian Lite News

Pondicherry University has launched the city’s first event celebrating India’s G20 Presidency with a ‘University Connect’ conclave.

The ‘University Connect, Engaging Young Minds’ lecture series organised under the auspices of the University Grants Commission aims to facilitate awareness among students, faculty members and staff on G20 summit to be held in India in September, a press note from the University said.

Seshadri Chari, member, Governing Council, Research and Information System for Developing Countries, who was one of the key speakers, noted that India had assumed G20 Presidency at a moment of crisis on various fronts with numerous political, health and climate-related issues.

He felt that as a representative of BRICS and IBSA countries, India had enormous potential to lead the Global South and propose a new world order that privileges both national and international interests rather than focusing on narrow self-interests that fail to see interconnectedness on a global level.

“India can contribute in rethinking the old developmental paradigms based on hegemony and hierarchy in favour of an approach based on partnership and egalitarianism”, he said.

Air Marshal M. Matheswaran, AVSM VM (Retd), chairman and president, The Peninsula Foundation, Chennai, said India’s strategic location in Asia and Indian Ocean affords it the potential to emerge as a leader that could replace a coercion-based Eurocentric model of expanding clout to one based on multilateralism and propose a universal, global and humanitarian interpretation of the world order.

Pondicherry University Vice-Chancellor Gurmeet Singh, said India has shown the world that it is possible to co-exist and progress with non-belligerent ties, through sharing and co-operation rather than following the hegemonic model of dominance and power.

A. Subramanyam Raju, Dean (International Relations) highlighted the significance of the G20, a grouping of nations that together accounted for around 90% of global GDP, 80% of global trade and two-thirds of the world’s population.

The presidency of the forum provided India an opportunity to present itself as a reliable partner from the global south particularly in these times marked by financial uncertainty, climate crisis and war-related conflicts and trust deficiency among countries. The theme of ‘One Earth, One Family and One Future’ can offer innovative and functional approach of harmony, hope and happiness and navigate trust by reiterating India’s ancient traditional values and ethics that see the world as one large solidarity, he said.

The official video on the theme of G20 Indian Presidency was also screened on the occasion. Students from Pondicherry University and nearby institutions, including the Kendriya Vidyalaya, participated.

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