Bikalpa an Alternative in Association with Pokhara Research Centre with the support of the American Embassy in Kathmandu jointly hosted “Youth in Policy and Governance Fellowship Program 2022/2023” from 25th February 2023 to 27th February 2023 at Hotel Eastern Star, Biratnagar. The program aimed to promote and strengthen the provincial assembly by incorporating youths between the ages of 20 to 30 in the formulation of laws and public policies. Hon. Baburam Gautam, the Speaker of the State Assembly for Province No. 1, inaugurated the program as the program’s chief guest. Other guests included Hon. Srijana Danuwar, the Deputy Speaker of the State Assembly for Province No. 1, and Gopal Prasad Parajuli, the Secretary of the State Assembly Secretariat for Province No. 1. Dr. Bhesh Prasad Dhamala, Chairman of Bikakpa an Alternative, took the oath as the chairman of the program.
On behalf of the event’s organizers, Basanta Adhikari, founder and director of Bikalpa an Alternative, gave a speech to greet everyone in the audience. Following that, the concept of the program was described by Sujan Regmi, the founder and executive director of the Pokhara Research Center. Gopal Prasad Parajuli, Secretary of Provincial Assembly Secretariat, Province 1, speaking at the opening ceremony praised the program as being excellent and expressed confidence that it will produce favorable outcomes soon.
He mentioned “In the ensuing days, I also extend an invitation to the participants to visit and watch Provincial Assembly.” The special guest, Hon. Srijana Danuwar, also commended the organizing committee for its intention to promote youth-led initiatives for the economic, social, and political development of Province No. 1. Chief Guest Hon. Baburam Gautam, Speaker of Provincial Assembly, wished the participants not only to participate in the program but also to be serious about the plan to make the province prosperous.
The three-day camp’s training session began immediately after the inauguration session. The keynote speaker for the first session of Day 1 was corporate trainer Mrs. Mansi Agrawal. Her session shed light upon Branding, Communication, and Leadership. She shared that a brand can be thought of as the concept or image that people associate with when they think about a person or the company. However, it is not only confined to well-known personalities or the company. Each of us has a brand. She also mentioned that communication is the process through which you convey ideas to others. Three formulas should be kept in mind when we are preparing for a difficult talk which is never thinking about yourself; always consider the other person, always role-play, and have confidence. She said “A leader is not always nice, but a leader is good. To be a leader, courage is more important than a specific designation.”
After that, Mr. Dipesh Ghimire, an assistant professor of sociology at Tribhuvan University, conducted a session on how Nepal’s federal government structure is related. He emphasized the idea that federalism is both a decentralized and a non-centralized system. He shared that federalism ought to undermine the central government’s narrative. Federalism serves four main purposes: managing diversity, integrating local governments with the federal government, and coordinating across municipalities.
Day 1’s third and final session was a panel discussion on the possibilities of Province No. 1. Mr. Bhabish Shrestha, a tourism activist and businessman, and Mr. Naveen Rijal, the president of the Morang Merchant Association, were invited to participate as panelists. During his remarks, Mr. Rijal emphasized that Province No. 1’s primary industries for economic growth are water, agriculture, exports, tourism, and recycling. In a similar manner, Mr. Shrestha emphasized that the Mahabharat Circuit must be designed by embellishing the Birat Raja Durbar in Biratnagar and communication with the Khumbu region should also be prioritized. He said that it could be possible to attract sizeable numbers of visitors from Bengal and Bihar by making it easier to go there and by simplifying the laws of the government. The panelist also addressed the queries of the participants.
The second day’s first session was on Province and Law Making by Mr. Chudamani Acharya, Past Chief Attorney of Province no.1. The theoretical justifications for the law, the legislative procedure, many broad arrangements provided by the Nepalese constitution, etc. were the main topics of discussion. The session also covered the importance of legislation, the definition of bills, the meaning of legislation, the difficulties in passing laws, non-government bills, and provincial assemblies.
Following that, Mr. Umesh Basnet, Secretary of Ministry of Internal Affairs and Law delivered the session on Government Structure of Nepal. The speaker discussed the three tiers of government’s solitary and concurrent responsibilities as well as the power structure in Nepal’s federal system. The speaker also shed light upon how the three tiers work to achieve common goals and interrelation between central, provincial and local level strategic planning.
After that, the third session of Day 2 was on Leadership and Communication by Dr. Sandesh Das Shrestha, Associate Professor of Purbanchal University. He shared that leadership is difficult to define, but you can recognize it when you see it. The phrase “Me-First” was highlighted by the speaker. Me-First consists of four I-Components: influence, integrity, inspiration, and improvement. The speaker also emphasized the three Cs of connective leadership, which are community, communication, and collaboration. Talking about that communication he said, “Communication is the core of being a leader and mental way of how you perceive things and greatest skills of life.”
The session on key insights to sound policy making was then taken by Mr. Akash Shrestha, research manager of the Samriddhi Foundation where he included several examples to illustrate how incentives influence people’s behavior as well as unintended consequences of public policy. The discussion also focused on Milton Friedman’s” Four ways of spending money.” There are four different ways to spend money: You spend your own money on yourself, spend your own money in someone else, spend someone else’s money in yourself, and spend someone else’s money in someone else.
The final session of the Day 2 was taken by Dr. Ananda Acharya on Nepal’s Political Landscape. He shared about the history of the founding of Nepal’s major political parties: Nepal Praja Parishad , Nepali Congress and Nepal Communist Party. He also emphasized the history of the first students’ movement and other noteworthy political accomplishments in Nepal. The session of Day 3 ended with a short reflection of the day followed by networking and refreshment activities.
The final day of the Training Camp-I started with the session on Nepalese Economic History and Current Scenario by Dr. Bhesa Prasad Dhamala, Chairman of Bikalpa an Alternative. He shared that the current industrial environment in Nepal is import- and remittance-based and country is very reliant on other nations. He also opined that it is important to develop sound industrial strategies by conducting in-depth research and analysis on the comparative advantages regarding Nepal’s production.
After that, Mr. Subodh Raj Pyakurel, of the Provincial Policy and Planning Commission, led the final training session of Training Camp-I. His session was on Plans and Policies of Province no.1. He said, “the first periodic plan was created by Province 1 (2076/77-2080/81). Clean, happy, and prosperous with this slogan there are 10 section plans. It is the only province that came up with the slogan on its own. The public sector’s administration is the main issue. Workers are not allowed to use their judgment or imagination. They continue to live in constant fear of the Auditor General, the Union, the Authority, and the Vigilance Center.”
In the closing program, Chief Guest Speaker of Province 1 Hon. Baburam Gautam, Special Guest Garrett Wilkerson, Chief of Public Affairs of the American Embassy in Kathmandu, Province 1 Assembly members Shobha Chemjong and Maiya Shrestha of Nepali Congress, Shila Dixit Karki of CPN UML, Mansi Limbu and Jai Prakash Chaudhary of CPN Maoist Center. Sapna Pariyar, outgoing Vice President of National Planning Commission Province 1 Subodh Raj Pyakurel, Pranay Sharma of UNDP and others were present. Dr. Sandesh Das Shrestha moderated the closing program. The event summed up with the distribution of the certificates to the participants.
